Hospital and health system leaders may have a difficult time defining Optum — the fastest-growing unit of the largest health insurer in the country — as a competitor or a collaborator.

Peter Doerner, NAPA's Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer writes, "It’s a challenging time to be running a health system or Ambulatory Surgery Center. With the healthcare industry caught in a legislative standstill, hospital and ASC executives must now juggle their current high-cost structures with shifts in consumer behavior, case volume and the payer mix. Now more than ever, administrators need a true partner in their anesthesia department. Strong onsite anesthesia leadership can have a significant impact on a hospital’s culture and financial performance." Editor's note: this article was originally posted on NAPA's website Please click here to continue

Dr. Steven Herling, Physician at North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA), Director of Perioperative Medicine at Northwell Health in Manhasset, NY, writes, "It’s been said that change is good—and hard. In considering how standardizing presurgical testing can maximize the satisfaction of hospitals, surgeons, and patients, there are solid medical and fiscal benefits to be reaped by making changes to the old protocol.”

Decision-making processes are broken: It takes too long to arrive at a solution, and even after spending so much time deliberating, the outcome may still be less than successful. According to a recent McKinsey survey, this frustrating process wastes 530,000 days' worth of managers' time — the equivalent of $250 million — at a typical Fortune 500 company.

Arlington-based Texas Health Resources is replacing its current zone-based operations model with a channel strategy.

Some of the most compelling speakers at the 16th Annual World Health Care Congress this week in Washington, D.C., were those who see healthcare from the outside looking in, extending an opportunity for hospitals, health systems and legacy players in the industry to take a good hard look in the mirror.

Indiana's high hospital prices may be deterring new businesses from the state, according to the Indy Star.

If you want to witness one of the most compelling examples of healthcare "disruption" today, gather hospital and health system leaders in a room and hand a microphone to Lisa Woods, senior director of U.S. Health Care at Walmart. 

Rick McCraw, RN, CEN, FACHE brings more than 30 years of emergency, trauma, and physician practice leadership experience to his role as director of client development and operations for the Healthcare Transformation Services group within Philips.

The movement to value-based healthcare is gaining steam, and consumers stand to benefit as providers ramp up their efforts to provide patients with personalized, affordable and coordinated care that best meets their needs.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health debuted new signage at its flagship hospital in Charlotte — previously named Carolinas Medical Center — more than a year after taking on the Atrium name, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital's conversion to a freestanding emergency room will affect hundreds of jobs.

The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway sat down with the editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance to discuss the healthcare joint venture backed by Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan, including its much-anticipated name, audacious goals and leader Atul Gawande, MD.

Forbes contributor Kevin Kruse highlights that while a disengaged workforce may lead to issues in any industry, the consequences are even greater in healthcare.

A new proposal calls for three Nashville, Tenn.-based health systems to share responsibility for caring for uninsured patients, which would help protect Nashville General Hospital from the threat of closure, the Tennessean reports.

Television subscription services like Netflix and Hulu make money because while it costs each provider millions to make a television show or movie, each new stream costs little or nothing. New York Times contributor Tina Rosenberg claims another product can work in a similar fashion: medicine.

Hospitals spend money to advertise in metropolitan daily newspapers, but they use many of the same attributes in their messaging, according to a new study.

Baylor Scott & White is turning to a nontraditional source to launch a women's health campaign: social media influencers.

Best Buy, Dell, AmGen and health systems like Oakland, Calif.-based Alameda Health System are finding new ways to help provide employees with affordable caregiving services, Reuters reports.

Ventura (Calif.) County Medical Center officials voted to hire a strategy and growth executive to improve the hospital's finances, according to the VC Star.