Controlling Costs After an Acquisition

BACKGROUND & PROBLEM: AFTER AN ACQUISITION, A LARGE CONNECTICUT ACUTE HEALTH SYSTEM NEEDED HIGHLY SKILLED MSPS TO FILL THE GAP

The Hardenbergh Group’s client, a large, Connecticut acute care hospital, has served its community for decades. The hospital was acquired by a major hospital and health system in 2015. To help control costs following the acquisition, the system offered voluntary retirement compensation packages to eligible employees. All but one of the hospital’s Medical Staff Services staff opted to take the package, leaving the department void of personnel with either the institutional knowledge or necessary medical staff services and credentialing expertise to execute the mission-critical departmental functions.

The hospital’s practice, at the time, was to recredential half of its 1,500 providers, starting each July. Even when fully staffed, the Medical Staff Services department struggled to complete the cumbersome task
by the end of the year. In addition, the hospital was amid converting from a paper-based to a fully-digital operating environment, and the remaining staff member lacked the skills and knowledge to handle the organization’s transition to its adopted software platform.

Combined, these factors created the perfect storm, forcing the hospital to look outside of the organization to find qualified, experienced personnel who could quickly step in to not only support the core departmental functions but also lead and execute the transition to a paperless environment.

SOLUTION: THE HEALTH SYSTEM TURNED TO THE HARDENBERGH GROUP TO FILL THE VOID WITH EXPERIENCED CREDENTIALING SPECIALISTS

The hospital turned to The Hardenbergh Group to fill its void. Hardenbergh was able to quickly place a team of five certified, experienced medical staff professionals, including both director-level leadership and experienced credentialing specialists. The Hardenbergh team was not only able to sustain the ongoing operations, but also successfully transition the hospital to a paperless environment.

The hospital’s Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs (CMO), was impressed with the quality of the Hardenbergh team’s work, their efficiency, and the strong, positive relationships, which they built with the medical staff. When the CMO was faced with a directive to eliminate contracted staff, he advocated to extend the relationship and built a business case which outlined the benefits of keeping the Hardenbergh team in place while the hospital worked to build an internal team, a case which ultimately earned the CEO’s approval. Hardenbergh then worked with the CMO to develop a thoughtful, deliberate plan to smoothly disengage from Hardenbergh.

Today, the Medical Staff Services department at the hospital is better positioned to help protect the hospital’s patients, facilitate clinical practice, and protect the organization from legal, regulatory, societal, and accreditation issues.

RESULTS: THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HARDENBERGH GROUP, THE HOSPITAL AVOIDED REVENUE LOSSES WHILE MAINTAINING CONTINUITY

The hospital was able to seamlessly sustain its annual provider credentialing processes and work toward a balanced year-round recredentialing process.

The Hospital successfully completed its transition to a paperless, digital work environment, resulting in greater operational efficiency and higher provider satisfaction. Providers can now easily submit their data online, and the clinical staff can get answers to questions about provider privileges and scope of practice in a matter of seconds versus hours or even days.

Hardenbergh’s professionals helped to refine the hospital’s processes and procedures and introduce best practices, based on their previous professional experience.

The hospital passed its Joint Commission survey without any issues tied to their Medical Staff Services protocols and the associated provider credentialing and privileging.

Hardenbergh’s industry veterans were able to stabilize the Medical Staff Services department and mentor and train less experienced personnel both at the hospital and a sister hospital, which was experiencing similar change.