Better Care and the Bottom Line

An independent HealthLeaders Media Survey supported by TeleTracking.

About 52% of respondents said the best way to reduce costs is to adopt nationwide best practices across the healthcare continuum, with 54% saying that accountable care organizations can be successful in coordinating care and driving down costs.

Mark Newton, president and CEO of Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, says this response reflects healthcare leaders’ efforts to make significant attempts to improve patient care through new economic structures. Still, he says, the results also show healthcare is still struggling through a complicated and evolving system.

“The healthcare system is definitely responding and retooling itself; that is occurring,” Newton says. “You can’t argue with paying for value. You can’t argue with expecting high-quality results; the transparency and public sharing of that data are good things. The system is transforming itself and that’s happening faster and there’s a high degree of alertness.”

The results also reflect concerns about the vagaries of the healthcare system, including its impact on healthcare consumers and their ability to truly understand changes that may impact them, Newton says.

While there are positives wrapped around plans for ACOs, for instance, “there are dozens of regulations attached, and there are questions,”
he said.