Over the past six months, Stroudwater’s Strategic Planning and Performance Improvement teams and Oaklawn Medical Group (“OMG”) have collaborated to ensure OMG’s continued success and sustainability as a vital healthcare provider for Marshall, MI, and surrounding communities.
In light of today’s changing healthcare landscape, Oaklawn Medical Group sought advisory services to best position itself for the future and to continue providing the high-quality care its patients had come to expect. OMG engaged Stroudwater to take a close look at the big picture, including its overall financial performance; short- and long-term strategic direction; ongoing results reporting and monitoring; technological systems and infrastructure; and consolidated contribution margin impact to the entire Oaklawn Health System.
Stroudwater’s team was led by Principals Janet Porter and Terry Bauer, who closely collaborated with OMG’s leadership, management personnel, and key stakeholders to prepare and complete a comprehensive SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. The typical first step of our Strategic Planning engagements, a SWOT analysis lays the groundwork for the operational improvements to follow. Stroudwater and OMG leadership worked to prioritize key initiatives with greatest impact within achievable timeframes, and Stroudwater advised and participated in important negotiations with outside vendors/partners for revenue cycle management technology, outsourcing of select clinical and management services, and joint venture assessment and review. Other initiatives included evaluating and implementing patient collections enhancement at the point of care; review of physician employment agreements and recommendations for restructuring alternatives; counseling of management on staff review and realignment options; and facilitation of physician office consolidation and optimization strategies.
Today, Oaklawn Medical Group is well positioned to continue its mission of excellent care delivery in the challenging era of healthcare reform. All key initiatives developed during the project are in process or already implemented, and are monitored regularly. New technology solutions, which are scheduled for launch later this year, are being intricately planned. Patient collections have improved significantly in a four-month period, offices have been consolidated, and physician employment agreement restructuring is targeted for consistency and alignment with organizational goals.