Mission critical: Why patient access underpins your entire strategic plan

Part I | Patient access transformation series

By Aaron Adams
Managing Director
Baker Tilly

The strategic plan looks strong, and the growth targets are aggressive but defensible. The population health goals are aligned to value-based care, and the risk contracts and cost management initiatives are underway. The board approves it.
A year in, the numbers aren’t moving the way the model said they would. Growth is softer than projected. The risk contract is underperforming. ED utilization isn’t dropping. Patient satisfaction scores are flat despite real investment in experience.
The instinct is to look at execution. The more honest diagnosis is usually upstream of execution.
Every one of those strategies assumed an access capability the organization doesn’t actually have. Read article

Is a Non-Compete Enforceable Against a Departing Healthcare Provider?

By Kimberly J. Ruppel
Chair, Healthcare Litigation Task Force, Dickinson Wright PLLC

Non-compete provisions are common in healthcare employment agreements. These provisions are designed to prohibit an employed or contracted provider from competing against their employer by preventing them from working for or starting a competing business within a certain geographic area for a set period. In the healthcare space, enforcing such restrictions presents challenges. Courts tend to disfavor limiting a patient’s ability to be treated by a known provider. At the same time, providers may be unwilling to comply with a non-compete by moving out of a restricted area, uprooting family and leaving behind established patient relationships. Yet, employers are faced with the prospect of losing not only a valued employee, but also potentially the patients that the provider treated. This article discusses terms and concepts that employers may include in employment agreements in order to legally protect business interests. Read article