Hospitalogy

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2 million longitudinal patient journeys! This week, I wrote about Care Continuity and how their team is leveraging AI and smart analytics to drive outsized ROI. After operating for 10+ in the space, Care Continuity has developed a sophisticated model for navigating patients, and can do so much more efficiently for their 100+ customers - health systems, ACOs, and health plans. Simply put, I had no idea how much of an impact smart patient navigation could have on a health system’s success. Care Continuity solve some serious provider network headaches, which results in operating success for clients including: • Reduced length of stay and easier care transitions; • Reduced readmissions; • Increased patient retention with network-aligned providers (less leakage); • Higher quality care and less frustration from providers; • More satisfied patients; and • Better utilization management I really enjoyed learning about Care Continuity’s model and how they really care about driving better care outcomes and results. Plus they're Dallas-based!! Read my full breakdown here and get in touch with their team today: https://lnkd.in/gfk5zunQ

An $800B TAM! No, it's not a health tech startup. It's a hospital - duh. I'm in the midst of a deep dive on Ardent Health in Hospitalogy and figured I'd share some highlights & takeaways with you guys on good 'ole LinkedIn. If you want to get Part 3 this Thursday, where I dive into how Ardent stacks up to its publicly traded hospital peers, you can subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gniNmHvz So here's what you need to know about Ardent Health, the recently gone-public hospital operator: Geographic / Operating Footprint: • 30 acute care hospitals. As of the end of Q1 2024: • Texas: 14 (Tyler, Amarillo, Killeen) - 36.4% of total Ardent revenue. 1,472 licensed beds (Ardent also manages one hospital owned by the UT Health Science Center of Tyler - UTHSCT) • Oklahoma: 8 (Tulsa, Oklahoma) - 24.2% of total Ardent revenue. 1,173 licensed beds • New Mexico: 5 (Albuquerque, Roswell) - 15.5% of total Ardent revenue. 619 licensed beds • New Jersey: 2 (Montclair, Westwood) - 10.3% of total revenue. 476 licensed beds 200 ambulatory sites of care: • 146 primary care and specialty care clinics • 3 ASCs • 22 urgent care centers • 2 freestanding EDs • 10 diagnostic imaging centers 1,700 affiliated providers as of March 31, 2024 (Ardent says they're all employed in note 3 below) • 380 PCPs • 1,340 specialists Market Strategy: It's all about the JVs. • Ardent focuses on a JV model and called it out as a differentiator, saying pursuing joint ventures allows it to scale more efficiently and effectively while establishing new access points within its desired markets. • The hospital operator focuses on sub-2 million population MSAs. Operating strengths: • Scale / density in mid-sized markets • number 1 or 2 in market share in all markets • centralized Epic instance across all facilities (easier tech implementation / integration) • flexible business model based on JVs with key regional players (academic health systems etc • markets have stable job growth & growing populations • general focus on health system transformation, has made a number of moves to mitigate labor concerns Financials: • $5.5B in revenue generated thru 12 months ended Q1 2024 • $179M Operating income (3.2%) • $341M adjusted EBITDA (6.2%) • Margin has been squeezed by inflation, labor since 2021 Risks / Weaknesses: • Lots of related parties and JVs can create noise, governance, strategy conflict • Reliance on state supplemental payments, which can be volatile. Any material change could crush profitability • Believability / achievability of growth strategy - e.g., pursuing M&A to enter new markets What else should I know about Ardent Health?

As healthcare becomes more accessible and on-demand, we still crave that personalized care we remember getting from our family doctor decades ago. But with the increased burden on physicians, especially as we shift to value-based care, it's not always possible. Navina is on a mission to bring back that personalized healthcare experience by transforming the way doctors interact with patient data. I think it's pretty awesome how their AI is doing the heavy lifting of sifting through mountains of data and delivering clinical insights at the point of care. That way, physicians can excel in value-based care environments while focusing on what really matters—caring for patients. I’m a big fan. Check them out below and see how they’ve managed to earn the trust of thousands of physicians around the country!

