Here’s How Hospitals Can Fix That

Health systems are in crisis.

Representatives from Renton, Wash.-based Providence, New York-based Mount Sinai and Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente were among the 61 organizations present June 30 at the White House where they pledged to join President Joe Biden's decarbonization initiative, according to a press release. 

The Association for Community Affiliated Plans has launched the Center for Social Determinants of Health Innovation, according to a June 30 press release. 

The Organ Procurement and Transportation Network has voted for transplant hospitals to remove race from their calculations of kidney function, the group said in a June 28 news release. 

Officials at all U.S. hospitals should be looking deep into their unique positions, paying attention to their financial situations, mix of patients and distinct geographies when assessing how the end of the public health emergency, whenever that may be, finally comes. This is according to McKinsey consultants Stephanie Carlton, a Dallas-based partner at the firm focusing on health system reform, and Pooja Kumar, MD, a Philadelphia-based senior partner. They discussed what changes might be coming for hospitals when the public health emergency does end.

Ambulatory surgery centers help drive down healthcare costs, but to stay viable, ASCs must work hard to protect their revenue. Wasting minutes, failing to understand rates and payer mix and having compliance oversights can be costly.

The global pandemic brought a tsunami of logistical complications for hospitals and health systems. And while the height of

Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System has teamed up with hospital-at-home company Contessa Health to provide home-based healthcare, according to a June 24 press release. 

Learning to lead through uncertainty, tapping into the creative side of strategy building and experimentation can all help build company strategy in unstable environments, The Harvard Business Review reported June 27. 

The systems used by clinicians to communicate and align themselves around patient care, and to set their own work schedules, are in need of an overhaul.

Luxury hotels are intensifying the "wellness" amenities they offer, with many now veering closer to traditional healthcare services, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

When a health system's MRI goes down, patients are frustrated and the health system loses revenue. But too often, problems aren't known until the equipment breaks. However, in today's digitally connected world, it is possible to ingest equipment data, perform analytics and proactively maintain equipment before it breaks. 

In the post-COVID, Great Resignation world, revenue cycle management (RCM) operations at specialty and community practices face new hurdles.

Incorporating green spaces into buildings, increasing the amount of sunlight and building large corridors are all ways hospitals can be designed to improve staff wellbeing, The Harvard Business Review reported June 15. 

A panel of health experts has called for a complete overhaul of the U.S. public health system, recommending that a new national public health system be created, The New York Times reported June 21. 

If you’ve participated in any managed care discussions recently, you’ve probably sensed a growing divide between payers and providers when it comes to the topic of price.

Rachel Neely is senior director of growth strategy at Innovaccer

For many years, audio advertising could not be measured. Today, service line marketers can attribute appointment volume to their digital audio ad campaigns.

Change is an important part of improvement. While new solutions can go a long way toward revolutionizing a health system’s processes, at Pulsara, we believe that change is 5% technology, 15% process and 80% about people.