1 of our 5 Strategic Directions: Aggregator Models

Health care in the U.S. is famously fragmented. We’ve heard many times in the health care debate that this problem needs to be fixed so we can ensure that the health care system works to serve patients and not providers. In fact, these breakdowns are well-illustrated by the following video, “If air travel worked like health care,” which we’re showing in one of our breakout sessions.



It’s obvious to all involved that we have silos in health care, and need to find a way to work together to provide a continuum of care that works for everyone. This is what makes aggregators such an important part of the future direction of CHRISTUS.

Being an aggregator does not mean owning all parts of the continuum of care, but partnering and pulling in services from other providers. Websites like Expedia and Travelocity are good examples—they don’t operate airlines, but instead offer a central place where flights from many different airlines can be compared and purchased. In the same way, serving as an aggregator would mean that we would develop partnership models that allow us to generate new revenue, lower cost, improve customer service, etc.

Customer service still remains important in an aggregator model, so Service Quality, one of our directions on our Journey to Excellence, receives continued focus. An aggregator is not a shortcut to the customer—you still have to prove yourself in customer satisfaction every day. If we don’t have the tools in place to measure and track customer satisfaction to ensure high quality service, then providing this model has done nothing more than find a costlier way to provide care.