What would you get if you combined Theranos with Cerebral? You’d get Ruthia He, her ADHD telehealth pill mill Done., a Chinese-run team sharing patient data via WeChat, patient exploitation…and a culture of deceit. I’ve unexpectedly found myself in conversations with multiple sources close to Done, and I have the full inside story of what went wrong (spoiler: a lot) and the latest ongoing developments internally. So with that backdrop, today, we’re diving into how one founder exploited well-meaning people, created a culture of gaslighting and deceit, and built one of the worst-acting pill mill enterprises to date. Done is a terrible example of exploiting patients, providers, and even internal employees - for pure profit. If there’s anything you take away from this article, it’s the following: • Done is a pill mill • Ruthia was in control of everything, siloed teams from one another, and created a culture of deceit. • She used the company - and therefore patients - as a vehicle for personal wealth creation • As a corporate entity, Done forced providers’ hands on countless clinical decisions • Done’s Chinese team blatantly violated HIPAA by sharing patient health information via WeChat and manually reviewing claims data • Done conducted a number of other illegal healthcare activities knowingly, and pushed out anyone who sounded the alarm on harmful patient decisions Here’s the full story. https://lnkd.in/g5JC6yqb

How’d the largest for-profit and nonprofit health systems do in Q1? Most large nonprofit health systems have ‘reported’ their Q1 financial and operating updates for bondholders, investors, and stakeholders, so I thought it’d be worthwhile to do a comparative analysis. Let’s take a peek at their operating margin (AKA, total operating revenues minus total operating expenses). The main takeaway below is simple: most large health systems performed better in Q1 2024 when compared to the first quarter of 2023. And if you’ve followed my Hospitalogy writings over the past year, it’s pretty easy to see why: utilization is up, the labor market has stabilized, and dense health system consolidators are staying ahead of the game. The below graphic is Hospitalogy original analysis (also one of my favorite charts in recent memory I’ve made), and it’s sorted by operating margin % profitability. • Any green bar means the system performed better in 2024. • Any red bar = worse performance than a year ago. Several players - including Tenet, Baylor, Mayo, AdventHealth, Providence, and Ascension - saw significant improvement in operating margins between the two periods. Baylor sitting at 8.7% in Q1 is particularly unreal performance. The Dallas-based nonprofit is benefiting from strong Texas markets and strong strategic decision-making within. Outside of 5 systems, the majority (75%) of large regional and academic players saw operating margin expansion in the first quarter of 2024. The remainder of 2024 sets up well for healthcare services, though the waters are muddy beyond this year given an uptick in payor-provider disputes. What sticks out to you in the below graphic? PS - for more original analysis like this subscribe to my newsletter Hospitalogy - https://lnkd.in/gniNmHvz And consider joining my community of strategists, investors, and consultants for even deeper analysis, networking, & resources: https://lnkd.in/gqbbVq_W

I've been hearing a lot about Piwik PRO Analytics Suite lately, and I'm a big fan of what it offers to healthcare marketers. This analytics behemoth provides a complete picture of your patients and visitors, helping you pinpoint and smooth out any bottlenecks with detailed reports on SEO traffic, paid campaign performance, conversion funnels, and user flows. It also integrates seamlessly with top tools like Google Ads and Search Console, along with various data visualization and BI platforms. Handling ePHI becomes a lot easier with Piwik PRO, simplifying how you work with analytics data without the need to restrict data flow or mask user IDs. If you're ready to upgrade your healthcare marketing, check out what Piwik PRO can do for you below. #ad #sponsored

We're stepping into an exciting new era in healthcare, and Medallion is leading the charge. Their latest report offers a comprehensive look at the current enrollment and credentialing landscape, highlighting the incredible potential of automation. You'll learn how leveraging automation can enhance financial outcomes and boost ROI while seamlessly integrating into your existing workflows. As we look towards 2024 and beyond, consider this report your roadmap to navigate the evolving world of healthcare with efficiency and precision. Embrace the future and uncover the best opportunities with Medallion's expert guidance. Download the report for free today and start preparing for the changes ahead in the healthcare industry! https://lnkd.in/gbENdqJU #sponsored

Last call to join my virtual event tomorrow! For anyone wanting to learn more about VBC specialty care and key themes (especially in cardiology (Karoo Health and kidney care (Strive Health) Join Ian Koons, Ben Kuhn, and me as we dive in. Audience participation and questions are very welcome! Thanks so much to WellSky for sponsoring the festivities!! Wednesday, April 17 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT Register here: https://lu.ma/3jg2qsxl

The Karoo Health team is excited for Ian Koons, our Cofounder & CEO, to join Ben Kuhn on Blake Madden's Workweek Hospitology panel, discussing the emergence of speciality value-based care! https://lu.ma/3jg2qsxl