IT Optimizers®: Client Case Studies: John Muir Health

John Muir Health (JMH) is a mid-stage integrated delivery system in the San Francisco Bay Area. Comprised of John Muir Medical Center (321-bed acute care facility), Mt. Diablo Medical Center (250-bed acute care facility), the Medical Pavilion (73-bed behavioral health facility), and John Muir/Mount Diablo Health Network (800 physicians), JMH was formed in 1997 as a result of a merger between the two medical centers. Since its formation, JMH has been pursuing opportunities to further integrate the health system through the consolidation of core transaction systems across all entities.

"IT Optimizers has come in with expert consultants and provided value so often that we continue to use them over and over again. We would recommend them to anyone."

—Eric Saff, Chief Information Officer, John Muir Health

IT Optimizers has served JMH over the last two years, forming a solid relationship with the health system as its information technology strategy partner. Each consulting engagement has led to another stage in our partnership, putting the overall IT strategy and vision into action. Together, IT Optimizers and JMH are guided by several information management principles:

Project	Organizational Objective	Outcome
Clinical and Financial Information System Process Redesign	Increase "System-ness" and economies of scale through development of common standard processes and core transaction systems (as cost justified). Design organizational structure for facilitating and implementing change	Progressed thought on how JMH campuses will "integrate" in the future Identified functional variance between current state and future state work flows and information system applications Provided application specific cost-benefit analysis and delineated type of benefit achieved (i.e., cash, efficiency, quality, new revenue, strategic) Supplied implementation strategy/tool set for executing and tracking near-term and future state recommendations
Economic Cost-Benefit Model Development	Construct a model upon which to evaluate return-on-investment for existing technology investments and new technology opportunities	Evaluated cost-benefit ROI processes and decision criteria in practice at other healthcare organizations Developed a mathematical formula for quantifying economic and strategic returns for JMH Applied the formula to several existing information technology investments
Information Systems Plan	Decrease costs across the organization Achieve operational efficiency Maintain or improve quality of care Increase market share Improve market image	Constructed a future-state vision for JMH information technology capabilities Developed a cost-benefit ROI model for assessment of proposed IT initiatives Drafted a roadmap for technology deployment and process redesign over a three-year period Prioritized information technology initiatives design to position JMH in line with local competition
Electronic Commerce Business Opportunity Analysis	Identify benefits to JMH business and medical services through the integration and application of electronic commerce solutions	Educated JMH executive management about industry trends and e-commerce best practices Constructed blueprints for a "virtual store" to operate in conjunction with the JMH women's center Following a review of key areas, recommended several e-commerce strategies to increase market share, customer satisfaction, and revenue while decreasing costs