Inpatient care

The introduction of DRGs has dramatically changed inpatient care in Germany. The need to become more efficient will increase. This means that insurance providers will have to take a bigger role in managing customer demand, ensuring high quality standards and offering competitive rates. At the same time, revenue potential will rise due to strong growth in the demand for privately financed health services. All service providers can profit from this trend.

Optimizing delivery of services and realizing growth potential

Typical approaches for hospitals include:

• Testing options for legal structure and funding – incl. mergers, (partial) privatization, PPP, etc.
• Optimizing service delivery by systematically reviewing all business units, such as:
  - Building up medical service centers in the core area
  - Optimizing medical service providers (laboratories, etc.)
  - Improving administrative efficiency and effectiveness
  - Increasing efficiency or outsourcing service areas (also through PPP)
• Creating capable management and organizational structures
• Tapping growth potential

Roland Berger has broad experience advising hospitals at all care levels. Our projects have focused on leveraging cost reduction and revenue improvement potential. We assist our clients in optimizing the entire value chain. We support them as they merge into competitive entities and tap additional growth areas. It is important to strengthen our clients' networks, their commitment to service and ability to innovate. Our expertise and references in the hospital market mean we can access a network of all players in the healthcare industry.

Optimizing a hospital's entire value chain

One of Europe's largest university clinics had to take immediate action to get a handle on its financial and operating problems. Together we developed a plan for the medium term, first quantifying the actual need for performance improvement. We systematically identified areas to optimize and take appropriate action. The project is still in progress and we continue to support it. By 2010, the 300th anniversary of our client, this reorganization project will be successfully completed.

Integrating two hospitals

After the negotiations for acquiring a hospital ended successfully, we were commissioned to develop an integration strategy. In the first project phase, we investigated integration synergies and potential. We analyzed best practices to come up with a suitable integration plan. Finally, we instituted a system for monitoring implementation of all feasible integration actions. This system will continue to monitor the integration process.