Prioritizing Service Lines

Budgets are tighter than ever and pressure is on all of us to show results. Yet complex organizations often spread their resources across multiple service lines. The result? All receive some support but none receives enough.

We believe it’s as financially irresponsible to underspend as it is to overspend. That is why we advise clients to omit programs rather than to underfund them. And yet, a collaborative process can determine how to prioritize efforts – resulting in adequate budget support for the most important programs.

We use a two-step process:

Identify key criteria: We begin by working with your leadership to identify and weigh the most important selection criteria. It might be profitability or potential volume or lifetime value.

Score each service line. Using each selection factor, every service line will be considered and scored by those same organizational leaders.

The result is a numerical summary that clearly shows which service lines warrant the greatest support. Best of all, the process involves department leaders and administrators to assure involvement and ownership throughout the organization. Your budget can then be allocated to your top priorities.

The chart below is indicative of one such effort for a large, multi-hospital system.