Before he dies, Romeo & Juliet’s Mercutio cry’s out "A plague o' both your houses!" We see this result too often as providers and payers engage in contract disputes over network inclusion or payment formulas. Most of the time, they’re fighting these battles in the local media. Finger pointing in healthcare’s ongoing ‘who’s at fault or who’s breaking it?’ debate accomplishes little.
With spending for hospital care and total private health insurance expenditures each topping $1 trillion, "A plague o' both your houses!" isn’t going to cut it. The true answer lies in collaboration.
TOGETHER, payers and providers need to figure out how to align their interests, cultures and incentives to sharpen a patient focused approach for better care at a better cost. Examples of collaboration around value-based payment, direct primary care, online patient communities, chronic or behavioral care management, and digital health solutions are proving the importance of partnerships everyday.
Collaboration that takes the form of a joint venture (JV) isn’t easy when it comes to agreeing on financial risk, aligning brands, managing customer (member – patient) experiences, coordinating operating practices and communicating across organizations. It’s said there are two shining moments in every joint venture --- the day both parties sign an agreement and the day they say good-bye!
In today’s healthcare landscape JVs are more and more common. Going in to them smart saves time, money and aggravation. Scrutinize the hell out of potential partners to assess compatibility and value. Use an appraisal process no less intensive than you’d use for an acquisition…bring an investor's due diligence perspective.
- What’s the JV's primary objective, core rationale, staying-power?
- Who's bringing what: resources, specialty skills, brand position, products?
- What are the exposures, scalability factors, and points of gain or failure?
- Where's the value: up-front investment vs. pay-back targets?
- What’s success: KPIs, benchmarks and performance scorecard?
Collaboration is becoming a cornerstone business practice in today's turbulent healthcare marketplace. For payers and providers willing to make the right investment, these arrangements can yield big rewards: open-up new markets, extend product offerings, expand customer base, accelerate innovation, and reap financial gain. More importantly, they can broaden access to care, enhance customer experience, improve patient outcomes, and bring efficiencies that lower overall cost.
JV partnerships can also take their toll: lost development time, unmet expectations, internal conflict, and ultimately, financial disappointment. Successful joint ventures incorporate effective, well-defined controls: know as much as possible prior to selecting a partner, devote adequate resources (and C-Suite commitment) to aggressively managing the venture, and employ meaningful partnership performance measures. Go forth and collaborate: "A win o' both your houses!"
For more expert POVs go to: https://goo.gl/AciuTG
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