Lawrence E. McManus, CPA, Managing DirectorThe importance of budgeting for hospitals and medical facilities cannot be overstated. Every year, healthcare, staffing, and technology costs continue to skyrocket while insurance reimbursements struggle to keep up. Lower margins, patient volumes, and government aid further challenge medical facilities. The solution lies in finding areas of the budget that can be improved without compromising care provision capabilities.
Integrity Management Advisors, LLC., a healthcare finance and operations consultancy, brings a simple and effective way of enhancing fiscal impact through its cornerstone solution–the Bridge Plan. It sets a realistic target of beating the budget by three percent on any of the hospital’s revenue streams and mobilizes teams of doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to formulate revenue-generating or cost efficiency initiatives.
“The Bridge Plan mobilizes the existing talent in medical centers and hospitals to create significant value in terms of organizational change and financial improvement,” says Lawrence E. McManus, CPA, managing director of Integrity Management Advisors, LLC.
After setting a target for the Bridge Plan, every department at the client organization is allocated part of the responsibility to meet the target based on their size and ability to impact financial results. Doctors, nurses, and other key stakeholders then have a voice during monthly meetings to develop initiatives that contribute toward the target.
Integrity Management Advisors, LLC., offers two other services, the 100 day plan and Clinical Business Planning, which can be taken separately or combined with the Bridge Plan. While the Bridge Plan is a fiscal year activity to be practiced parallel to the standard business workflow daily, the 100 day plan is a shorter timeframe for organizations with immediate financial challenges.
Many of Integrity Management Advisors, LLC.’s operations are digitized and automated to maximize the efficiency of its services. This involves simplifying the tracking and maintenance of revenuegenerating initiatives, financial targets, and staff accountability, as well as presenting impact results and summary reports. It adopts a train-the-trainer philosophy, giving organizations the tools to selfsufficiently continue the Bridge Plan post-initial implementation and prolong its benefits.
Testimonials from reputed hospitals extensively demonstrate the effectiveness of its financial strategies. St. Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, was financially strapped before Mr. McManus, CFO and COO, interceded. The staff was mobilized to execute the Bridge Plan while he negotiated with payers to improve revenue. After a successful implementation and substantial financial recovery, the hospital was taken under Yale New Haven Hospital’s wing.
The Bridge Plan mobilizes the existing talent in medical centers and hospitals to create significant value in terms of organizational change and financial improvement
The Bridge Plan’s benefits stretch beyond finances, as hospitals observe significant improvement in staff morale, who feel respected by senior teams acknowledging their ideas and turning them into reality.
Another beneficiary of the Bridge Plan, Matt Flynn, senior VP and CFO of Northwestern Medicine’s west region, said, “We were quickly able to engage the entire organization in a number of projects aimed to improve the financial performance of the organization. With the known and unknown headwinds of healthcare, this process has now become part of our culture.”
At the core of the Bridge Plan is the confidence that senior management has in the talent of the hospital and medical group staff to apply their knowledge in creating departmental-specific bridge plans. Integrity Management Advisors, LLC., uses this preexisting foundation to deliver its dependable consulting services for clients requiring a long-term solution for enhancing their finances.