Oct. 29, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Thomas Group, Inc. (NasdaqGM:TGIS), a global consulting firm, announced today the results of its Thomas Group Reports’ survey, Hospital-Physician Alignment: A Model for Success, which demonstrates the positive financial impacts of alignment. According to the Thomas Group Healthcare Practice, which designed and fielded the survey, when close alignment exists between physicians and healthcare leaders at an institution, they share a common understanding of mission and vision, an agreement on key goals and objectives, a consensus on critical priorities, an adaptive culture, and a willingness to focus energy on these priorities.

The study concluded that a direct relationship exists between a hospital’s alignment score, and its reported revenue growth and cost savings. The survey also showed that the most important alignment indicator leading to revenue growth is physician involvement in strategic decision making. The highest possible alignment score was 40 points, and scores ranged from 13 to 38 with a mean of 26 and a standard deviation of five. The survey also noted that every change of one point in the alignment score corresponds to a positive change of 0.8% revenue growth.

“While most hospitals have yet to achieve broad alignment across their physician base, the advent of healthcare reform along with significant reimbursement changes on the horizon speak to the compelling need for healthcare organizations to improve their alignment scores,” said Eric Labe, Healthcare Practice Leader.

The survey was structured into the following areas:

• Alignment Assessment – An “alignment assessment” gauged how each participating hospital or health system scored in eight indicators of alignment based on size.
• Financial Impact – The “financial impact” segment showed the direct relationship between alignment, revenue growth and savings.
• Focus Areas – The “focus areas” section covered the most commonly employed strategies being used by institutions in pursuing enhanced physician alignment.

Other top findings include:

• Hospitals and health networks with above average alignment claimed 13% positive impact on annual revenue growth year over year.
• Sixty percent of respondents felt their physicians were not sufficiently aligned with the institution regarding clinical quality.
• The top three priorities for hospitals and health systems as focus areas for improved alignment are: clinical quality, utilization management and service line excellence.
• The most common strategy used to enhance alignment with physicians is the use of employment arrangements (82%).