By BETSY TAYLOR
SSM Health Care leaders say a deal with Madison, Wis.-based Dean Health Systems continues SSM's transformation from a hospital-based system to an integrated care delivery system, with improved networks to serve patients.
The purchase, which the organizations finalized Sept. 1, established the for-profit Dean Health Systems, which includes a multispecialty physician group and health plan in Wisconsin, as a for-profit SSM subsidiary. "It much better positions us to evolve to where we think health care needs to evolve," said SSM's President and Chief Executive William P. Thompson, adding the move will help SSM better meet the needs of the populations it serves as it works to coordinate care and lower costs. System leadership said Dean has shown its success in coordinating care through patient-centered medical homes, in analyzing population health, and in using that to better understand how to meet its patients' health care needs.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Dr. Gaurov Dayal, SSM's president for health care delivery, finance and integration, said the merger with Dean gives SSM "all three legs of the three-legged stool of health care delivery": an insurer, hospitals and a physician's group in Wisconsin. SSM operates in three other Midwestern states; its experience with integrated health care delivery and finance in Wisconsin may influence its business models in Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma, according to Dayal.
Dayal said, "We definitely see the future in being able to provide value, and by value I mean the highest outcomes at the lowest cost possible. To make that happen, you need core capabilities, and the core capabilities that are required to run a health care system in a fee-for-service model are very different than in a population health model, so we view this as a strategic investment so we better understand how to manage populations, how to improve outcomes and how to manage costs for those populations."
As an example, he said, "If you run hospitals, sure, you can be responsible for everything that happens within the confines of your four walls, but as soon as a patient walks out the door you don't know where they followed up, did they see the right doctor, did their electronic health record follow them?" He said being able to oversee different aspects of the care system allows for better care coordination, which should lead to better outcomes and reduced costs.
Dayal said SSM's integrated care networks are not the same in all of its markets. "In St. Louis, we don't have a health plan; there are no immediate plans to have a health plan." He added, "I would say it's not a 'one-size-fits-all, or a one-strategy-fits-all,' but the common theme is to get better at lowering costs and improving quality."
SSM said in a statement that there are numerous possibilities for expanding Dean Health Plan. In the immediate future, the system intends to capitalize on Dean Health Plan's expertise "in managing SSM's employee health plans and pursue growth opportunities in Wisconsin."
Thompson said SSM also has shown a commitment to enhancing the role of physician leaders as it builds integrated care networks. The system recently restructured to have three operating divisions with three presidents: Chris Howard is the president of hospital operations; Dayal is the president of health care delivery, finance and integration; and Dr. Shane Peng is the interim president of physician organization. "Our commitment is to have physicians in the latter two of those roles," Dayal said, adding that SSM is also hiring or has in place physician presidents for physician organizations in its major markets, St. Louis, Wisconsin and Oklahoma.
Allison Mooney, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Dean, is Dean's acting president. She succeeds Dr. Craig Samitt, who left Dean to become executive vice president of HealthCare Partners in Torrance, Calif., last month.
Under the merger, Dean will remain a secular, for-profit organization providing care in a manner consistent with SSM's mission and values, said Michael Panicola, SSM's senior vice president of mission and organizational ethics.
In Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Illinois and Missouri, SSM has 18 hospitals, 150 outpatient sites, a pharmacy benefit company, an insurance plan, two nursing homes, home care, hospice, a technology company and an accountable care organization. Together with Dean, it has about 30,000 employees with more than 1,300 employed physicians.