In the last year, the healthcare industry has seen its fair share of challenges, with patients burdened by escalating out-of-pocket expenses, high-deductible healthcare plans, and diminishing coverage. This convergence of challenges makes it progressively more challenging for individuals to access and afford the medical care they want and need. Predictions from PwC say this is only just the beginning, with the cost of treating patients expected to rise in 2024.[1]

As we enter Q4 of 2023, many of us are busy with 2024 planning and preparations for what the new year brings. This past year has been an exercise in patience for many while our economy has weathered a storm of supply chain disruptions and high inflation. According to J.P. Morgan’s Midyear 2023 Outlook, the US economy has been performing better than experts anticipated, but end of year predictions indicate growth to slow both domestically and globally, per the International Monetary Fund’s latest projections. As business owners and operators, it’s important to keep track of these macroeconomic trends to see where your practice may need to adjust to keep operations moving smoothly.

Surgeons and surgical leaders know: In the operating room, time is money. As healthcare organizations seek to drive efficiency, OR workflows have emerged as a key focus area — as well as an opportunity to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Global wellness drew $5.6 trillion in revenue in 2022 and is poised to generate $8.5 trillion by 2027, according to a new report from industry group Global Wellness Institute, as overlaps with healthcare expand. 

Providing human-centered, individualized care makes a big difference to how patients experience the health system — but not all provider organizations have the right processes in place to enable such care.

At the 8th Annual Becker's Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Meeting, two Optum leaders — Eileen Russo, PhD, vice president of finance and operations for Optum Advisory Services, and Puneet Maheshwari, CEO of Optum Patient Access and Engagement — led a group of healthcare leaders in a roundtable discussion on the challenges and opportunities in delivering digital healthcare services.

Despite years of talking about patient centricity and developing strategies for patient-driven care, many hospitals still miss the mark, according to Kaufman Hall.

At the 8th Annual Becker's Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Meeting, Sundar Subramanian, Enterprise Digital Solutions Leader, PwC Strategy&, facilitated a panel discussion on the potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Panelists included:

During a featured session at the 8th Annual Becker's Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Meeting, Jay Ahlmer, president of the revenue cycle solutions provider Corro Clinical, and Dr. Lenora Adams, system vice president of patient care with St. Louis-based SSM Health, discussed the importance of emotional intelligence and collaboration in business relationships. 

Overview North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA) is known for its differentiating leadership development programs that give clinicians the education and business skills to become inspired leaders and advance their careers. These proprietary programs are innovative in how they teach anesthesia professionals to contribute more effectively to our clients’ institutional goals and to better communicate with their perioperative colleagues and administrators at NAPA’s hospital and ASC partner sites.

Most emergency medicine (EM) providers know the unsettling feeling of completing contract negotiations with a payer, wondering whether the deal they just inked was a good one or if they left money on the table.

The healthcare system is faced with a tsunami of incoming data. In fact, the average hospital produces roughly 50 petabytes of data every year. That's more than twice the amount of data housed in the Library of Congress and amounts to137 terabytes per day.

In Arizona, a woman calls 9-8-8 because her mother is refusing to take her antipsychotic medications and has threatened to hurt herself. In ten minutes after the Tucson Police Department’s Mental Health Support Team (MHST) shows up, the mom is transported to Connections Crisis Response Center where she is quickly seen by an interdisciplinary care team of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, and behavioral health technicians. Upon evaluation, the team develops an appropriate care plan and after several hours under observation, has her crisis stabilized, scheduled for a follow up visit, and equipped with resources to recover back in her home.

Better strategies to manage length of stay have become essential in light of the ongoing staffing and operational challenges faced by hospitals and health systems.

Keeping up with rising and uncertain patient demand while operating efficiently in an infusion setting is a tall order.

Health systems are continuously examining strategies to drive operational greatness while ensuring high-quality patient care. For some organizations, a dyad leadership model — which often pairs a clinician with a nonclinical administrative leader for strategic and operational responsibility — is part of their approach. 

Most organizations rely on at least one digital "system of record" to manage critical data efficiently and securely. These systems include customer relationship management (CRM) systems, electronic health records (EHR), and other systems that collectively form the cornerstone of modern data integrity. 

Every healthcare leader has felt "stuck" when it comes to provider staffing. Join Medicus Healthcare Solutions on Tuesday, November 14th, from 10:40 to 11:20 AM at the Beckers CEO + CFO Roundtable / CMO + CNO Forum in Chicago. During the session, you will hear from four accomplished healthcare leaders and gain insight into how they have successfully overcome critical provider staffing shortages. 

It’s tough to be a health system right now.

At the 8th Annual Becker's Health IT + Digital Health + RCM Meeting, Kristen Jacobsen, vice president of marketing and product management at RevSpring, led a discussion on the challenges and opportunities in digital healthcare strategies.