We lost a good friend and an ardent supporter of Mary Washington Health Alliance this month. Susan Holland, M.D., resigned her position on the board as she prepares for the next stage of her career which entails moving her practice to Northern Virginia. Susan chaired our quality committee since the Alliance’s inception. She pushed her committee relentlessly to identify quality measures for MWMD in pursuit of achieving the goals of the Alliance. Dr Holland will be greatly missed, and I want to thank her for her commitment and her enthusiasm.
One of the challenges of the Alliance is how to infuse the passion of our mission in all of our members. Effective work by the board of managers and committee members will not enable our success. To be successful, we need engagement and commitment from all physicians within the MWHA. Trying to wrap our arms around Population Health is no easy accomplishment; incorporating risk based contracts at the same time makes this an even more strategic challenge. I have no doubt in time we will succeed, for we must in order to remain independent and financially viable. But imagine, just for a moment, how much sooner we could achieve our goals if all members of the Alliance actively participated
Allow me to pose two difficult situations for your consideration. Both of which are core measures for our success as an ACO. Imagine how much better our patients would be if we as an Alliance could find avenues to deliver care to patients within our offices so unnecessary emergency room visits could be avoided. Imagine further, how better off our patients would be if we as an Alliance develop systems to avoid readmissions to the hospital by implementing intensive post acute follow up programs within our offices.
To say the least, these are daunting challenges. Challenges left unattended because there was no pressing need to address them—the need now clearly exists. I want our members pushing the board with potential solutions. Nobody signed up with the Alliance to have a board of managers tell them how to practice medicine. I encourage you to get involved, help redesign how we provide healthcare, and improve the health of our community.
Do it to provide better care for your patients. Do it to enhance your professional satisfaction. Do it so the work of people like Susan Holland, M.D. will continue.