Unnecessary variations in care is costing hospitals millions every year, and hospital looking to stay open, let alone competitive are looking to address this complex and pressing issue, say experts from the Advisory Board.
The Congressional Budget Office as projected that 60 percent of hospitals will have negative profit margins by 2025 if they don't boost productivity and/or cut costs, and according to an Advisory Board survey, health system chief financial officers view clinical standardization as the biggest opportunity to do so, the Board said.
[Also: 5 ways hospitals can buffer financial losses from Medicare]
Advisory Board pointed to a landmark study from the Institute of Medicine released 16 years ago called the Crossing the Chasm report on care quality. It showed that 47 percent of effective treatment measures showed no signs of change or are worsening, such as inappropriate mammography use, which has resulted in 20 percent overdiagnosis of breast cancer cases including false positives.
Experts said a multi-faceted and thorough approach is required. Physician leaders should implement a central body or "engine" devoted to permanent care variation reduction efforts including cross-cutting opportunities like documentation, clinical supplies, laboratory, and post-acute care as well as care for prolonged conditions like diabetes.
"This strategy results in improved physician engagement, reliable cross-continuum quality and experience at scale, and sustainable reductions in costs," said Allison Shimooka, executive director of research at Advisory Board.
Hospitals and health systems must also make sure they have the data needed to confront unnecessary care variation.
"You need reliable data to make the case to physicians about why there might be a better way to do things. By combining data from different systems, hospitals and health systems can highlight the impact that variation in practice has on patient outcomes," said Matt Cinque, national partner, technology at Advisory Board.
Above and beyond cutting costs and fortifying a hospital financial margins, reducing variations in care brings with it an inherent opportunity to improve performance, especially under value-based models, but that requires "reigning in variation at scale and successfully embedding standards in clinical workflows," said Advisory Board National Consulting Partner John Johnston.
One health system has found that reducing unwarranted variation in hip and knee replacements alone could save patients more than 1,000 bed days across the system every year, the Advisory Board said.
Twitter: @BethJSanborn
Email the writer: beth.sanborn@himssmedia.com