Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com August 21, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 25 www.HartfordBusiness.com August 21, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 25 SPONSORED CONTENT P utting patients at the center of all health care decisions is a responsibility that each caregiver at Trinity Health Of New England is committed to fulfilling. Part of this commitment requires a shift to proactive care that doesn't just treat illnesses, but also prevents disease and improves patient wellbeing. The second "P" in Trinity Health Of New England's PEOPLE-Centered 2020 Strategic Plan focuses on the health system's commitment to physicians and clinicians, and underscores their importance in providing patient-centered care. Today, physicians are being required to embrace new skills to deliver better care including increased use of technology, implementation of electronic health records, process improvement and efficiency strategies, as well as system delivery and reimbursement reform. The modern caregiver has become a blend of medical provider and chief executive officer of their practice. Trinity Health Of New England is working hand- in-hand with its physicians and clinicians to help them successfully navigate the path to healthy outcomes for patients and providers. The Hartford Business Journal asked Dr. Ellison Berns, vice chairman of the board of directors of Saint Francis HealthCare Partners, Hartford; Dr. Ellen G. Polokoff, associate chief of staff, attending surgeon, Saint Mary's Hospital, Waterbury; and Dr. Richard Shuman, president, RiverBend Medical Group Inc., and senior vice president of Springfield Provider Network Organization, Springfield, Mass.; to discuss how their roles as physicians are being transformed. Dr. Polokoff: In my practice, patients are not one-size-fits-all. Each of the 60 to 80 patients I'll see in a given week navigates their own set of choices. They all need to be informed about the risks and benefits associated with their treatment options. It's my job to convey the knowledge that will enable them to make choices for their individual goals, ensuring they understand standards of care and the skills of their health care providers. In doing so, I must be sensitive to a host of factors, including body image, health, age, and religious and cultural influences. Should surgery be necessary, by the time I'm holding the patient's hand in the operating room as she goes to sleep, she knows we are not strangers and I know what's important to her. Patient autonomy is our guide throughout the process. Dr. Shuman: The key to placing the patient at the center of all health care decisions is to provide patients with the educational tools necessary to understand their choices. Technology has allowed us to provide patients with a better understanding of their medical conditions and treatments. Utilizing this technology to better inform patients about side effects, absolute risk and medical treatments will once again put patients at the forefront of decision making. This process will be facilitated by creating a value-based system where providers are rewarded for the quality of their care and not the quantity of their work. Dr. Berns: Today, a new measure of success — the health and wellbeing of patients — is the business model that provides a meaningful result for our patients. The shift to value changes the entire business model, making the health of a patient and population of patients the end product rather than the volume of services provided. Those organizations that can generate positive and sustainable outcomes at the lowest cost will be the winners. The ultimate goal is to have what were independent physicians and hospital businesses moving over time to function as a unified, inter- dependent and aligned system with everyone doing their part to contribute to the care and best outcome of the patient by partnering and supporting one another. Dr. Polokoff: Talk — that is, real conversation that answers patients' questions and promotes patient compliance — must not be cheap. A drawback of the current system is that practitioners are not adequately rewarded for their intellectual work and communication with their patients. Instead, economic incentives favor the quantity of patient encounters and procedures performed over the quality of each provider-patient interaction. Data shows that patients who fully understand their conditions are more likely to comply with their treatment. In an age of "faster and faster," there's wisdom in crafting a remedy of intelligent incentives that will enable providers to slow down and talk to their patients. Continued > How can physicians and clinicians play a role in making sure that the patient is at the center of all health care decisions? How can physicians, clinicians and the health care system work together effectively to transform from a volume-based to a value-based system?

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