Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
June 17, 2017 01:00 AM

Kentucky hospital collaborative eyes challenge of population health

Dave Barkholz
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    GETTY IMAGES
    The University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, part of UK HealthCare, is one of 10 hospitals in the collaborative.

    Having orchestrated millions of dollars in savings in the supply chain, a group of 10 hospitals in Kentucky is now turning their attention to a larger challenge: managing population health.

    "This thing is going to work," said Michael Karpf, University of Kentucky executive vice president for health affairs and one of the driving forces behind the Kentucky Health Collaborative.

    Years in the making, the collaborative came about as Karpf and others saw the coming reimbursement shift from traditional fee-for-service to value-based care that puts hospitals and physicians at risk for the cost and quality of care.

    To get the member hospitals used to working together, they jointly decided to start with some group purchasing initiatives over the past year that would generate savings beyond the larger group purchasing organizations that the members belong to, including Premier, Karpf said.

    By carving out prosthetic purchases and some medical-surgical items, the hospitals have saved about $2 million so far, with another $2 million to $3 million in savings expected this year.

    The savings over time are expected to pay for the $10 million that the member hospitals have pledged to capitalize the collaborative over three years, Karpf said. But another reason for starting with purchasing was to give the collaborative's CEOs a chance to work together, he said.

    THE TAKEAWAY

    The 10-hospital Kentucky Health Collaborative used its first year of operations to build trust among CEOs and tackle a few group purchasing projects. Now, it will take on population health.

    "We wanted to see this jell," Karpf said. Other hospitals making up the collaborative include Norton Healthcare in Louisville, St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, the Medical Center in Bowling Green and Owensboro (Ky.) Health.

    The CEOs next month are expected to give some direction on how far and how fast the members want to integrate clinically through information technology ties, he said, adding that the process is still in the early stages.

    The idea would be to help facilitate earlier intervention on high-risk patients with chronic conditions. That's especially important to the state.

    Norton has been exploring initiatives involving population health, but hasn't committed to any yet.

    Kentucky Health Collaborative hospitals

    Baptist Health

    LifePoint HealthAppalachian Regional Healthcare Ephraim McDowell Health Norton Healthcare Owensboro Health St. Claire Regional Medical Center St. Elizabeth Healthcare The Medical CenterUK HealthCare

    "The goal around any of these would be to ensure that individual hospitals and the collaborative as a whole have a coordinated, integrated system to take care of patient needs in a new world of collective contracts," said Stephen A. Williams, president emeritus of Norton Healthcare.

    Kentucky, for example, has the fifth-highest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to a September study by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

    Hospitals in other states have formed collaboratives to tackle similar issues. Two years ago, Maryland formed the Advanced Health Collaborative to share best practices and explore opportunities to reduce costs by investing in care-management infrastructure.

    The collaborative was in part a response to Maryland's all-payer model, in which hospitals receive a predetermined reimbursement for care based on the size of the populations they serve.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    373837936 (1).jpg
    New guidelines aim to limit trans healthcare at Catholic hospitals
    InDepth: Private Equity
    Legal questions surround private equity-backed Noble Health
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing