Lisa Shannon, President & CEO, Allina Health
By keeping strong ties with the community, Allina Health continues to prioritize preventive care and early disease detection practices. Leveraging virtual care and managing cost is key in meeting the various needs of the Twin Cities community, said Lisa Shannon, president and CEO of Allina Health in an interview with Invest:.
What is the current state of the Twin Cities healthcare sector?
There is a shared commitment to serve our community as well as shared commitment for collaboration amongst the varied healthcare systems. My perspective is that our community needs a solid healthcare network to flourish. While our region is growing, we are also an aging community. There is a disease burden that accompanies age. As part of this, we focus on the areas where our community members need us most. I believe my colleagues are like minded and that we are charitable assets within the communities we serve. We want employers to see that they have access to the best care for their workforce and we want all who seek care in our community to understand the benefit of having accessible, high-quality care in our region.
What are the top segments driving growth for Allina Health?
It has stayed consistent. Diseases such as heart conditions, cancer, as well as neuroscience conditions, are the areas where we tend to have more economic sustainability. These cover the losses of other services. Additionally, as our community ages, Medicare becomes a more significant part of the payment system. We have had to stay innovative when considering how to best serve the growing need of cancer care, heart diseases, strokes and neuroscience for example, in a cost-effective way. We do this by listening and understanding the varying health needs so we can help our community stay healthy and prevent disease, as well as working to detect disease early by bringing new medical technologies closer to home. Early disease detection is key. The earlier a disease is identified, it can increase treatment options and affordability.
What is the current state of healthcare costs in the industry?
Prevention, accessibility, treatment and quality outcomes are inextricably linked to cost. When quality is improved, costs can be reduced. The Midwest broadly, and Minnesota secondarily, is facing more economic challenges than other regions. Comparably, other regions are experiencing a higher growth in employer sponsored healthcare plans and a slower growth in government reimbursement programs, all of which lends itself to a better economic program. However, Minnesota sits in a higher wage bracket than other parts of the country on a per capita basis. As such, our strategy is on how to best partner with payors and patients to reduce disease burden. Much of this work falls within the work we do with social determinants of health. We know, for example, that food insecurity is a major determinant in disease burden. We have an obligation as a healthcare system to understand the disparity of our patients, whether that is food, shelter, or transportation, and it has been a major focus for Allina Health for years. When the most important, vital sign to predict longevity and health conditions is a person’s zip code, we have work to do as an industry sector, and that’s not just in Minnesota, but across the whole country.
In what ways have patient expectations shifted?
Generally, we all expect an easier, accessible and digital experience across every sector of our lives. Providing a quality consumer experience now consists of how to best meet patients where they are and also bringing services into the home. Offerings such as virtual care and 24/7 consultations are a reality. We see our patients take advantage and interact more digitally with their care team. Allina Health’s vision is to become our community’s most trusted health ally. That trust is built over many different types of interactions over time.
How could healthcare workforce-development shift to best meet the needs of the industry?
There will not be sufficient workforce for the future if we don’t redesign the work. Just as consumers expect more digital interface with healthcare systems to make getting care easier, faster and simpler, our workforce will require the same. As we consider bringing digital technologies into our work environment to assist our care teams, we are committed to making sure they are clinically viable. We work closely with our clinicians to better guide us in determining the digital innovations that can make the existing work easier, to free up their time to spend more of their time caring for patients. We are changing the way work is done, for example, virtual care has enabled us to reach members of our care team who may not want to work full time but can leverage their experience in a virtual care model to continue to support our patients. We are also focused on creating pipelines for the future. By being present in our community, reaching them in schools, for example, we can inspire individuals and provide them exposure so they may consider a career in healthcare. We want to help people see what is possible. We have education partnerships with schools, residencies, fellowships, scholarships and internships as part of this work. There is much that needs to be done but it all starts with the right culture, one that focuses on the wellbeing of our care team.
What regulatory changes are you watching closely?
There is noise of change and then there is change. We are going to patiently pace and prepare. We all believe that the cost of care should be reduced, and inefficiencies should be removed. How we achieved those things is part of many conversations currently. I spend a lot of time with our public policy teams both at the state and the federal levels and know that there is a desire for change. My hope is that we see improvements in how we get approval for certain procedures. The insurance and regulatory processes that sometimes put the patient in the middle can be a source of frustration at times. I believe the business model of healthcare needs change and we are constantly participating in those conversations. It is an obligation for healthcare leaders to show up and engage in the process that regulates us.
