UnityPoint Health (UPH) announced it will be outsourcing its information technology (IT) and revenue cycle functions — eliminating jobs across the system — in a move to strengthen its financial sustainability and focus on continued local, high-quality patient care.
With a total workforce of 31,000 across all its facilities, UPH said it will be eliminating 207 IT roles and has notified those impacted. It has not yet determined how many positions will be affected on the revenue cycle side, but the changes will come this year.
In a Wednesday, April 15, news release, the West Des Moines-based health system said some of those functions will transfer to third-party vendors later this year. The changes come as part of UnityPoint’s comprehensive review of the system’s long-term financial outlook in response to ongoing industry pressures, including rising labor, supply, and drug costs; reductions in reimbursement; and increased demand for complex care services.
“Like many health systems across the country, we are navigating a period of sustained financial pressure that requires us to make difficult but necessary decisions,” Scott Kizer, UPH’s president and CEO, said in the release. “Our focus is to ensure we remain strong for the future – so we can continue delivering expert, high-quality care and expand local access for the patients and communities who depend on us.”
In the Quad Cities, UPH operates hospitals in Bettendorf, Moline and Rock Island as well as urgent care clinics and other medical facilities.
Reinvesting the savings
A UnityPoint Health spokesman told the QCBJ that the roles are being eliminated across the system, but UPH is not disclosing specifics on what facilities the employees work at or the number impacted by location. “But location was not the primary driver of these decisions,” Kevin Kirkpatrick, senior media relations specialist, said in an email.
The focus, he added is “to help UnityPoint Health leverage advanced technologies, reduce costs, and improve the overall user experience, while maintaining local leadership oversight, governance and accountability for these functions.”
In the release, UPH stressed how it is a community-based, not-for-profit health system and that none of the savings realized from the changes will benefit shareholders, investors, or venture capital firms. The funds instead will be reinvested back for the betterment of UPH patients, team members, and communities.
The IT and revenue cycle functions were selected specifically to minimize the impact on direct patient care, leverage technology advancements, and improve the overall user experience.
Expanding clinical services and patient access points remain a top priority as the system realigns its IT and revenue cycle services to meet future needs.
“These decisions are incredibly difficult because they affect valued members of our team who have contributed meaningfully to our mission,” Mr. Kizer added.
Impacted UPH employees will receive severance, benefits continuation, and career transition support.
“We are committed to supporting our team members while positioning our organization to continue serving our communities for years to come,” Mr. Kizer said in the release.
One of the nation’s most integrated health systems, UPH serves patients in metropolitan and rural communities across the Midwest including in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, the bistate Quad Cities and Muscatine. It owns or operates more than 400 physician clinics, 18 regional and 17 community network hospitals, community mental health centers, urgent care/express care locations and home care facilities.
