Strategic Planning
The quality of a hospital or health system is usually linked to patient outcomes, not to administrative or financial efficacy. But smooth interactions between patients and the hospital business office should also be viewed as critical to an organization's quality, says one CFO.
Hospitals are just beginning to catch on to the promise of integrated data analytics to manage patient population health and measure treatment outcomes. These benefits not only assist the transition toward patient-focused care, they're helping healthcare institutions reduce associated costs.
It's the rare hospital C-suite executive who doesn't worry about the federally-mandated financial penalties that can result from not reining in avoidable 30-day readmissions. Several potentially useful solutions to this costly problem have sprung up recently.
The senior care market was one of the few healthcare sectors to avoid many of the major changes in the Affordable Care Act. Nonetheless, many senior care providers are beginning to experience a "trickle down" effect that will dramatically change the way they do business in coming years.
Last month, Paul R. Bengston, CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, a small, critical access hospital located in St. Johnsbury, Vt., was chosen to lead the American Hospital Association's Section for Small or Rural Hospitals in 2014. The 21-person governing council represents small or rural hospitals in the AHA's policy process and member services initiatives.
Hospital Marina Salud de Denia, described as a model for what the hospital of the future should look like, is well on its way to fulfilling its promise. But can its financial achievements be duplicated by U.S. facilities?
Relationships are at the core of any business, so building strong ones is important. One relationship-building strategy that is increasingly becoming popular in healthcare - particularly in the pharmaceutical industry - is strategic account management.
Surprisingly, the due diligence process is easier for hospitals acquiring large medical practices than for those buying smaller physician groups. But close analysis of small practice finances is essential during acquisition, as the results determine the very structure of the transaction.
If behavioral health centers want to be a part of the burgeoning integrated care environment, they have to offer clients same day access.
The healthcare industry's transformation to value-based models has spurred retail pharmacies to expand their roles and traditional providers to partner with them.