Nov./Dec. 2010 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

Staff -
July 2010 Hospital Review Issue

Top 10 Hospital Stories of 2010

1. Healthcare reform. A pitched political battle over passage of healthcare reform dominated the first quarter of 2010. Even after passage, Barack Obama and Democratic leaders have had to keep struggling for public acceptance. Click to continue »


3 Best Practices for Bundled Pricing

Healthcare reform has created an impetus for hospitals and other healthcare providers to work together to provide more efficient, higher quality care. Click to continue »


Hospital Strategies and Transactions: Healthcare Reform and Market Evolution

Hospitals and health systems are constantly refining their strategies based on changes in market dynamics. While these dynamics can include varying factors from changes in market competition to introduction of new medical technologies, perhaps nothing impacts the need for a hospital to reassess its market strategy more than changes in legislation. Click to continue »


Publisher’s Letter: November/December 2010

Accountable Care Organizations – 8 Observations; Increased Integration Efforts; Increased Merger and Acquisition Efforts; Call for Speakers 9th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Management Driven ASC Conference, 2nd Annual Hospital Conference – Improving Profits, ACOs, Physician Hospital Integration and Key Specialties Click to continue »


The Implementation of New Models of Care: Q&A With Iowa Health System CEO Bill Leaver

As hospitals and health systems prepare for changes brought on by healthcare reform, these providers are examining how they can approach and build new models of care, whether they involve ACOs, bundled payments or medical homes. Click to continue »


256 Hospital and Healthcare Industry Leaders to Know

Here are 256 of some of the most influential leaders in the healthcare industry. Click to continue »


5 Best Practices to Prepare Hospitals for Accountable Care

The government's encouragement of coordinated care is leading many hospitals to consider developing or joining accountable care organizations, and healthcare futurist Joe Flower, who works with clients ranging from World Health Organization to Global Business Network, says the move is good business practice. Click to continue »


Is Your Organization Ready For Accountable Care? How to Implement a Readiness Assessment and Establish Priorities

Many healthcare leaders are strategizing to meet the requirements of section3022 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Click to continue »


5 Key Regulatory Concerns for ACOs

Hospitals looking to develop accountable care organizations face the same regulatory concerns and hurdles that hospitals have long grappled with in their physician integration efforts. Click to continue »


To Run ACOs, Hospitals Need to Change Their Business Model

Hospitals looking to run accountable care organizations will have to change their business model from admitting as many patients as possible to learning how to reduce expenses, says Donald H. Crane, president and CEO, California Association of Physician Groups. Click to continue »


ACOs May Cause Healthcare Cost Inflation Rather than Savings

Rather than save money, some experts argue accountable care organizations will further inflate prices, as hospitals unite with physicians and other providers against private insurers, according to a report by the Washington Post. Click to continue »


10 Tips to Creating a Physician-Led Integrated Care System With Advocate Health’s Mark Shields

Advocate Physician Partners has already stepped into the brave new world of integrated care, signing managed care contracts that assume risk. Click to continue »


3 Medical Specialties Most Pursued for Employment by Hospitals

Hospitals today are increasingly employing physicians for a variety of reasons, including the desire to gain more control over referrals and to be prepared for movement towards the accountable care model. Click to continue »


10 Best Practices for Creating Hospital Group Practices

Todd Sagin, MD-JD, national medical director of HG Healthcare Consultants in Laverock, Pa., is coauthor of the book, "Creating the Hospital Group Practice: The Advantages of Employing or Affiliating with Physicians." Click to continue »


7 Key Provisions for Successful Physician Employment Contracts

As hospital employment of physicians continue to increase due to uncertainties surrounding reimbursement and healthcare reform puts increasing emphasis on quality over quantity of care, it is becoming increasingly important for hospitals to create effective contracts for employed physicians that will not only result in maintained profitability but also quality care. Click to continue »


CMS Issues Stark Act Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol — 9 Key Concepts

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, with the Office of the Inspector General of HHS, to establish a protocol for healthcare providers and suppliers to disclose actual or potential violations of Section 1877 of the Social Security Act (the "Stark Act"). Click to continue »


OIG’s Increased Scrutiny on Heart Stents and ICDs: What It Means For Your Hospital

In the past two years, the federal government has greatly increased its efforts to combat Medicare and Medicaid false claims and fraud by healthcare providers. Click to continue »


Government to Intervene in Mayo Clinic False Claims Investigation

The Department of Justice will be joining a lawsuit against Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minn., which has been accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for pathology tests that were never performed, according to a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report. Click to continue »


California’s El Centro Regional Medical Center to Pay $2.2M to Settle Medicare Fraud Allegations

El Centro Regional Medical Center, located in Imperial County, Calif., has agreed to pay $2.2 million to the government to settle Medicare fraud allegations, according to a DOJ news release. Click to continue »


