One on One: Elizabeth Concordia, UCHealth president

BizWest continues its One on One series of Q&A sessions with key decision-makers in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. This interview was conducted by BizWest reporter Doug Storum with Elizabeth Concordia, president of UCHealth, based in Aurora, Colo.

QUESTION: What is driving the consolidation of health systems and acquisitions of clinics and physician groups that have been taking place throughout Colorado?

ANSWER: Across the nation, physician groups, hospitals and health care systems are recognizing they can improve quality, increase efficiency and better face health care reform by working together. A well-coordinated network of inpatient and outpatient locations can improve the quality of care for patients, reducing complications and the chance that a patient might be readmitted to the hospital.

Population health and value-based reimbursements are focused on this level of care coordination, but it is very difficult for individual practices to succeed by themselves. Likewise, major investments like an electronic medical record system can cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Again, it is difficult or impossible for individual practices or small hospitals to invest and maintain an excellent medical record system on their own.

Ultimately, consolidation can improve quality, increase safety and reduce the overall cost of health care which are significant benefits for patients and communities across the nation.

QUESTION: What are the top three issues in health care that need to be reformed, and how should they be reformed?

ANSWER: First, health care institutions need to focus on improving the patient experience. This is a major initiative at UCHealth, and we are looking at every interaction we have with patients. UCHealth is creating convenient online scheduling tools, improving parking options, reducing wait times, and training our employees to provide excellent, personalized service to all patients and family members.

Second, health care needs to focus on innovation. Patients need services like our Virtual Visit that allow them to see and speak with a provider online without leaving their home or office. Doctors need new decision support tools within the electronic medical record to help them work more efficiently while providing better quality care. And innovation tools can also help hospitals optimize their operating rooms and infusion centers, allowing more patients to be cared for at a lower cost. Innovation is a key part of UCHealth’s strategic plan, and we have many more applications in the works.

Third, the entire health care industry needs to work together to reduce costs. This includes health care providers, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, the federal government and Medicaid, and even patients themselves, because we all play a role in health care cost. UCHealth is increasing our number of outpatient clinics and urgent care locations because these settings provide lower cost care than hospitals and emergency departments. We are also working closely with patients and employers to improve health because preventing illness and injuries is far less expensive than treatment. But again, we can all help control costs.

QUESTION: Why has UCHealth undertaken an aggressive expansion campaign, building new hospitals and medical clinics in Broomfield, Greeley and Longmont, when existing hospitals in those cities are not operating at full capacity?

ANSWER:  First, it is important to know that UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland is often operating near 100% occupancy, especially in our medical and surgical units. Over the past few years, the demand for UCHealth’s services and high quality care has risen significantly, with thousands of patients each year traveling to us from Longmont and Greeley. Couple these capacity challenges with the projected population growth for Weld County and areas like Longmont and Firestone, and it is easy to see that changes are needed.

UCHealth had two options: to expand Medical Center of the Rockies and force patients to drive to us, or build new facilities in Longmont and Greeley, allowing us to provide advanced care for patients close to home. Providing care close to home has been UCHealth’s strategy because it is the right thing for our patients. Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont is also providing new services for patients that, until now, haven’t been available within the community.

QUESTION: How is UCHealth paying for its new hospital construction and acquisitions of clinics and physician groups?

ANSWER:  UCHealth is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, and we receive no special funding from the Colorado general fund. As a nonprofit, UCHealth operates as efficiently as possible, and any excess revenue is reinvested into the communities we serve, our facilities and the services we use to care for patients. UCHealth also has excellent credit, giving us access to desirable bond markets when needed.

QUESTION: What is UCHealth doing to lower the cost of health care for its patients? 

ANSWER:  UCHealth is adding many outpatient locations including primary care and urgent care clinics to provide patients with options to avoid more expensive hospital and ER care. We also provide new Virtual Visit technology, allowing patients to receive care without leaving their homes. Further, many of the innovative technologies we are implementing are allowing our facilities to operate more efficiently, helping us care for more patients while lowering costs.

The most important way we are reducing costs is by improving quality and safety. UCHealth ranks among the top 6 percent nationally in keeping patients safe. Our survival rate is 26 percent higher than average hospitals, and we are better than 72 percent of all hospitals in avoiding readmissions. What do these numbers mean? Last year, UCHealth saw 1,142 fewer readmissions. Our patients had 13 percent shorter hospital stays. And most importantly, 331 additional people are alive today because of our excellent survival rates. High quality, safe care reduces the cost of health care while truly improving the lives of our patients.

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