Development of Multi-System Alliance

HES Advisors was engaged by a group of five like-minded, high-quality, low-cost hospital systems that desired to form a geographically dispersed network to pursue collaborative activities. The network contemplated how they could cooperate to achieve the goals of the Triple Aim:

• Improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction);
• Improving the health of populations; and
• Reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.

HES Advisors led the Alliance through four key phases: Foundational Development, Organization and Business Plan Design, Formation, and Operations. Through each phase, HES Advisors worked with each System’s executive teams and through a Committee structure to identify key steps, perform relevant analyses and engage advisors and attorneys as needed.

The Alliance initially provided a format for the identification and development of synergistic opportunities for reducing each member’s operating costs where economies of scale could be achieved in targeted clinical and non-clinical areas. Additionally, a key objective of the Alliance was to identify best practices among Alliance members to enhance each Alliance member’s efficiency, cost and quality position for population health management initiatives. Finally, the Alliance identified the potential for innovative payer contracting arrangements.

The Alliance has been extremely successful in shared services initiatives, with a return on investment of approximately $8 returned for every $1 spent. Likewise, payer contracting efforts have resulted in accountable care payments and shared savings. HES Advisors has transitioned Alliance operations to a CEO and dedicated staff. HES Advisors continues to serve as strategy consultant to the Board of the Alliance and to support the CEO in implementing key aspects of the strategy.