Healthcare Strategic Management articles from June 2007

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from June 2007

Use mystery shoppers to improve your scores.(Patient satisfaction)(Survey)
June 1, 2007... The patients' rooms are sparkling, and the hallway floors are so spotless they shine, yet your patient satisfaction surveys show discontent with the cleanliness of your hospital. The hospital's hallways are filled with signs directing...

Knowledge is the key to getting your CEO on board.
June 1, 2007... For some hospital marketers, getting their CEOs to approve their marketing plans may seem harder than climbing Mt. Everest. But the secret to getting the okay from the top may be as simple as learning to speak their language. "We need to...

Hospital growth depends on physician relations.(Physician relations)
June 1, 2007... Hospital administrators, like other business leaders, are concerned with protecting and growing their business. Because physician admission and referral patterns drive the financial health of a hospital, physicians are critical to protecting...

Earning time for physician relations.(Physician relations)
June 1, 2007... When I talk with physician relations representatives about preplanning visits and setting up appointments, I often hear, "Our doctors are just too busy. They don't have time to have hospital people meet them in their offices." This...

One in 10 affected by errors.(Research notes)
June 1, 2007... Ten percent of patients worldwide are affected by medical errors, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). On May 2, the agency issued a checklist to help doctors and nurses avoid the most common mistakes. The checklist, which has...

Some will replace physician with retail clinics.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... More than one in 10 users of retail health clinics are ready to kiss their physicians good-bye when it comes to seeking treatment for common ailments. So says a study of 600 users of retail medical clinics--those located in grocery stores...

Unconventional campaigns can work for you.(Worth reading)
June 1, 2007... There's always risk involved when implementing an advertising campaign, but with a lot of planning and a few preventative measures, your new campaign can push the envelope without pushing your audience's buttons. Audience input was a key...

Make recruiting an ongoing effort.(Worth reading)
June 1, 2007... Chances are that you devote a great deal of time and attention to patient satisfaction, but how hard do you work to promote your physicians' satisfaction? It turns out that being proactive about physician satisfaction will benefit patient...

Help usher in the next generation of healthcare leaders.(Worth reading)
June 1, 2007... Mentoring is a time-honored method of conveying skills, culture, and values between individuals. However, across all industries, healthcare included, mentoring appears to be at an all-time low. Adoption of both formal and informal mentoring...

Communication makes a difference.(Southern New Hampshire Medical Center)
June 1, 2007... At Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, NH, nurses are learning how to be comfortable communicating with other nurses and staff members as part of their annual education requirements. Communication was deemed a necessary education...

Technology enables translation of 150 languages.(Naples Community Hospital)(Language Access Network)
June 1, 2007... On April 4, Naples (FL) Community Hospital and the Language Access Network (LAN) announced an agreement that will allow the hospital to provide care in 150 different languages. LAN's video/audio interpretation service will be offered to...

IT investment will reduce costs.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Sixty percent of U.S. hospitals will soon see reduced operating costs, according to New York City-based PricewaterhouseCoopers, which published a study in March about the relationship between IT investments and operating performance at U.S....

Insurer develops cost comparison site.(Strategic notes)(Website overview)
June 1, 2007... An Indiana health insurance company's new Web site allows its customers to shop around and compare prices before deciding which doctor and facility will provide their healthcare. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, part of Indianapolis-based...

Treating the awkward years.(Strategic notes)
June 1, 2007... A clinic at Overlook Hospital in New Jersey is one of a handful of facilities that has popped up to meet the medical needs of adolescents, according to a story in The New York Times. They're not big children, nor are they little adults....

Survey reveals women likely to tell little white lies to physicians.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... Fifty-two percent of women aged 25-49 said they have no problem telling small fibs to their physicians, says the Chicago Tribune. The results were gathered by a team of researchers at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons...

Americans want digital healthcare.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... Americans are eager for the healthcare industry to utilize electronic medical records, says a new survey unveiled May 2 at the Health IT: Unlocking the Potential summit in Washington, DC. The survey, which was conducted by StrategyOne, a...

Hospital mistakes increase.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... The deaths of nearly 250,000 Medicare patients in the last three years could have been prevented if hospitals had been safer, according to the fourth annual Patient Safety in American Hospital Study by HealthGrades, Inc., a healthcare ratings...

Computer not as effective as doctor in evaluating mammograms.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... Computer-aided detection (CAD) systems, which scan and evaluate mammograms, are leading to less accurate prognoses than a doctor's review alone, according to recent research led by Joshua J. Fenton, MD, of the University of California. ...

Malpractice database now online.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... A national database of physician malpractice records is now available online to the public, thanks to efforts by HealthGrades, Inc., an independent healthcare ratings company based in Golden, CO. The records cover 15 states, including...

Small or solo practices make up majority.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... The majority of office-based practices are small group or solo businesses (70%), according to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The survey reveals that 69% of office-based practices consist of solo practitioners, and for the 161,200...

Study: not enough students interested in geriatrics.(Statistical notes)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... By 2030, 70 million Americans will be over the age of 65, but the physicians who treat them will be in short supply, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. In the last 10 years, the number...

Poll indicates public not prepared for local health emergencies.(Statistical notes)(Survey)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Many Americans are not prepared to face local health emergencies, says an article in Medical News Today. Those who were prepared have lapsed in readiness, according to a national poll taken by the American Public Health Association (APHA). ...

Medical equipment firms found fraudulent.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... Nearly half of the medical equipment firms in South Florida do not meet federal standards for operation, according to a report done by the FBI in an effort to crack down on Medicare fraud. Almost $1 billion a year in such fraud occurs in...

MA hospital awarded for reducing errors.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston received a $100,000 prize from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, because the organization developed a new approach to reducing the number of errors in the OB/GYN department. After...

Study shows boomers less healthy than parents.(Statistical notes)
June 1, 2007... Data from the federally funded Health and Retirement Study, which is tracking more than 20,000 middleaged adults as they move toward retirement, shows baby boomers may be less healthy than their parents' generation. Many boomers have...