Increasing Operating Profit Margin at an Academic Health Center through Community Expansion

PROJECT SUMMARY

In 2018, Apex Health System (AHS) established a Women’s Health Department (WHD) to oversee its Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) community division and its newly established Academic Health Center (AHC). The AHC, designed in part to cater to high-risk mothers and babies, includes a labor and delivery unit staffed by maternal-fetal medicine specialists, a comprehensive Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, and a state-of-the-art surgical center. However, the AHC, despite the high quality of care available, has not seen the volume of high-risk deliveries projected to boost returns on investment in the AHC.

AHS has tasked the WHD leadership team to produce a business plan to increase the number of women who choose AHS for their maternal-fetal care. An increased number of women choosing AHS for their maternal-fetal care will, in turn, increase the volume of high-risk deliveries at the AHC and ultimately increase the WHD’s operating profit margin.

The WHD leadership team has outlined several core strategies, including plans to meet patients in their communities by expanding access and services. The WHD plans to improve care coordination using nurse navigation and OB outreach and expand digital consumer-focused platforms to improve pregnancy outcomes, education, continuity of care, and patient experience.

The time frame for this business plan is three years. Successful execution of this plan should increase high-risk deliveries at the AHC by 35% or more, grow the AHS statewide market share for OB care by 40% or more, and increase WHD’s operating profit margin by 46% or more.