A Physician-Led Academic Medical Center

A physician-led independent academic medical center and integrated delivery system that is one of the foremost rural health care providers in the United States, serving 2.5 million people. The system includes five hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, a cancer center, a heart hospital, and multiple community practice sites. Its medical staff includes an employed medical group of about 600 physicians plus a large number of affiliated physicians.  

The Challenge:

In 2004 and 2005 this client asked The Bard Group to consult on its market share and quality improvement strategy. We were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the physician leadership of its clinical service lines and assess the structure and quality of its clinical care delivery. 

The Solution:

Our assessment included reviewing the system’s mission, vision, strategy, goals, and position on quality. Guided by that vision and our maturity models for service line development, we evaluated the system’s service line development process.

We identified four service lines that provided significant opportunities for development and improvement. Over the course of a 12-month engagement, we enlisted senior management and service line chiefs in a program of improvements. We then supported the leadership teams by providing structural and program models, processes for implementing change, and tools for evaluating progress. 

Concurrently, we built a leadership effectiveness program, including individual mentoring and coaching, to help the service line leadership teams enhance their skills in implementing organizational change.

The Impact:

The service line leadership teams achieved significant improvements in measured outcomes, and developed new competence and confidence in organizing and leading change that the continued to use in ongoing improvement efforts.