18 Florida Hospitals Under Investigation for Improper Medicaid Billing

Florida Attorney General Bill McCullom is investigating 18 hospitals throughout the state for improper Medicaid billing of emergency services, according to a Miami Herald report. Click to continue »


Georgia’s WellStar Health Systems Settles Medicaid Billing Investigation for $2.7M

Marietta, Ga.-based WellStar Health Systems has agreed to pay the state of Georgia nearly $2.4 million to settle a Medicaid billing investigation for both inpatient and outpatient services at five WellStar hospitals — Cobb Memorial Hospital, WellStar Kennestone Hospital, WellStar Windy Hill Hospital, WellStar Douglas Hospital and WellStar Paulding Hospital, according to a news release by Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker. Click to continue »


New York’s North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System Settles Fraud Investigation for $2.95M

New York's North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System has agreed to pay $2.95 million to settle an investigation following a civil claim alleging the hospital submitted fraudulent bills to Medicare, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Click to continue »


10 of the Biggest Hospital and Health System Transactions of 2010

Here are 10 of the biggest hospital and health system transactions in the United States so far in 2010. Click to continue »


Is a Statutory Hospital Merger a Bona Fide Sale?

The regulatory status of a statutory merger between hospitals can have significant financial ramifications. The Code of Federal Regulations (42 C.F.R. § 413.134(f )) allows realization of gains or losses from the disposition of depreciable assets on a merged entity only if the merger qualifies as bona fide sale. Click to continue »


4 Ways Community Hospitals Can Align With a Health System, Short of Acquisition

For about eight years, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., has led a loose regional network of 21 community hospitals. The stated purpose of the organization is to preserve the independence and economic strength of community hospitals in the region. Click to continue »


Boston’s Caritas Christi to Close Two Hospitals if Cerberus Deal Fails

Executives from Boston-based Caritas Christi Health Care have said the system will close two hospitals — St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Carney Hospital, both in Boston — if its deal to be acquired by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is not completed, according to a Boston Globe report. Click to continue »


Florida’s Broward Health Plans to Transition to New Community Not-for-Profit Corporation

The board of commissioners of the North Broward Hospital District has voted to authorize Broward Health President and CEO Frank Nask to coordinate the transition of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based healthcare system to a new community not-for-profit corporation, according to a Broward Health news release. Click to continue »


University of Michigan Health, Two Other Systems Launch Pennant Health Alliance

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Metro Health, Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health and University of Michigan Health System, based in Ann Arbor, have joined together to launch Pennant Health Alliance, according to a U of M Health news release. Click to continue »


8 Ways Hospital Executives Can Increase Their Earning Power

Here are eight ways hospital executives can advance their careers and increase their earning power. Click to continue »


Physician Incentive Plans on the Rise

Annual performance-based incentive plans are on the rise for physicians in both presence and scale, according to Hay Group's recently released 2010 Physician Compensation Survey. Click to continue »


4 Trends in Non-Profit Hospital Executive Compensation Over the Next 5 Years

Every week, the healthcare industry sees headlines about hospital executive compensation controversy — how much CEOs are making, who decides it and whether the pay is reasonable. Click to continue »


10 Statistics About Compensation of Healthcare Executives

Here are 10 statistics about compensation of physician executives based on management experience in 2007 and 2009, according to the 2009 Physician Executive Compensation Survey by Cejka Search and the American College of Physician Executives. Click to continue »


5 Ways Hospitals Will Change Over the Next 10 Years

As the healthcare industry enters a period of major change, hospital administrators must prepare for a number of major challenges — including reimbursement cuts, EMR implementation, stricter compliance measures, new models of care, an influx of insured patients and more — while trying to keep their hospitals financially viable. Click to continue »


The Entrepreneurial Small Practice Is Not Going Away

In the race to put together integrated networks, hospitals and large multi-specialty groups are acquiring small medical practices and turning physicians into employees. Click to continue »


Hospitalists, the Fastest Growing Specialty, Meet Demands of Healthcare Reform

With 30,000 hospitalists in the United States, hospital medicine is the fastest growing medical specialty and it is expected to play an important role in healthcare reform, according to a report by the New York Times. Click to continue »


Study: Hospitalists With Lower Base Salaries Are More Productive

New data suggests the lower the proportion of total compensation paid as base salary to hospitalists, the higher productivity tends to be, according to the State of Hospital Medicine: 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data and an MGMA news release. Click to continue »


Markedly More Surgery Patients Now Co-Managed by Hospitalists

An increasing number of surgery patients are being co-managed by a surgeon and another clinician, such as a hospitalist or internal medicine subspecialist, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Click to continue »


