Gary Whittington, a speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CFO Summit Fall 2013, offers eight ideas for reaping the benefits of the bundled payment model. Interview with: Gary Whittington, Chief Financial Officer Region Services, Baptist Health System

1. Some healthcare organizations in the US are participating in pilot programs and moving to a bundled payment business model, to
increase savings and provide better patient care, while eliminating waste and inefficiencies. “The current payment system
between hospitals and physicians does not lend itself well to economics. In ten years we expect all hospitals to have switched to
bundled payment,” predicts Gary Whittington, Chief Financial Officer Region Services, Baptist Health System. “We saw bundled
payment as a way to differentiate ourselves in the market, so we started working on it four years ago and have been running it for
three years now. We have found that when we are all working towards the same goal, we can achieve better results,” he adds.
A speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CFO Summit Fall 2013, in Los Angeles, California, October 20-22,
Whittington puts forward his recommendations for how healthcare Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) can make bundled payment
work.
Find your physician champions. Know who they are and who will support you moving forward. They have to be willing to work
on your behalf, but also be someone who the rest of the medical staff approve, look up to and listen to. Do not think you can do it
without your physicians.
Build a strong core team. Involve the key leaders from each area of the organization that bundled payment will impact, as they
will need to know the process inside and out. A lot of building needs to get done early on, and continued engagement and upkeep.
Share information with your physicians and all those involved. Trying to keep secrets, such as your costs, will not work. Be
open and transparent.
Do not underestimate your vendors. They will be a big influence. When we first started, we underestimated their impact, but
many vendors may have better relationships with your physicians than you do.
Determine costs and how they will be reported. Not all hospitals and health systems have good cost accounting systems, as it
is difficult to get true actual cost of certain episodes, but it is very important in bundled payment. Everyone has to be on board
with the way the hospital determines and reports costs.
Be aware that any time a fee schedule changes, the bundled payment changes too. It is not easy for the intermediaries to
get calculated quickly and on time, because they are not used to calculating all pieces at the same time, so stay on top of
intermediaries.
Know the physicians. CFOs are not usually out there mingling with the physicians, but they will have questions about the new
system. Step outside your comfort zone to become a true leader. You can accomplish more if you have developed a good
relationship of trust with physicians.
Make everyone in the organization aware of bundled payment and what it actually is. It is amazing how many people it
touches every day. Do not underestimate the breadth of knowledge and time it will take to educate everyone.
8 Steps to Making the Bundled Payment Model
Work to Your Advantage
Gary Whittington, a speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare
CFO Summit Fall 2013, offers eight ideas for reaping the benefits of the
bundled payment model.
Interview with: Gary Whittington, Chief Financial Officer Region
Services, Baptist Health System

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