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Clinical Collaboration Helps Virginia Hospital Center Remain Independent

 |  By Rene Letourneau  
   May 11, 2015

Joining the Mayo Clinic Care Network allows a stand-alone hospital to stay that way, for now. The partnership brings clinical and financial benefits, but depends on cultural fit.

Mergers and acquisitions are happening at a rapid-fire pace within the healthcare industry, but the leadership teams at some hospitals and health systems are finding strategies to remain independent.

Rather than merging or being acquired by a larger system, many organizations are forming collaborations and partnerships with other healthcare providers. In the HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Report, "The M&A and Partnership Mega-Trend," published in February, 38% of respondents say their organization's most recent activity was a contractual relationship. In comparison, 34% say it was an acquisition and 10% say it was a merger.

 

Adrian Stanton

Designed with the goals of improving financial performance, patient outcomes, and population health management capabilities, these arrangements are helping some stand-alone hospitals withstand the revenue pressures that are driving so many others to enter into M&A deals.

Staving off a merger or acquisition

At Virginia Hospital Center, a 342-bed, not-for-profit, teaching institution located in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington, the senior leadership team is determined to remain independent despite competition from several major players in the area.

"Virginia Hospital Center is unusual because we are the only independent hospital in our region. Every other hospital in this area has teamed up with a large local system or a national system," says Adrian Stanton, vice president and chief marketing officer.

Being independent makes Virginia Hospital Center "an oddity," says Stanton, but "we like that and our board likes that. We believe it allows us to move quickly on things, and we can get things done in an efficient manner,"

One tactic for remaining autonomous is to form strategic partnerships to find clinical and financial benefits without becoming part of a larger entity, Stanton says. "Staying independent has served us well over the years, but as things are changing, we are absolutely looking for opportunities where we can collaborate with other healthcare providers."

Finding the right culture fit

As part of that strategy, Virginia Hospital Center joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network in February 2015. Launched in 2011, the network now has 32 member organizations across 19 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

One reason his organization decided to become part of the network, Stanton says, is cultural fit.

"Mayo has a very prescriptive sequence they go through to vet whether or not a hospital is the right fit to be part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. As we were looking for those opportunities to collaborate, Mayo was the first name that came to mind, and as we were researching them, we saw a lot of similarities with Virginia Hospital Center," he says.

"Culture is absolutely critical for us. We talked to some other organizations, and I think very early on in the conversation, we could feel it wasn't going to be the right fit. [Mayo's] perspective is that the patient comes first, and that rings very true to the way our culture is structured here."

Expanding clinical expertise to treat more patients

As a member of the network, Virginia Hospital Center's physicians are able to collaborate with Mayo Clinic's medical staff in ways that will benefit patients, the community, and the hospital, says Jeffrey DiLisi, MD, Virginia Hospital Center's senior vice president and chief medical officer.

 

Jeffrey DiLisi, MD

The network tools and services include:

  • eConsults, which allow Virginia Hospital Center physicians to connect electronically with Mayo specialists and subspecialists when they want additional input on a patient's care.
  • AskMayoExpert, which provides Virginia Hospital Center with medical information compiled by Mayo physicians on disease management, care guidelines, and treatment recommendations.
  • eTumor Board Conferences, where Virginia Hospital Center physicians can present and discuss the management of complex cancer cases with a multidisciplinary panel of Mayo Clinic specialists and other members of the network.

"If a patient comes to see any doctor on our medical staff with a very complex diagnosis and wants a second opinion, we can send it over to Mayo Clinic. They have scheduled times on their schedule to review cases. They will take 15 to 30 minutes to do a consult, which we will get back within two business days," DiLisi says.
Having access to Mayo's clinical expertise means Virginia Hospital Center can now treat patients with highly complex conditions who otherwise would have to be referred to another institution, DiLisi says.

"For example, Mayo actually has a physician who only deals with cardiac tumors. In my 17 years [as a physician], I don't think I have ever seen a cardiac tumor. We've got great doctors on our medical staff, and we are a tertiary hospital that does everything except trauma and transplants. With the eConsult with Mayo, patients with complex diagnoses can still be treated here," he says.

"As an independent hospital, we aren't going to hire a doctor who just deals with cardiac tumors. We couldn't do that, and it wouldn't make sense for us to do that. So for us to have this clinical affiliation, it gives us some benefits of having the expertise of a quaternary hospital without us having to be owned by a large system. It also allows us to do more for our patients."

Benefits to the bottom line

Virginia Hospital Center pays a subscription fee to be part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, and while the hospital does not pass that cost onto its physicians or patients, the leadership team expects it to be offset in other ways, such as a stronger community reputation and increased patient volume.

"[The collaboration] enhances our already strong image, keeping patients in the community who may have chosen to go elsewhere," says Robin Norman, Virginia Hospital Center's senior vice president and chief financial officer. 

 

Robin Norman

"Further, it may attract patients from our region who may not have thought of Virginia Hospital Center as a destination for the care of patients with a rare or challenging diagnosis."

Additionally, Norman says, working with Mayo Clinic to strengthen clinical protocols and improve patient outcomes will be a financial boost to Virginia Hospital Center as reimbursements become more value-based.

"Providing the best, evidence-based care also reduces the cost of care by reducing readmissions and complications," she says. "[That is] good for the patient and good for our bottom line."

Staying independent, for now

By improving its financial and clinical strength through the collaboration with Mayo Clinic, Virginia Hospital Center will be able to retain its independence in an era of consolidation—at least for now.

"This affiliation gives us a connection to a world leader in healthcare, but we remain independent, and we can make the decisions about what we think is right for our patients," Stanton says.

"I don't know where the future of healthcare is going, and I don't know that five years from now we'll be able to remain independent. But, for right now, our board sees it as a positive that we are independent, and this collaboration is surely helping us to continue down that path."

Rene Letourneau is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.

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