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Editor's Picks
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Thai hospital going wireless
Thailand-based Bumrungrad International Hospital plans to install a wireless system that includes Motorola handheld devices at its facilities to allow doctors and nurses access to electronic medical records. Motorola's MC50 "handheld digital assistants" will be distributed to Bumrungrad's medical staff for communications, to access medical records, and to scan barcodes on medicine labels to ensure they go to the right patient, officials said. John Cunningham, director of RFID and wireless for Motorola's enterprise mobility business in Asia, estimates that around 30 to 40 hospitals in Asia are using mobile computers so far and that there will be even more orders over the next six months as these facilities continue modernization efforts. [Read More]
Expert says China reform will not be easy
Two weeks ago, China pledged that it would provide all citizens with access to basic healthcare and would invest $125 billion to revamp the country's healthcare system. But Drew Thompson, director of China studies at the Nixon Center in Washington, DC, says that the plan's success is in no way assured. In this opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Thompson says one major obstacle is that the reforms fail to delink hospital ownership from the bureaus and officials who regulate them. "In many instances, senior hospital leaders hold concurrent positions within the local health bureau" that could result in "a conflict of interest and present challenges to the stricter enforcement of regulations that might conflict with a hospital's profitability or other parochial interests," Thompson says. Governance and human resource gaps will also be serious problems, he adds. [Read More]
Asian transcriptionists help keep U.S. healthcare bureaucracy running
This Los Angeles Times article describes the practice of U.S. healthcare providers outsourcing billions of lines of transcription work each year to offices across Asia in a bid to cut costs. The foreign workers' duties range from dictating summaries of routine checkups to complete recordings of conversations between surgeons and nurses in operating theaters—with most of the work done for 10 to 15 cents a line in less than 24 hours. But the cost can be 300 times that for immediate orders. In the Philippines alone, the business of transcribing American medical files employed 34,000 Filipinos and generated $476 million in revenue in 2008, said Ernesto Herrera, a former senator who heads the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. [Read More]
Immigrant patients face language barriers
As immigrant communities swell throughout the U.S, healthcare providers are increasingly confronted with language and cultural challenges that can discourage people from seeking care and lead to calamitous errors in diagnoses and treatment regimens, according to this article in the Washington Post. In the Washington area alone, a sharp rise of the foreign-born population in the past two decades has led hospitals to take steps such as installing phones to connect patients and staff members to interpreters, hiring interpreters, training employees to do the job, and recruiting bilingual staff. But some large physician practices and small primary and specialty care services have not added language or cultural services, and many are wary of the costs to do so. [Read More]
TLT Call For Entries
As we celebrate the fifth year of the Top Leadership Teams in Healthcare program, we are once again looking for the next story of great leadership. Last year, we opened up the competition to include a "Global Hospitals" category, with Bangkok Hospital Medical Center in Thailand named the winner. If you think your organization has an outstanding teamwork story to share, submit your entry to HealthLeaders Media today. The deadline for submissions is April 30.
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Global Health Headlines
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NHS maternity units will still be short-staffed despite surge in number of midwives
The Daily Mail - April 21, 2009
Allegedly denied care in Mexico, migrant loses leg
Washington Post - April 21, 2009
Medical tourism to benefit locals in the Philippines
Manila Bulletin - April 21, 2009
Serbia taps Westerners for medical tourism
Associated Press - April 21, 2009
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From HealthLeaders Magazine |
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Jump . . . or Get Pushed
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The tough decisions you don't want to make now—but may have to. [Read More] |
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Service Lines Management |
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Redefining Cardio
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The cardiovascular service line remains a dependable revenue generator for many hospitals across the country. But a shifting market full of new options for patients means organizations must find ways to differentiate themselves to keep it that way. [Read More] |
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Audio Feature
Finance Leaders Survey: John Winfrey, CFO at DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa, AL, offers insights on the HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey 2009, discussing the top drivers of healthcare costs and the financial implications of possible healthcare reform plans. [Listen Now]
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Leadership
