By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    What Are the Benefits of CBD?
    November 27, 2021
    How to Measure Adult Diapers- The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Right Size
    March 8, 2022
    medicine cabinet
    The Effect Of Finished Dosage Form Manufacturing In New Drugs
    July 5, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    turo lawyer
    Why A Good Turo Lawyer Can Help Cover Medical Fees
    April 8, 2024
    Comprehensive Healthcare Treatment for Slip and Fall Injuries: A Guide to Recovery
    Comprehensive Healthcare Treatment for Slip and Fall Injuries: A Guide to Recovery
    December 26, 2023
    Medical Negligence
    The Impact of Medical Negligence: How Claims Can Help You Move Forward
    January 6, 2025
    Latest News
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Initiating a Bundled Payment Project
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Hospital Administration > Initiating a Bundled Payment Project
BusinessHospital Administration

Initiating a Bundled Payment Project

wellbeme
wellbeme
Share
5 Min Read
bundled payment for medical treatment
SHARE

bundled payment for medical treatment“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Laozi, Founder of Taosim

A bundled payment project has great potential to bring positive change to a provider organization. But like all change, it will cause disruption as this new model is designed and implemented. And like all such projects, planning from the outset goes a long way to ensure success.

bundled payment for medical treatment“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Laozi, Founder of Taosim

A bundled payment project has great potential to bring positive change to a provider organization. But like all change, it will cause disruption as this new model is designed and implemented. And like all such projects, planning from the outset goes a long way to ensure success.

More Read

Image
Are Physician Extenders Up to the Task?
5 Laws of Innovation and Adoption for Telehealth / mHealth
What Social Media Site Is Your Doctor Networking on?
High Quality, Low Cost HealthCare Video Interview Series: Gary Rost Talks Value-Based Purchasing
BIG-BIG-BIG: Company, Heart and Checkbook

Like all projects, someone needs to champion the effort. This is the person who will evangelize within the organization to get the budget, resources, and mindshare that will ensure project success. This person is often from finance or may be a clinician.

The project team needs to be broad since bundle design touches most areas of the organization. You’ll need to include everyone from finance to IT to compliance. An important lesson learned from other bundled payment initiatives is that clinical involvement is key from the start. This means including physicians, nurses, and other clinicians in significant roles where they can contribute to and drive the project. Bundled payment programs by definition will change care pathways so clinical “buy-in” is essential for success. Gaining clinical “buy-in” at an early stage attacks challenges on two fronts: First, financial – because unlike the traditional fee-for-service payment model, bundled payments do not engender the same billing potentials; and second, clinical – because the standardization of procedures and treatments need to be adopted by everyone to allow the bundled payment system to work. You will also find that your clinical staff has important insights in helping to drive efficiencies and cost savings.

Of course, you won’t know if you’re successful at the end unless you define success from the start. This means creating your success metrics from the beginning. Metrics in areas such as financial, clinical, and customer satisfaction will help you monitor how your program is working and where you can (continually) improve. For example, you may define readmission rates of <2% as a target.

Before establishing performance metrics, you’ll need to understand where things are today. This means you’ll need to establish baselines for all of your key performance metrics. You may already have some of these such as your readmission rate. But if you’re planning a total joint replacement program, can you identify your current readmission rate for those cases only? Perhaps you’d like to begin a customer satisfaction survey for your new program. In that case, you wouldn’t have a current baseline metric so you’d have to establish your own target (be reasonable). Your IT department will provide resources you’ll need for this and there are numerous software packages available to help support your effort.

Finally, bundled payment programs don’t work if you can’t understand your costs and keep them under control. For many healthcare organizations, this challenge is new. The area of cost control is probably the single most challenging part of bundled payment programs. Your finance team will be able to help but brining in outside consulting is common and you shouldn’t shy away from this. Strong consideration should be given to implementing formal cost management systems and processes (including new software).

The hardest part of getting started is… getting started. Bundled payment programs are great opportunities and the first ones in have a tremendous advantage over the competition. Join me for an upcoming free webinar on “A Practical Guide To Implementing Bundled Payment Programs” on July 15th. Click here to register.

by Sheldon Hamburger

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

9 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Add Years to Your Life
9 Healthcare Lifestyle Tweaks That can Add Years to Your Life
lifestyle
July 11, 2025
car accident lawsuit
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
Policy & Law
July 6, 2025
women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025

You Might also Like

Telehealth, Remote Monitoring and Mobile Health

December 23, 2011
rating quality of healthcare service
Business

Quality of Service in Healthcare: Have You Assessed Yours?

June 13, 2014

The Disconnect Between Hospital Marketing and What Patients Need

March 6, 2012
transparent payment systems for patient engagement
BusinessFinanceHealth ReformHospital AdministrationMedical DevicesMedical RecordsMobile HealthPolicy & LawPublic HealthTechnologyWellness

Can I Have My Receipt? Transparent Payment Systems Ignite Patient Engagement

November 10, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?