Why WHVN

Problems Facing Rural Healthcare

Many challenges faced by rural hospitals stem from, or are exacerbated by, their smaller size. They often lack scale in areas such as recruitment, patient volume, and purchasing power. Wisconsin High Value Network empowers rural, independent hospitals to achieve the benefits of scale while maintaining their independence. Here are common challenges and how Wisconsin’s collaborative high-value network solutions address or resolve them.

Rural Hospital Challenges

Loss of operational control through health system affiliations
Limited regulatory and payment policy voice and influence
Inadequate training and support for leaders and managers
Difficult providing isolated physicians with peer-to-peer support
Relationships with large health systems based on outdated “hub and spoke” model
Underdeveloped clinical and financial data systems
Payer-designed, value-based programs that are not practical in the rural setting
Lack of purchasing power and inefficient resource utilization
Too few covered lives impedes positive, value-based performance
Patient and service volumes lack critical mass for value-based contracting

Wisconsin High Value Network Solutions

Maintaining control through interdependence with peers
Serving as the preeminent and authoritative voice for rural healthcare
Sharing learning among leaders and managers through roundtables/competency committees
Supporting physicians with clinical integration committees composed of their peers
Supporting valued partnerships based on mutual opportunity and accountability
Implementing a population health platform for real-time sharing of cost and quality data
Creating health plan products designed to recognize and reward rural strengths
Sharing WHVN services builds group purchasing strength and efficient resource utilization
Aggregating WHVN-covered lives provides necessary scale for managing value-based risk
Combining patients through a clinically integrated network allows single-signature contracting