What are the implications? Every new service line, assuming it is successful, takes up a certain amount of market share going to the current service provider organizations—cutting referrals and revenue. And new entrants in the market push existing provider organizations to improve their value proposition of their service lines—in access or experience or outcomes or costs.

In my consulting work at OPEN MINDS over the past two decades, service line decision-making has always been a critical component of the strategic planning process. In last month’s management newsletter (see Planning Growth With Service Line Portfolio Analysis: The OPEN MINDS Management Newsletter, May 2022), I detailed the basics about service line portfolio analysis and how you synthesize the findings and understand their strategic implications.

As I noted in A Metrics-Based Approach For Evaluation Of Service Line Opportunities, service line portfolio analysis, executive teams will also identify service lines that may need to be adjusted—or eliminated altogether. Much like determining which service line ideas to launch, realigning your service line offering should also be based on factors and metrics.

The greatest challenge for the executives of most organizations serving complex consumers is coming up with “the next big thing.” It’s that high-value, mission-focused service line that will be the core of your organization’s service line portfolio and a key to success. Structural changes in the health and human service value chain will make many services obsolete (or at least in need of a serious remake) over time.

As executive teams look to expand and diversify their service line portfolios, there is one challenge that comes with every new service—identifying and managing new performance measures. There is a wide range of performance measures for health care services in today’s marketplace and a need for the right infrastructure to support performance management.