By BJ Schaknowski – As widely reported and acutely felt, in 2022 health systems are broadly on track to post their worst financial results in decades. That fact is all the reminder we need that healthcare organizations are businesses with exposure to macro-economic headwinds and tailwinds, like any other.
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By Linda Justice, RN, MCSM – How do we measure quality in healthcare? The question is forever top of mind in an industry where quality is expected yet is difficult to define and measure. The U.S. is an outlier in healthcare. We spend more on healthcare per capita than any other wealthy nation but underperform when…
By David Burda – If you want great medical care, you should move to Lake Wobegon, where all the hospitals are above average. Anywhere else, chances are your medical care will be average. At least according to a short but revealing research letter published recently in JAMA Health Forum.
By Harris Meyer – Fresh off the Federal Trade Commission’s successful challenges to four hospital mergers, the Biden administration’s new majority on the commission is primed to more aggressively combat consolidation in the health care industry than it has in past years.
By Jon-Michael Smith – Hospitals generate an enormous amount of data daily, which can be turned into actionable insights that can better operations, save costs and overall produce better patient outcomes. There are several types of data hospitals should be tracking.
By Lisa Miller – Physician preference items or physician driven spend is a significant driver for hospitals. Hospitals should aim to work together with their physicians, not just work with them when the need arises. Three obstacles are observed when hospitals begin the initiative of engaging their physicians for cost savings.
By Matt Maslin – If you ask a hospital executive what issues are keeping them up at night, there’s a good chance staffing will be high on their list of concerns. John has spoken with 100+ senior hospital executives across the US to discuss biggest challenges they’re facing for 2022 and beyond.
By Jordan Rau – The federal government’s effort to penalize hospitals for excessive patient readmissions is ending its first decade with Medicare cutting payments to nearly half the nation’s hospitals. In its 10th annual round of penalties, Medicare is reducing its payments to 2,499 hospitals, or 47% of all facilities.
By David W. Johnson – My sister recently gave me a t-shirt that proclaims, “I speak in movie lines, song lyrics and sarcasm.” At least the middle part of that proclamation applies to this month’s song, “Sweet Hospital-at-Home,” sung to the tune of Leonard Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.”