At its simplest definition, gainsharing is a business strategy designed to increase an organization’s profitability by motivating employees to improve their performance in return for a financial share in the gain.
In the healthcare environment, gainsharing is an umbrella term used to describe all alignment or value enhancement models such as shared savings, a program that is designed to drive in quality for patients, while driving out unnecessary cost. It allows hospitals and physicians to collaborate and share these cost savings for providing quality and efficiency improvements.
Gainsharing has struggled to gain the foothold it arguably deserves largely because years ago the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) felt it violated stark and anti-kickback laws. However, the healthcare economy has changed considerably since those times, and gainsharing programs have shown their value. As part of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 and other legislation, the OIG has been granting waivers and putting safeguards in place to prevent fraud, while observing the productivity of these surgeon hospital relationships to drive in quality for patients and drive out unnecessary cost for the healthcare system. As a result, today even the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services have gotten in on the program in an effort to help identify what types of gainsharing models work best for all the constituents involved, including the tax payer.
Hospitals that introduce gainsharing programs can see numerous benefits. By bringing payers, providers and hospital decision-makers together for the purposes of selecting the most effective implants, therapies, practices and modalities for patients, it also introduces the means for measuring and quantifying the outcomes of those practices. Working collaboratively also leads to sharing knowledge, ideas and cost-effective technologies, which ultimately should lead to cost savings and better patient outcomes. In the end, the hospital reduces supply chain costs, while surgeons can benefit by sharing part of the overall savings. Most importantly, patients are the real winners who receive the quality care they deserve for a lower cost.
Implant PartnersTM offers so much more than just quality medical devices. We also partner with hospitals and surgeons to bring orthopedic implant solutions that make it easier to align clinical and business goals—and thrive in the new healthcare economy. We can help you select and implement the right gainsharing program, and transition to a leaner, more intelligent way of doing business.
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