Breaking Through

In some ways, it's never been harder to innovate in healthcare. Sure, medical technology and training are advancing rapidly, but so are their associated costs. The idea that the U.S. can continue to be the world's medical R&D laboratory, absorbing the high price of healthcare innovation, is vanishing quickly.

Even as the nation has become weary of politically charged healthcare reform rhetoric, healthcare providers might feel targeted by so much talk about the spiraling cost of care. After more than a year of debate, healthcare reform proposals have transformed primarily into insurance access reform, not unlike the near-universal insurance law enacted in Massachusetts.

And the by-product of the Bay State's reform efforts: a 15% increase in spending on privately insured residents over three years and insurance premiums that spiked 12.2% from 2006 to 2008. Reports from the state's regulators point to an influx of outpatient care provided in expensive hospitals and AMCs. A report by the state's attorney general concludes that hospitals are paid not based on the quality of care they provide but instead by market power they wield with insurers; Massachusetts hospitals, however, say that these reports don't take into account inadequate payments by Medicare and Medicaid.

Even as politicians and regulators point their fingers at providers, health leaders know they need to innovate to provide better care. This doesn't often come cheap, and these decisions aren't easy. In this issue of HealthLeaders, we explore medical breakthroughs that promise to soon change the way healthcare is delivered and improve patients' outcomes.

What is striking is not just the medical innovations themselves, but also how organizational leadership needs to take an active role in owning the decision to become an early adopter. Steve Ronstrom, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, WI, tells Senior Editor Gienna Shaw about visiting other hospitals to learn the details about their medical and technology adoption. "Plane tickets are the best investment we can make," he says.

Because healthcare leaders are now under a powerful microscope, the value of peer-to-peer learning has never been greater. The lessons extend beyond medical breakthroughs by state-of-the-art institutions; they include best practices in every phase of management. Here at HealthLeaders Media, we are extending thought leadership in a new way—with our HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs series of rich-media special reports. Our latest issue of Breakthroughs is called "Mission Driven, Financially Strong," and it discusses how the principles of sound financial management are preparing four progressive healthcare organizations for whatever challenges reform might bring.

Such leadership is essential, especially in today's climate, because while healthcare innovation has become more challenging, it has never been more critical.

Rick Johnson
Editorial Director
rjohnson@HealthLeadersMedia.com