At the heart of integration: aligning physicians and administrators to create new value

Because of its ability to create real incremental value for patients and providers, physician-hospital integration will continue to play a major role in transforming the way healthcare is delivered. Integration is more than a transaction, and without developing the right culture, new integrated organizations will struggle to transform their current model of care. Confronted with regulatory and specialty-specific environmental forces, cardiovascular physicians have integrated with health systems at a higher rate than other specialties have. In 2007, Piedmont Healthcare launched Piedmont Heart as the first integrated cardiovascular care delivery program affiliated with a community healthcare system in greater Atlanta. Piedmont Healthcare had successfully brought together hospitals and cardiovascular physicians in an organizational structure that allowed for the right culture, resulting in true integration and patient-centered care. Today, Piedmont Heart is one of the largest physician groups in the United States focused on delivering high-quality outcomes, aligning multidisciplinary cardiovascular initiatives, and allowing for smart, strategic growth. It has taken Piedmont Heart nearly five years to create new, incremental value from its center-of-excellence organizational structure, clinical pathways development, and Patient First program. Piedmont Heart had the advantage of starting earlier than many other physician-hospital integrated structures. As US healthcare moves from an industry driven by volume to one focused on value, it is organizations like Piedmont Heart that continue to drive smart integration forward and focus on innovation, despite potential disruption, that will be successful.