Ambulatory Care Programs

Ambulatory care programs act as critical patient access points for academic medical centers (AMCs). These environments serve as clinical, research, and educational settings and provide solutions for an increasingly broad and complex range of medical problems.

Because of the confluence of missions and the growth of ambulatory services, many AMCs have renewed their focus on ambulatory programs. Strategic planning has concentrated on which programs to expand and where, the type of investment required, access to physician services, and the return on investment in ambulatory programs to the academic and clinical missions.

ECG brings expertise in strategic and business planning, as well as financial and operational analysis, in the context of the tripartite mission and the relationships that exist in AMCs.

ECG works with AMCs in the following areas specific to ambulatory programs:

• Provider-Based Analysis – Determining whether to structure an outpatient clinic as a provider-based or freestanding entity. ECG is considered a national expert on this topic and recently presented in several AAMC forums and published multiple articles on the subject.

• Program Planning/Strategic Growth – Planning for expansion of existing programs/sites or future satellite strategies to more effectively meet patient needs and support hospital and school of medicine (SOM) strategic goals.

• Ambulatory Funds Flow – Ensuring that funds are available and incentives aligned to promote ambulatory growth and stewardship of resources.

• Operational Improvement – Enhancing patient service by improving operational efficiencies.

• Physician Compensation – Structuring competitive physician compensation that is aligned with ambulatory care program goals.

• Joint Ventures/Joint Initiatives – Designing and implementing joint ventures that balance the needs of all participants and achieve the goals set for them.

The following are examples of our work and the clients’ results: