It’s a slippery slope. Of course all health systems are on a quest to save money, but it’s important to stay focused on the purpose of integration.
Systemness, done right, integrates all aspects of a health system’s governance, operations, and workflows—across all technologies, clinicians, and locations—to deliver seamless, cost-effective, high-quality care. But systemness can only be achieved by removing variability.
Capturing and sharing consistent data among facilities, then applying that data to clinical and functional decisions can remove variation and increase accuracy and predictability. Greater uniformity in what’s being measured allows health systems to turn more focus to improving quality—essential in population health management.
What gets measured, gets done could not be more true when it comes to integration. Jones says, “Beyond measuring cost efficiencies, there are measures for process consistency (eliminating variation) and outcomes-based measures (cost, satisfaction, quality).”
Without those measurements, no organization can track its success in achieving systemness.