5 key articles for hospital management

Here are five articles addressing important hospital management issues.

The Quality Dollars Reimbursement Game

 

By Milton G. Silva-Craig, CEO of Q-Centrix

 

Following the CMS playbook of driving change — voluntary, incent, require and penalize — large commercial plans have now begun to play the game and are requesting providers' voluntary participation in the submission of certain quality measures, which are distinct and separate from the more well-known CMS measures.

 

From the inception of only a handful of inpatient measures to the multiple hands of measures — from outpatient, registries and physician quality reporting to hospital-acquired infections to value-based purchasing — the quality dollars reimbursement game has changed and will continue to change. Quality leaders now stand directly in the revenue path, so be sure you know the path to their office, and make sure it's a path well-traveled!

 

8 Requirements for Leveraging Clinical Analytics in an Outcomes-Based Environment

 

By Brett Furst, ArborMetrix CEO

 

There is widespread agreement that the growth in healthcare spending is unsustainable and that continuing down the same path of limited, incremental fixes won't provide the lifeline the healthcare system needs. Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Using this definition, until recently most "same-old, same-old" cost-containment efforts could be described as insane.

 

However, we can "stop the insanity" as the healthcare system evolves from a fee-for-service model that bases reimbursement on the volume of visits as well as tests and procedures — even when there is a lack of evidence about their clinical effectiveness or overall value when compared to other testing and treatment options. The transition to value-based purchasing that ties reimbursement to the quality and cost-effectiveness of patient care is fueling outcomes-based quality initiatives such as eliminating payment for preventable adverse outcomes including 30-day readmissions, reducing avoidable emergency department visits and preventing complications such as surgical-site infections.

 

Making Change Stick in the OR

 

By Robert Dahl, Senior Vice President and COO of Surgical Directions

 

Most hospital leaders understand the need to boost OR performance. Payment reform is forcing surgery departments to improve quality and outcomes while reducing costs. But many CEOs hesitate to launch an aggressive OR transformation effort. After the push to improve operations, will staff revert to prior ways? Will a "misfire" frustrate surgeons? Will the OR's problems become more entrenched than ever?

 

These concerns are valid. Experienced hospital leaders know that process improvement is not enough. Change management is essential to achieving long-term gains. The problem is that generic change management strategies are not adequate for transforming a hospital OR.

 

Cost-Effective HR: 5 Things to Know

 

Stuck in size between large hospitals and small ambulatory surgery centers, physician-owned surgical hospitals face a breadth of challenges in today's healthcare environment, including in the human resources department. Large hospitals can afford to hire a several-member HR department while smaller ASCs either outsource these responsibilities completely or add them to the job description of other employees. MedHQ, a human resources outsourcing company, can help to find the best situation for his surgical hospital as it evolved through the years and continually adapts to the healthcare environment.

 

Collaboration Will Define Healthcare's Future: A Recap of Stanford Medicine X 2014

 

By Geri Lynn Baumblatt, Executive Director of Patient Engagement, Emmi Solutions

 

Stanford Medicine X, the annual event in its 4th year, aims to innovate healthcare at the intersection of emerging technologies and medicine by connecting patients, providers, technologists and researchers. The "X" is meant to encourage thinking beyond numbers and trends, and symbolizes the infinite possibilities for current and future information technologies to improve health. But what makes the conference especially unique is that patients aren't just invited to attend, they're fundamental to its DNA.

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