Organizational Alignment For Value-Based Care At University Clinical Health

Through the development of a program which increased transparency, Huron was able to help University Clinical Health (UCH) achieve a 5–7% increase in medical group revenues in the first year.

UCH sought to align provider compensation with organizational goals through a compensation plan that emphasizes value-based care. UCH needed a financially sustainable plan that rewards physicians for meeting and exceeding clinical and non-clinical goals, while balancing academic and administrative responsibilities.

Huron guided UCH leadership and physicians through the design of a transparent and organizationally aligned compensation plan. The plan provides for equitable physician incentives, while maintaining financial sustainability of the medical group. Compensation was structured to ensure flexibility and continuation of high-quality services that meet community needs at affiliated health systems.

Key project components included the formation of a physician- and administration-led steering committee, facilitation of discussions around guiding principles and a compensation tool empowering UCH to calculate compensation throughout the plan year. A detailed compensation plan document provided a foundation and governing resource for existing and new physicians.

Transparency between providers and administrators.By building a trusting relationship with physician leadership and department chairs, Huron helped UCH achieve buy-in and bridge the gap between providers and administrators. A series of working sessions determined which structures would meet the needs of specific specialties and subspecialties.

Simplified decision-making tools. Huron developed a tool that factors in key variables to help department chairs and operations directors model critical decisions. Key to the model’s success was its functionality and manageability. Huron worked to avoid overcomplicating the model with unreliable or inconsistent variables.

Efficiency of implementation. Huron designed and executed an implementation plan that included a milestone-based project plan and adjustments to the decision-making tool. Thorough testing of the model ensured consistency with UCH and UTHSC guiding principles. A confidential online provider survey tool was created to gather feedback from UCH providers.

Accountability scorecards. To support accountability and measure sustained high performance, Huron implemented a monthly scorecard that provides real-time individual and department performance metrics to physicians.

As the only independent and physician-led faculty practice plan of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, University Clinical Health (UCH) offers best-in-class clinical care through a network of more than 160 providers across 19 specialties to meet the healthcare needs of the Mid-South community.