Operational scale through acquisition
Building the data and systems backbone for a regional healthcare network growing from six locations to ten through two acquisitions and a new build.
The problem
Every new location compounds the inconsistency
A regional optical network was scaling from six locations to ten. Each acquired practice arrived with its own EHR system, its own inventory hierarchy, its own vendor relationships, and its own billing conventions.
Without a unifying data and process framework, growth multiplies the mess rather than the revenue. The job was to build an operational backbone that made expansion possible without losing data integrity, billing accuracy, or financial control along the way.
The playbook
Six workstreams, applied three times
- Data governance standardsReplaced fragmented spreadsheets with structured master data, governance rules, and auditability across every location.
- Inventory hierarchy rebuildA single optical taxonomy and pricing structure that scaled to new locations without per-site customization. Standardized frame model numbers, SKU formatting, and insurance coding.
- EHR onboardingRepeatable system onboarding and clinical staff training tied to each acquisition. The migration playbook reduced onboarding time location over location.
- Insurance billing complianceStandardized billing codes and clinical documentation so insurance billing stayed accurate and compliant across the whole network.
- Vendor and procurementNetwork-wide vendor contracts negotiated centrally, with build-versus-buy analysis on consumables and capital equipment.
- Reporting infrastructureStandardized dashboards across operations and finance, replacing ad-hoc spreadsheet reports with auditable, real-time visibility.
What worked
Order of operations was the whole game
Build the playbook once, apply it three times. Each new location went live faster than the last because the integration framework itself was the reusable asset, not the individual migration.
Master data first, systems second. Standardizing taxonomy and inventory hierarchy before integrating systems stopped downstream defects from propagating. Done in the other order, every integration inherits the previous location's inconsistencies.
Own the full stack. Supply chain, lab operations, vendor relationships, and data governance sat under one role, which meant no handoff gaps between the people defining the data and the people living with it.
Discretion matters during transitions. Acquisitions are periods where trust is the limiting factor. Coordinating cleanly with executives, vendors, and frontline clinical staff is as much of the work as the data mapping.
Outcomes
Results
Client names and proprietary specifics omitted. Detailed figures available under NDA.
Contact
Growing through acquisition?
The integration playbook is worth more than any single migration. Building one is a good place to start — and twenty minutes is usually enough to tell whether I can help.
Robert@brandywinedata.com