Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Network topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
San Francisco Health Network lays out lean plan, moves toward EHR decision and pledges to improve low CMS rating
Summary
Network director Roland Pickens told the Health Commission the San Francisco Health Network is implementing a lean strategic plan and True North metrics, is negotiating with UCSF on an EHR (Epic/Apex) with a decision expected by December, and will target improvements after an initial 1‑star CMS rating for Zuckerberg San Francisco General.
Roland Pickens, director of the San Francisco Health Network, updated the San Francisco Health Commission on the network’s FY2016–17 priorities and its lean strategic planning work, including an emphasis on a phased electronic health record rollout and a set of "True North" performance metrics meant to guide networkwide improvements.
Pickens said the network has identified nine strategic initiatives and is using A3 charters and an x‑matrix to align those priorities. He said negotiations with UCSF over an Epic/Apex electronic health record are in discovery and that “By December, we should have a decision 1 way or the other as to actually whether or not we'll be able to actually enter into a contract with them,” after which implementation would begin.
The presentation tied the lean effort to operational goals: centralizing credentialing across Laguna Honda, behavioral health and Zuckerberg San Francisco General; expanding the payor base with an additional Medi‑Cal managed care contract; and implementing components of the Medicaid 2020 waiver. Pickens said the network has already renegotiated at least one contract and established a managed‑care infrastructure to support broader contracting work.
Commissioners pressed Pickens on how the True North metrics would relate to financial exposure and external ratings. Pickens said divisions proposed measures relevant to their service lines and leadership agreed on a set of about 56 True North measures, with a goal of reaching 70 percent of targets; he also said the network will distill and report a smaller subset of high‑value measures for regular tracking.
Pickens acknowledged the initial CMS acute care star ratings released for hospitals and told the commissioners the first report showed Zuckerberg San Francisco General with one star out of five. He called that a starting point and said improved data systems and documentation—part of the network’s improvement work—are essential to moving ratings upward: “1 star is where no one wants to be and no one wants to stay,” he said.
Pickens and commissioners agreed on next steps: present more granular targets tied to financial and Medicare performance at a future planning session (CFO Greg Wagner is expected to present contracting details in October), and continue rolling out True North dashboards to Joint Conference Committees and other venues until a networkwide reporting rhythm is established.
The commission did not take formal action on the EHR vendor selection at the meeting; Pickens said the network will return with more detailed targets and a decision timetable.
