Healthcare Strategic Management articles from August 2001

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from August 2001

Market Memo: The managed care cycle: taking control of your system's contracted business.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Health care systems can use analytical tools to monitor and manage and forecast the performance of their health plan contracts. Taking control of your contracted business is critical to your organization's success. This simple statement is...

Patients rights portends changes for hospitals.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Although chances that the patients' bill of rights will be enacted this year seem to be fading, it still is possible that the legislation will get through Congress and will change the health insurance and health care industries significantly....

Blue Cross of California revises its Quality Score Card for medical group practices.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... In a move that will make physicians in California hospitals and other hospitals across the country more quality conscious, Blue Cross of California, an operating subsidiary of the HMO chain WellPoint, announced a revised Quality Score Card. The...

New technology race among lung cancer treatment centers over `CyberKnife'.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Accuray Inc. announced the successful treatment of the first 25 lung tumor patients using non-invasive CyberKnife ablation technology at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Stanford University Medical Center. The procedure, currently...

UPMC Health System plans $600 million, seven-year construction project.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... UPMC Health System, the University of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh announced a $600 million project that will include the construction of three new buildings, extensive renovations to existing buildings and overall...

Kaiser names Nilda Chong to head its Institute for Culturally Competent Care.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Kaiser Permanente has named Nilda Chong, M.D. as director of its Institute for Culturally Competent Care. Chong will lead the initiative charged with supporting the organization's physicians and health care professionals in integrating cultural...

Study of teens finds drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs are effective.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... In patient substance abuse programs generate better results for teens addicted to cocaine than those treated in strictly outpatient programs, according to the first large-scale study designed specifically to evaluate drug abuse treatment...

Medicare discount cards could hurt hospital pharmacies and drug store chains.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Hospital pharmacies that sell prescription drugs to ambulatory care Medicare beneficiaries may be as concerned about President George W. Bush's plan to offer Medicare drug discount cards as the retail pharmacists are. Drug stores clearly are...

Low health literacy increases costs of health care services; reduces effectiveness.
August 1, 2001... Far greater clarity and simplicity is required with all types of health communication if Americans are to successfully navigate an increasingly complex health care system, according to a large pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Inc. This...

76% of Americans are confident in the safety of the U.S. blood supply.
August 1, 2001... A majority of Americans (76%) are confident in the safety of the U.S. blood supply, according to a survey conducted for America's Blood Centers. While nearly two-thirds (62%) of those polled generally were educated or informed about mad cow...

Health clubs do poor jobs of cardiovascular screening; not ready for emergencies.
August 1, 2001... A new study of 122 health and fitness facilities in Ohio found low awareness of and adherence to national standards regarding cardiovascular screening and emergency procedures. In the July issue of CHEST, authors of the study write that 53%...

51,400 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma, up 9% from 2000.
August 1, 2001... Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with more than 1 million new cases diagnosed every year. This year, it is estimated that 51,400 people in the United States will be diagnosed with melanoma--the deadliest form...

Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients provides data on organ supply and demand.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... The number of patients needing organ transplants was more than three times higher than the number of people receiving life-saving transplants in 2000, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). There were 22,884...

Minorities are more likely to provide care giving to parents than non-Hispanic whites.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... AARP, a liberal activist organization for seniors, published a survey that found that 19% of non-Hispanic whites participate in caring for parents and other older adults, compared with 28% of African-Americans, 34% of Hispanic-Americans, and...

Post heart-attack care same under fee-for-service and HMO Medicare plans.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The type of Medicare coverage may make no difference when it comes to the likelihood that elderly beneficiaries being seen by doctors for post heart-attack care will receive effective treatment, according to a new study supported by the U.S....

Senate subcommittee is looking into GPOs' impact on small medical device makers.(group purchasing organizations)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition is looking into the impact of hospital group purchasing organizations (GPOs) "on smaller, innovative medical device manufacturers trying to market their...

Veteran industry leaders relate key strategic decisions; lessons learned.
August 1, 2001... Hospital strategists can learn a lot from those who have been there and done that, if veteran and retired executives are around to answer questions and serve as coaches. Since industry leaders and their predecessors usually aren't easily...

Market is ripe for hospitals to define and determine their futures.
August 1, 2001... Health care providers now have a unique opportunity to determine their own future. Strategy historically has been a matter (albeit not an easy one) of predicting the future and finding the best fit for your organization. The market is now ripe...

Quality compensation incentives work when system fosters quality.
August 1, 2001... Will financial incentives for executives of hospitals and integrated health care delivery networks cause them to do a better job of improving the quality of care delivered by their organizations? How can such incentives be administered when...