Developing successful strategic plans for integrative healthcare practices

By John McCormack

Many integrative healthcare practices are relying on strategic planning to reach their organizational goals. With a strategic plan in place, integrative health professionals can understand opportunities and challenges, and move their organizations in the right direction. To succeed, however, integrative practices need to make sure the strategic plan includes several key components and assemble the best team to both develop and implement strategic plans.

Strategic planning is a business process that includes defining strategy or direction, as well as planning for or allocating resources to meet specific goals. While common in large-scale corporate arenas, many integrative businesses do not make time for strategic planning, a missed opportunity when trying to grow a patient practice.

According to Tom Blue, strategic advisor for The Institute for Functional Medicine in Federal Way, Washington, integrative practices need to make sure their strategic plans include:

1. A value proposition.

Zero in on identifying the factors that will prompt consumers to invest in their own health.

“Identifying this requires a bit of self-exploration,” Blue said. “Thinking about your personal interests. Some people are super interested in hormones or thyroid health or weight loss or diabetes reversal. So, they might enjoy working with patients with these conditions.”  

2. A business proposition.

Decide exactly what the practice should look like.  Consider if a traditional practice with employees in a physical building is the way to go or if a virtual enterprise is more favorable.

It’s important to take the time to think “if I could wave my magic wand, what would be my life with this practice be like? Do I want the responsibility for rent and employees and payroll, or do I want to work virtually?” Blue said.

3. A financial proposition.

Define the revenue mode. Are you participating with insurance and billing fee for service? Are you a membership practice? Are you selling packages and programs?

“Once you have that vision in mind, then you have to define the actual value proposition to the patient and assign a price tag … and then of course, think through how you attract patients, which can be quite challenging,” Blue said.

In addition to addressing these components, integrative professionals should focus on developing goals. According to JoAnn Yanez, ND, MPH, CAE, executive director of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound (SMART).

For example, Lisa Stracks, executive director of Commendi Health in Chicago, Illinois, said its leaders set short-term quarterly goals with an eye on specific one-, three-, five-, and 10-year targets. Staff members meet quarterly to discuss progress on quarterly goals in the context of the practice’s long-term objectives and establish goals for the next quarter. The process empowers staff to continuously move forward. Stacks said.

“We believe we have a mission to help people heal, and so we want to reach as many people as possible.” Stracks said. “[As an example strategic plan,] we realized that we needed more practitioners to meet our clients’ needs, so we set a goal of hiring more practitioners in 2021 and then again in 2022, and we have expanded our practitioner staff accordingly.”

Ongoing strategic discussions should happen on a regular basis. According to Stracks, the Commendi team holds an annual retreat to review the previous year, figure out what went well and where the pain points are, discuss opportunities for the coming year, and decide on any adjustments to the bigger goals and set the next year’s targets.

To successfully implement a well-developed strategic plan, practices also need to recruit the right players, Yanez said. Strategic planning team members need to not only understand the process, but also possess the knowledge and fiduciary responsibility to make it a meaningful one. Often, integrative practices have the personnel in-house required to develop and implement a viable strategic plan, but sometimes outside help is warranted.

“It depends on your comfort in leading the process, as well as potential group dynamics and obstacles your organization may be facing,” Yanez said.

Groups commonly need a financial consultant to “determine that the practice has assigned the right price for a service or to monetize it through the payer system,” Blue said. “There’s probably good reason to involve a third party in that last financial stage,” said.

In addition, integrative professionals often need help with promotional initiatives, as very few healthcare professionals have marketing expertise, Blue said.

While strategic planning typically results in plenty of favorable clinical care, operational and financial outcomes, the process, itself, is an advantageous one for integrative practitioners. According to a report in the Journal of Oncology Practice,  having everyone in the same room fosters collegiality and creates a milieu in which you can focus on the direction of your practice, away from patient care and other duties. In addition, the process promotes the open and creative exchange of ideas, including putting disagreements on the table and working out effective solutions.”

Blue said he thinks strategic planning can help integrative health professionals achieve professional and personal fulfillment. With a strategic plan in place, a practice can meet the financial and professional needs of the practitioner while also delivering value to the community.

“If you do [strategic planning] properly, then you can land in a place where it’s satisfying, rewarding, and engaging to continue to be in practice,” he said. “You’re not burning out and you have happy patients getting, good health outcomes.”