Healthcare Strategic Management articles from October 2006

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from October 2006

Evaluate business plans, select strategic partners by taking a 10-step approach.(market memo)
October 1, 2006... Management teams of healthcare organizations are often approached by members of their medical staff, real estate investment trusts, equipment vendors, and others seeking to form partnerships. Although the pressure to rapidly close a deal is...

Study shows minorities less likely to have health coverage.(Statistical notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Minorities in the United States are at much higher risk of being uninsured for healthcare, according to an analysis by The Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey (2005) released in August. The Commonwealth Fund in New York City...

Comparing hospital quality easier on enhanced Web site.(Statistical notes)
October 1, 2006... The Hospital Quality Alliance plans to add new quality information to its consumer Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov). The site offers information on how well the hospitals in a geographic area care for all of their adult patients with...

Technology executives call on hospitals to improve databases.(Statistical notes)
October 1, 2006... A healthcare technology executive says poorly maintained hospital patient care databases are to blame for much of the cost of processing insurance claims. Writing in the August 1 Managed Healthcare Executive, Sean Downs estimates that erroneous...

Fewer docs accepting Medicaid.(Statistical notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Fewer physicians are accepting Medicaid patients, citing inadequate reimbursement, the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) reported in August. HSC is a nonpartisan policy research organization in Washington, DC. According to the...

Hospital producer price index up.(Statistical notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The hospital producer price index (PPI) for July was 0.8% higher than in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and was 4.7% higher than in July 2005. The PPI for physician office practices remained unchanged from June to July, and...

Study: volume predicts quality better than surgeon age.(Statistical notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... When it comes to surgeon effectiveness, it's not about age, it's about experience. That is the conclusion of a study published in the September 2006 Annals of Surgery. Using national Medicare files, researchers examined operative mortality...

Quality measures save money as well as lives.(Research notes)
October 1, 2006... Hospitals can save money as well as lives by following treatment recommendations, according to an analysis of a Medicare pay-for-performance demonstration project by the Charlotte, NC--based group purchasing organization Premier. According...

War-driven research could lead to noninvasive bleeding control.(Research notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... In a case of new technology growing out of the demands of war, Philips Medical Systems in Andover, MA, is working with the University of Washington in Seattle to design an ultrasound cuff that would locate and heal a wounded soldier's internal...

Research deal aims to produce new,generation wound care.(Research notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Research will soon begin on the next generation of advanced wound care products: a gel that clinicians can produce by combining a patient's blood with a catalyst. When it is complete, the companies expect hospitals to spend $450 million...

Legislation aims to expand Massachusetts insurance model.(Research notes)
October 1, 2006... Massachusetts is one step closer to providing healthcare insurance to its uninsured residents. State healthcare officials have been working to hammer out details since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in late July approved a state...

JCAHO to make staff-hospital governance more flexible.(Research notes)
October 1, 2006... In the wake of complaints from hospitals and industry organizations, the JCAHO in August modified its proposed new Medical Staff Standard MS 1.20. The standard establishes requirements for hospitals regarding their medical staff bylaws....

USC, Tenet vie for control.(Strategic notes)(University of Southern California )
October 1, 2006... The University of Southern California (USC) on August 22 filed a lawsuit demanding that the for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corporation in Dallas give up ownership and control of USC University Hospital in Los Angeles (269 beds), because Tenet can...

IDN adds national disaster plan repository to aid local efforts.(Strategic notes)
October 1, 2006... Disaster planning begins at the local level, with hospitals contributing to their communities' response. However, hospitals also may be part of integrated delivery networks (IDN) with multiple locations, or even national presence. One...

HHS says hospitals can help docs pay for technology.(Strategic notes)
October 1, 2006... The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it will make an exception to anti-kickback laws to allow hospitals to share information technology with physicians. In two final rules issued August 8, the HHS Office of Inspector General...

Small IDN and its union change from adversaries to partners.(Strategic notes)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Cape Cod Healthcare in Hyannis, MA, and its clinical staff agreed on August 23 to create a strategic partnership called the Cape Cod Healthcare Alliance. Cape Cod Healthcare and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East have had a contract...

Executive order requires hospitals to share more information.(Strategic notes)
October 1, 2006... In an August 22 executive order, President Bush directed government hospitals and healthcare agencies to make price and quality information available to consumers. The order applies to the Department of Health and Human Services and its...

Consumer-driven plans present new patient issues.(Worth reading)(Health savings accounts)
October 1, 2006... One of the consequences of the consumer-driven healthcare movement and the rising number of health savings accounts (HSA) is a new kind of patient-provider relationship. From taking patients' phone calls, to ensuring their privacy to...

Negotiating reimbursement with consumers.(Worth reading)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Patients who have HSAs are going to be savvy consumers, and they're going to have the mindset to negotiate, Reiboldt said. "They're going to say, 'What would you be willing to take for this surgery?' Certainly, we would recommend that even if...

Prepare staff, patients for changes.(worth reading)
October 1, 2006... If you're going to participate in a high-deductible plan, set aside time for your front office, billing, and collections staff to meet, and ask to have a plan representative on-site to train them and field any questions that they may have. ...

So long, 'Mom and Pop'.(worth reading)
October 1, 2006... As physician group practices begin to adopt more sophisticated leadership structures, one challenge for leaders is earning doctors' trust. Communication is the key, says Robert W. Yelverton, MD, CEO of Tampa Bay Women's Care. Bringing a...

Pharmacists seek to expand healthcare role.(Worth reading)
October 1, 2006... A team from the University of Iowa (UI) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reviewed 36 studies published between 1985 and 2005 and found that when hospital pharmacists become involved directly with patients and collaborative care,...

Documentary-style television campaign for Akron Ohio Children's Hospital.(Worth reading)
October 1, 2006... A unique promotional campaign for Akron (OH) Children's Hospital's heart and orthopedic centers features two documentary-style television spots that relate the story of the hospital's services through the patients' eyes. The 253-bed...

Real-life patient testimonials, nickname promote Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.(Worth reading)
October 1, 2006... As one of the largest hospitals in Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital had a strong academic reputation, but not a warm and friendly one. To increase the utilization of key product lines and raise its profile in the Philadelphia...

The advent of the consumer-patient.(market strategy)
October 1, 2006... Many physicians, medical centers, and hospitals are beginning to take a more technologically-advanced approach to patient care. Whether technology makes for better patient evaluations and diagnoses is up for debate. But there's no doubt that it...