Integration Services Case Study
THE CASE: Deaconess Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK
The Challenges
Oklahoma City hospitals struggle with weak reimbursements, ballooning costs and well-funded specialty hospitals. They compete hard for physicians and patients.
Q Solutions
Having management and consulting relationships with many of the region’s finest rural facilities, QHR offered Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City the opportunity to serve as the preferred referral center for nine rural hospital clients in the state.
The partnership began with QHR-facilitated strategy meetings; a team approach soon developed. The goal was to encourage more Deaconess physician specialists to travel to the outlying hospitals, and more rural physicians to choose Deaconess for their patients requiring more specialized care than the local hospital could provide.
The first step was establishing a patient transfer agreement. This solved a problem: rural emergency physicians can spend hours finding a hospital to take a patient.
Deaconess met with rural-based physicians and opened its CME programs to help them maintain their board certifications. The team invited clinical staff to the city for facility tours and training. And supporting the outlying hospitals’ medical staff recruiting efforts, the tertiary center is creating loyalty.
The plan is working. “The referrals are wonderful,” admits Deaconess CEO Paul Dougherty. “But we’ve really enjoyed developing the relationships.” “Yes, it has been a remarkable relationship,” agrees Joe Duerr, CEO of Perry Memorial Hospital. When an orthopedic surgeon left the Perry area, a Deaconess specialist was willing to make the drive. “That clinic helped us stabilize services. It also built CT, MRI and rehab volumes. Now we’re also supplementing our cardiology services through our affiliation with Deaconess.”
The team continues to develop ways to improve service. One way will be to seek grant from the foundation created through Deaconess’ recent change in ownership. The first priority is to request funds for a teleradiology program, improving services to this network of communities.
The Outcome
- Referrals from its rural partners has raised admissions at Deaconess by 151 per year; revenues were also augmented by related lab and radiology volumes
- Joint marketing maximizes budgets
- Rural hospital clinical staffs raise expertise through training
- Deaconess-based teleradiology and telemedicine programs will soon serve the rural partners
- Beginning with the network hospitals as employers, the team will contract with businesses to steer employee patients to their local providers and assure the same tier of coverage for those transferred to Deaconessse
"Referrals are doctor to doctor, not hospital to hospital. QHR understands that, and helped us build those relationships. The potential is unlimited."
