The healthcare system has long been plagued by historical divides that have hindered progress and collaboration among various stakeholders. These divisions have significantly impacted the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery, leading to poor patient outcomes. However, efforts are being made to bridge these divides and create a more integrated and coordinated healthcare system.
“SCALE Healthcare provides solutions to healthcare management teams that improve collaboration amongst all key stakeholders,” shares Roy Bejarano, CEO and co-founder of SCALE Healthcare, a prominent national healthcare services consulting group. “We understand the importance of a patient’s health, and we aim to help healthcare systems put that back on the forefront.”
Contributing factor to the healthcare divide
The healthcare divide — characterized by disparities and divisions within the healthcare system — arises from a combination of contributing factors. These factors include access to care, socioeconomic disparities, systemic biases, and cultural barriers.
One of the major historical divides in the healthcare industry is the lack of trust and collaboration between different parties involved, including payors, health systems, clinicians, government regulators, investors, and patients. “This distrust has slowed progress and prevented the achievement of best-in-class healthcare,” Bejarano says. “Collaboration between different parties could have led to better results.” Unfortunately, groups have remained isolated.
“At SCALE,” Bejarano adds, “achieving our ambitions for best-in-class healthcare will require coordination on an unprecedented scale that addresses the need for broad population health management, which is what we aim to do.”
What’s being done to correct these issues?
Financial incentives have been introduced through government reimbursement programs and commercial payors to correct these issues. These incentives promote coordinated care and results-based reimbursements, significantly increasing resources directed at collaboration. As a result of these incentives, novel business models such as Managed Care, Accountable Organizations (ACOs), Independent Practice Associations (IPA), and marketplace initiatives have arisen which aim to improve collaboration and deliver better healthcare outcomes.
Similarly, the healthcare system’s deflationary pricing has shifted the focus from volume-based business models to value-based care. The pressure to reduce costs has driven a revolutionary movement toward outpatient care and a shift toward value-based care.
Technology has played a critical role in enabling this change, with data gathering, procession, and management tools empowering management teams to adopt more sophisticated business models. Technological advancement has also allowed the streaming of administrative tasks, leading to cost savings and increased efficiency.
SCALE Healthcare on correcting these issues
SCALE Healthcare is actively working to address these issues. “We have launched SCALE Community,” Bejarano explains, “which is a platform that facilitates knowledge sharing and idea creation among leaders and decision-makers in the healthcare industry. It includes leadership series, podcasts and webinars, global healthcare executive dashboard, benchmark surveys, white papers, and our unique conference program.”
The SCALE Community conference program is a case study-intensive initiative that invites leaders and decision-makers — such as leaders in government, clinicians, payors, MSOS, and investors — to come together in one place, both virtually and physically, to participate in knowledge-sharing and ideation to solve problems. “This ensures that patients get the best healthcare,” Bejarano asserts.
The importance of the healthcare system to being receptive to work across professions and specialties
The healthcare system must be more receptive to collaboration across professions and specialties due to the complex nature of patient care. Patient treatment often requires input from multiple specialties, occurs across different sites, and is ongoing rather than episodic.
While specialization is valuable, there is a need for broader context and coordination to ensure optimal decision-making, particularly in cases involving acute and post-acute care, specialists, generalists, and expensive medical interventions. The healthcare system can enhance precision and improve patient outcomes by fostering collaboration among professionals.
The healthcare divide stems from complex factors, including limited access, socioeconomic disparities, systemic biases, cultural barriers, and fragmented care. Tackling these issues is paramount to achieving equitable healthcare for all.
That’s where SCALE Healthcare shines as a force in driving positive change. With its comprehensive national healthcare services consulting team, SCALE Healthcare has empowered healthcare service companies to progress beyond the historical divides. Through groundbreaking initiatives like SCALE Community, they have fostered collaboration, knowledge sharing, and idea creation among key industry leaders and decision-makers.
In the quest for a more integrated, patient-centered healthcare system, SCALE Healthcare stands out as a beacon of progress, inspiring collaboration and driving the innovations needed to address the historical divides that have plagued the industry. With their unwavering commitment, SCALE Healthcare is leading the way toward a future where equitable access to high-quality care is a reality for all.
