Here are 10 recent stories that describe how hospitals and health systems can improve their financial position.
1. 11 Ways Hospitals and Health Systems Can Increase Profitability in 2013
This article serves as this year’s foundation for hospital executives who are looking to keep their bottom lines positive while maintaining quality and safety. Some of the biggest points mentioned include strict ROI analysis of new service lines, standardizing physician preference items, reviewing all contracts and how to invest in sustainable, green projects.
2. 5 Areas Where Hospitals Can Spend Smarter
For hospital CFOs and other finance executives, cash flow is at a premium, and resources cannot be wasted on fruitless projects. Here, two hospital CFOs and a real estate adviser explain five major areas where hospitals can be more prudent in how they spend.
3. How to Create Sustainable Hospital Financial Improvement: 3 Steps
It doesn’t take a visionary hospital financial leader to slash and burn 10 percent from cost plans, but it does take a visionary hospital leader to redesign cost structures that will make savings sustainable.
4. How Aspen Valley Hospital Increased Days Cash on Hand More Than 100-Fold
Aspen (Colo.) Valley Hospital, a 25-bed critical access facility, had only four days of cash on hand back in 2005. Now, CFO Terry Collins has built up their total days of cash to more than 400. Here, he explains how he and his hospital staff did it.
5. 2 Examples of Simple, Non-Labor Cost Savings at Hospitals
Layoffs are often considered a go-to strategy to cut costs immediately, but layoffs are not a sustainable financial strategy, not to mention a very controversial one in today’s recovering economy. Instead, hospitals should focus saving money through two simple avenues: utilities and supplies.
6. 4 Strategies to Improve Patient Satisfaction — and Profitability
CMS’ Value-Based Purchasing program began in October, and with it, patient satisfaction became exponentially more important. Because patient satisfaction is now partially tied into Medicare reimbursement, how a patient feels about his or her experience at the hospital now directly impacts the bottom line. This article describes four strategies to improve patient satisfaction and, consequentially, profitability.
7. 7 Projects Hospital CFOs Should Focus on in the Final Months of 2012
Even though 2012 is behind us, several of the projects mentioned by Tim Jodway, CFO of Garden City (Mich.) Hospital, are still relevant and could impact the hospital’s bottom line.
8. 8 Tips to Improve Your Hospital’s Operating Margin
Mike Tretina is CFO of Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa. MGMC is a non-profit, city-owned hospital, and Mr. Tretina has found a way to improve the organization’s operating margin with simple maneuvers.
9. 4 Areas Where Better Documentation Can Improve Hospital Revenue
Paul Weygandt, MD, JD, vice president of physician services for J.A. Thomas & Associates, details four areas that impact a hospital’s bottom line but could be improved through successful clinical documentation improvement programs.
10. Green Saves Green: How Baptist Health South Florida’s Environmental Strategy is Paying Off
Green initiatives at hospitals have the obvious positive impacts of improving the environmental and establishing a sense of sustainability within the community. However, as Eric Wenke of Baptist Health South Florida explains, green efforts also directly impact a hospital’s profitability.
More Articles on Hospital Finance:
Academic Hospital Finances Today: Q&A With Tufts Medical Center CFO C. Okey Agba
Hospital Layoffs and Financial Viability: Do They Go Hand-in-Hand?
Charity Care and Property Taxes: Why They Are Now Inseparable
