Verity Healthcare

The final 5 years at San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare have been outlined by main infrastructure and expertise investments, together with its systemwide 2024 launch of an Epic EHR system, President and CEO Chris Howard informed Becker’s.

Over the subsequent 5 years, Sharp will deal with leveraging these instruments to drive development in ambulatory care, increase hospital capability and strengthen the Sharp Well being Plan, he mentioned.

A key a part of Sharp’s technique entails transitioning high-cost, hospital-based outpatient surgical providers to lower-cost, freestanding surgical procedure facilities. 

“The explanation we’re doing that’s as a result of Sharp is a closely capitated, inhabitants health-oriented system,” Mr. Howard mentioned. “It behooves us to deal with lowering the price of care since we’re accountable for a good portion of that price. We additionally personal and function Sharp Well being Plan, in order an insurer of care, we most definitely need to cut back the price of care and guarantee it’s delivered in the very best surroundings for these we serve.”

The method differs from many techniques working in predominantly fee-for-service markets, the place the purpose is usually so as to add hospital beds, carry out extra procedures and develop affected person volumes, he mentioned.

“At Sharp, it is completely different,” Mr. Howard mentioned. “We have to be sure that our hospitals are sized sufficiently to take care of the sufferers we serve, and in Sharp’s case, which means increasing a few of our hospital beds, as a result of we’re at the moment over 90% occupied in all of our Sharp hospitals on any given day. However we’ll additionally deal with transferring care to more cost effective settings and increasing major and specialty care as wanted to serve a rising San Diego inhabitants.”

In 2025, Sharp can be targeted on figuring out new income sources to offset rising prices, together with California’s new $25-per-hour minimal wage and the state’s 2030 seismic compliance necessities for hospital amenities — the latter of which would require greater than $1 billion in bills, he mentioned.

Past monetary planning, Sharp is strengthening its latest expertise investments, significantly round Epic EHR optimization. The system made greater than 30,000 selections throughout the EHR implementation course of, and a brand new governance council is overseeing ongoing enhancements.

“We’re working our approach by all of these selections not solely to make sure correct governance but additionally efficient decision-making for the changes we’re making with the unique set up,” Mr. Howard mentioned, “in addition to among the new developments that Epic is providing, particularly those who contain synthetic intelligence.”

Regardless of industrywide hurdles, Mr. Howard is optimistic about healthcare’s future.

“Our nation’s healthcare trade most definitely has its challenges, each on the federal and state ranges, however I really feel we’re on the cusp of main developments in healthcare,” he mentioned. “My perception is that as we transfer ahead, we’ll transfer extra deeply into value-based care and inhabitants well being administration, in order that we as an trade can really cut back the price of care, higher handle the well being of these we serve, and enhance the buyer expertise whereas advancing supplier and worker engagement.”