Healthcare Strategic Management articles from September 2005

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from September 2005

Rules that work when unions try to organize.(Market Memo)
September 1, 2005... With unions targeting healthcare employers throughout the country, it is more important than ever that such employers review their rules and policies relating to solicitation/distribution, bulletin boards, and e-mail and computer usage. By...

How do empowered patients affect hospitals?
September 1, 2005... Many patients are so overloaded with clinical information that they don't know which treatments to choose, and often their physicians won't decide for them, The New York Times reported last month. While the plight of indecisive patients and...

Hospitals use new methods to reduce waiting periods, expedite care in emergency rooms.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
September 1, 2005... The University of California at San Diego Medical Center, 558 beds, reduced the average waiting time in its emergency room by 24 minutes and the average time for emergency treatment by 31 minutes, using a new procedure to streamline...

Sutter Health hospitals ratify nurse contracts featuring 18% pay increases, full benefits.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Sutter Health, Sacramento, on Aug. 19 began rolling out a series of contracts with nurses at its 30 California hospitals. The contracts are being announced as nurses at the individual hospitals vote to approve them. So far, nurses at St....

Cancer center building new outpatient facility featuring outdoor environment for patients.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
September 1, 2005... The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, 518 beds, hired KMD Architects, San Francisco, to design its new ambulatory clinical building. The design of the 780,000 square foot, eight-story building features abundant...

Gwinnett Health to replace Joan Clancy facility with new hospital renamed GMC-Duluth.(Gwinnett Medical Center)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Gwinnett Health System, Lawrenceville, GA, will name a new, 81-bed hospital now under construction Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth. The new facility, expected to open in August 2006, will replace Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital. The system's...

Patient transfer rule still exists, but review is in the future thanks to pending legislation.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Hospitals have been concerned about the federal regulation restricting Medicare reimbursement for patients transferred to inpatient rehabilitation facilities. The rule took effect in July 2004 and since then groups like the Federation of...

Texas hospital system overhauls ICU protocols, saves money and improves patient satisfaction.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, Houston, with nine hospitals totaling 3,000 beds, saves about $1 million annually because of reductions in ventilator-associated pneumonia since implementing a reorganization of two of its intensive care...

Big cities losing their public hospitals while wealthy suburbs get more than their share.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
September 1, 2005... It comes as no surprise that wealthy suburban communities have the most advanced health care facilities and greatest choice of specialists. But it was news to some researchers that public, or government-owned hospitals, are dwindling and...

Public-private partnership aims to reduce four common types of surgical complications.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
September 1, 2005... In an effort to improve surgical care in hospitals, the American Hospital Assn. in July joined other public and private health care organizations in a program that aims to reduce surgical complications by 25% by 2010. The Surgical Care...

Administrators, physicians must work together to reduce costs in face of reimbursement lag.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Between 2000 and 2004, hospital costs per case increased an average of 31% while Medicare reimbursements per case increased only by 14% for the top 10 diagnosis related groups (DRGs), a new report shows, and researchers say hospital...

To ensure transfusion safety, Cedars-Sinai invests in softwar from Wyndgate Technologies.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, 1,012 beds, bought new software to help track donated blood, in an effort to improve patient safety in transfusions. Cedars-Sinai selected Wyndgate Technologies, Denver, to provide its SafeTrace...

Boston children's study verifies efficacy of new CHr test for infant hemoglobin deficiency.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
September 1, 2005... A new blood test detects iron deficiency in infants earlier and more accurately than the commonly used hemoglobin screening test, according to a study published in the Aug. 24-31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn. The...

Study finds best outcomes when heart attacks come often during regular business hours.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
September 1, 2005... A new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., found that the quality of treatment given to cardiology patients depends on the time of day they arrive at the hospital. Researchers examined records of 101 patients...

When patients are non-compliant with post-op medications, it may be they don't understand.(DATABASE NOTES)
September 1, 2005... A small study by the Mayo Clinic Foundation indicates that many patients leave the hospital not knowing their diagnosis or the names of the medications they have been prescribed, or the purpose of these drugs and their side effects. "All...

Patient privacy vs. safety becoming clinical issue, leading nurse group to host conference.(DATABASE NOTES)
September 1, 2005... In this digital age, hospitals can find the goals of patient safety and requirements of patient privacy in conflict. How clinicians can address this issue will be the focus of a conference sponsored by the Assn. of periOperative Registered...

Physicians defend drug-eluting stents in wake of media reports that have led to patient fears.(DATABASE NOTES)
September 1, 2005... As more models of drug-eluting stents are approved for implantation, hospitals benefit from decreasing prices while physicians enjoy greater choice. But widespread publicity devoted to malfunctions and recalls have made patients wary of...

US fertility rate remains steady, second only to India, leading developed world, study finds.(DATABASE NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Unlike the rest of the developed world, the United States is continuing to increase in population as steady fertility rates compound the effect of longer life spans. This is good news not just for hospitals but also for the economy,...

With automated system from Galvanon, Baylor patients will be able to register themselves.(DATABASE NOTES)
September 1, 2005... Baylor Health Care System, Houston, signed a three-year, multi-million contract with Galvanon, Maitland, FL, to purchase the company's MediKiosk software to automate patient registration. Under the terms of the agreement, Baylor will roll...

Growing demand for less-invasive surgery brings more competition to create new technology.(DATABASE NOTES)
September 1, 2005... With the potential for fewer complications, less complex procedures, and reduced average lengths of hospital stay, less-invasive surgeries are gaining in appeal to cost conscious hospital officials. The steady increase in endoscopic...

For current e-commerce users, value is in the utilization reports coming from host sites.(WORTH READING)
September 1, 2005... Memorial Health System, Springfield, IL, 562 beds, estimated it will save $2 million on supply costs this year, based on average annual purchasing volume of $105 million. While the usual suspects--standardization and utilization--will...

Good news on physician preference front: VHA study says more docs learning to economize.(WORTH READING)
September 1, 2005... There is some good news on the physician preference front. A new survey by VHA, Irving, TX, revealed that materials managers are getting better cooperation from physicians in their efforts to control costs of medical supplies. In the...