Navigating tight margins is a challenge for many hospitals and health systems across the country. While some organizations are adapting to the changing post-pandemic dynamics and seeing an uptick in margins, many still face financial strains.

Healthcare systems today face a variety of challenges, from budgetary constraints to staffing shortages. However, a shift is occurring as leaders turn to on-demand labor for sustainable solutions.

Healthcare leadership is grappling with significant workforce challenges, compounded by financial pressures that make it difficult to address these issues on a grand scale. With the number of individuals entering medical professions dwindling, the urgency to find solutions is palpable. The future is a common topic of discussion, yet few organizations are taking concrete steps to rectify the problem. Success lies in those who are willing to completely revamp their recruitment processes, with the goal of recruiting to retain.

Clinician engagement is linked in the literature to improvements in all four corners of the Quadruple Aim: patient experience, patient outcomes, cost of care, and provider experience.

Many hospitals and health systems face barriers in leveraging accurate, real-time data to support surgical capacity management. Yet, access to such data can unlock myriad benefits, ranging from enhanced operating room efficiency to better insight into OR availability, improved schedule coordination and smarter allocation of resources.

The value of a quality department is reflected by its impact on quality and safety outcomes to stop harm upstream and prevent it from reoccurring. In times of budget and workforce reductions, sometimes the quality department’s effectiveness is not readily seen for what it is: a monitoring and performance improvement arm of the health system for cost avoidance and achieving top decile performance in healthcare.

Operating room (OR) utilization is a key revenue driver for hospitals and health systems.

"At the end of the day, you can't cut your way to a margin," Michael Mutterer, RN, told Becker's during a recent phone call. 

MEDITECH Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Helen Waters and Global Director of Healthcare Strategy and Solutions for Google Cloud, Aashima Gupta, discuss joint AI projects and the role of collaboration in achieving healthcare transformation.

Improving the experience of care is a key to improving health outcomes. Yet in a sea of competing priorities and information overflow, understanding where to start can be daunting.

The University of Chicago Medicine is growing its neuroscience partnership with Shanghai Blue Cross Brain Hospital in China. 

In an effort to rein in healthcare costs for its 1.6 million employees, Walmart sends them directly to health systems that demonstrate high-quality care outcomes, otherwise known as Centers of Excellence.

Healthcare organizations across the country are struggling to maintain or improve patient satisfaction, in part due to financial, staffing and competitive pressures. Yet, falling patient satisfaction scores can further dampen providers' already reduced revenues.

In 2021, Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth pioneered a new phase of its long-standing relationship with Walt Disney World by becoming the resort's official healthcare provider.

The nursing shortage has made traditional staffing approaches obsolete. Rigid schedules and fixed staffing ratios fail to adapt to the dynamic nature of patient care needs, causing healthcare organizations to close medical departments or end services due to inadequate staffing.

Healthcare is growing as a global phenomenon: more patients are engaging in medical travel for reasons related to cost, accessibility, quality, and experience of care.

The difference between a top-performing medical group and an average or even struggling one will likely come down to actionable insights based on data this year.

With a nationwide shortage of anesthesia providers that is expected to worsen before it improves, hospitals are discovering that their vision of a fully staffed anesthesia department is really a mirage.

According to an October 2022 report, the United States spends more on healthcare administration, at 15-30% of total healthcare spending than comparable countries. It is estimated at least half of this spending is wasteful. Compounding this problem for hospitals and practices is declining reimbursements from payors and still-persistent inflation.

The operating room is a key focus area for healthcare leaders looking to drive efficiency and cost savings across their organizations.