4 Tips on Implementing a Surgicalist Program at Your Hospital

As patient loads and provider shortages increase, many hospitals are implementing surgicalist programs to accompany the hospitalist programs that came into vogue several years ago. Click to continue »


Society of Hospital Medicine President Dr. Jeff Wiese Responds to Four Criticisms of Hospital Medicine

As the field of hospital medicine grows and more hospitals implement hospitalist programs, critics wonder whether hospital medicine will hurt quality of care or draw medical students away from primary care. Click to continue »


5 Best Practices for Improving Your Hospital’s Revenue Cycle

When it comes to building efficient revenue cycles, some of the most common challenges facing hospitals today are filing claims to payors without having them denied and collecting bills in a timely manner. Click to continue »


4 Ways to Gain Leverage in Payor Contract Negotiations

Hospitals are constantly faced with the challenge of negotiating contracts with insurers. The challenge primary lies in finalizing a payor contract that is cost-effective for both the hospital, its patients and the insurer. Click to continue »


8 Points on Improving Collections of Outstanding Balances From Patients

NorthShore University HealthSystem, based in Evanston, Ill., launched an initiative seven months ago to improve collections of outstanding balances from patients who come in for more services. Click to continue »


Billing Clinics Improve Collections at Wisconsin’s Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare

New billing clinics at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Southeast Wisconsin have been extremely popular with patients and ease collections, says Coreen Dicus-Johnson, senior vice president of physician and revenue operations at Wheaton Franciscan. Click to continue »


What Makes or Breaks A Successful ACO: Q&A With Dartmouth Brookings Pilot Participant Monarch Healthcare’s COO Ray Chicoine

Ray Chicoine, COO of Monarch Healthcare, a 2,500-physician independent practice organization (IPA) in Orange County, Calif., discusses Monarch's efforts to develop an accountable care organization in Orange County as part of the ACO pilot project spearheaded by the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Click to continue »


10 Statistics Your Hospital Should Track

You can't manage what you don't measure: that seems to be the mantra of every hospital executive, as electronic data systems increasingly help hospitals track data on quality measures, patient satisfaction and revenue. Click to continue »


HHS Starts Talks on 2013 Measures for Second Stage of Meaningful Use

Although healthcare providers are just starting to take on the challenge of meeting the 2011 first stage requirements of the meaningful use incentive program, the Department of Health & Human Services has already started talks over second stage measures of the incentive program, according to a Government Health IT report. Click to continue »


National Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal Hints More Complex Requirements for 2013 Stage 2 Meaningful Use

National Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal, MD, is signaling to healthcare providers and vendors that requirements for the 2013 stage two of meaningful use will be more complex and robust, according to a Government Health IT news report. Click to continue »


HIMSS Launches State HIT Dashboard, Alerts Healthcare Providers of Health IT-Related News

HIMSS has launched a State HIT Dashboard, which is designed to help healthcare providers access credible and comprehensive information about relevant health IT programs and initiatives across the country, according to an HIMSS news release. Click to continue »


New Government Health IT Panel to Set Road Rules for Nationwide Health Information Network

A new government health IT advisory panel is working toward establishing road rules for the nationwide health information network, according to a Government Health IT report. Click to continue »


GOP’s New ‘Pledge to America’ Puts $19B in HIT Stimulus Funds at Risk

House Republicans' newly released legislative agenda, "A Pledge to America," includes a call to cancel any unspent money from the economic stimulus program, according to a report by the New York Times. Click to continue »


4 Steps to Creating a Great Hospital Marketing Campaign

As increasing patient volume becomes tantamount to staying financially viable, hospitals must think about how they market their services to potential referring physicians and patients. Click to continue »


3 Ways Hospitals Unintentionally Waste Money

Even as hospitals across the country increase their focus on reducing costs through job cuts and other efforts, they may be losing money in unexpected places. Click to continue »


Developing a Culture of Execution: A Precursor to Success Under Health Reform

Healthcare organizations have to become increasingly effective and efficient not only to thrive, but just to survive, under healthcare reform. Click to continue »


25 Largest Hospitals

Here are the 25 largest hospitals in the United States listed by number of beds. These facilities include for-profit and nonprofit hospitals, with some hospitals being part of a larger health system. Click to continue »


25 Top Grossing Hospitals

Here are the 25 top grossing short term acute-care hospitals in the United States listed by gross revenue, according to CMS cost report data analyzed by American Hospital Directory. Click to continue »


Hospital & Health System Executives Moves

Here is a list of 30 hospital, health system and health organization executive moves that took place during the second half of Sept. 2010. Click to continue »


Hospital & Health System Transactions

Winter Park, Fla.-based Adventist Health System has officially merged with the Tampa, Fla.- based network University Community Health to form the Tampa Bay region of the healthcare network. Click to continue »


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