Bothwell Regional Health Center has joined 23 other independent Missouri hospitals to form the Show-Me High Value Network, a statewide collaboration designed to strengthen participating hospitals individually while improving health care quality, affordability and value in the communities they serve. Bothwell CEO Lori Wightman was elected treasurer of the network's nine-member governing board.
“Scale matters when you're negotiating with vendors and insurers. That's the reality of health care today,” said Wightman. “The Show-Me High Value Network is our way to move up the health care food chain without giving up what makes us independent.”
The cornerstone of the network is a clinically integrated network, or CIN, designed to expand the value of care. The network provides a framework for hospitals and providers to collaborate on quality improvement, care coordination, data sharing and value-based care to the benefit of more than 1.8 million Missourians served by hospitals in the network.
Bothwell will engage with network members on committees focused on the quality and value of care. Through this work, participants will benefit from systems that enhance quality and care coordination while reducing administrative burdens for providers. The committees also will develop a common set of quality measures and lead implementation of a clinical data-sharing platform to support the members’ work with insurers on value-based care arrangements and best practices.
Additionally, the network will establish a committee of operational leaders to share best practices, discuss opportunities and challenges and identify strategies to improve efficiency across member organizations.
“This gives us real, practical tools including shared data, shared purchasing power and a seat at the table on value-based contracts with insurers,” Wightman said. “Those are hard for one hospital our size to build alone, and being a part of this network gives us the support we need.”
While participants will collaborate through the Show-Me High Value Network, each hospital remains independent and locally governed. The network is designed to provide the advantages of scale and shared resources without requiring hospitals to give up local decision-making. Additional services will be optional for participants and available where engagement best fits their local needs.
“Being part of this network doesn’t change who makes the decisions for Bothwell,” Wightman said. “Our board and our leaders care about this community, and it’s our goal to keep decisions local for the betterment of the people who need our services. This network provides horsepower that we cannot create on our own.”
Release courtesy of Bothwell Regional Health Center.
