HealthLeaders Media Community and Rural Hospital Weekly

HealthLeaders Media Community and Rural Hospital Weekly - February 10, 2010


Scope of Practice Battle Overlooks Reality; Rural Areas Lack Doctors Cheryl Clark, Editor, Community Hospitals The lawsuit filed by 40,000 California doctors last week to halt nurse anesthetists' newly obtained ability to administer anesthesia without physician supervision opened the floodgates of fury. Beneath the din, however, is the underlying crux of the issue: the impact of the physician shortage on rural hospitals, which struggle to find and contract with primary care or specialty doctors willing to work in their areas, and especially at contract rates the poorer, smaller hospitals can afford. [Read More]
		February 10, 2010

Editor's Picks
10 Ways to Improve Handoffs in Your Hospital Providers are increasingly realizing that the process of "handoffs" is an obvious setting for preventable errors to begin. HCPro, Inc. editor Julie McCoy gives 10 tips that may seem like common sense, but following them may reduce communication disconnects that result in mishaps. [Read More] There are Big Bucks in Better Patient Flow Heartland Health in Missouri dug into gaps in patient flow and found a lot of missing money. Karen Minich-Pourshadi, HealthLeaders Senior Editor for Finance, says that improvements the emergency department made a lot of difference simply by removing some obvious bottlenecks. [Read More] Patients Stealing $52M Worth of Items from Hospitals, Says Survey Who knew patients would be pilferers? John Commins, HealthLeaders Senior Editor for Human Resources, reports on a hospital survey indicating that patients think hospitals are hotel rooms, secretly pocketing TV remotes and even telephones as they are discharged. [Read More] Many Small Practice Physicians Putting off Meaningful Use Guidelines Concerns about whether electronic medical record systems will work, whether they will meet as yet unpublished certification requirements, and who will pay their costs is scaring many physicians in small or solo practices from buying in. Some wonder if it will eventually prove worth it, as I reported after a series of interviews last week. [Read More]

Leaders Forum
TRICARE Protests: Round 2 For organizations interested in federal healthcare contracting, the lessons from a series of TMA contracts and the protests that followed continue to be learned and, in some cases, forgotten. As the saying goes, "it ain't over until the fat lady sings"—and she's still waiting in the wings. [Read More]

This Week's Headlines
Former California hospital executive will plead guilty to paying kickbacks Los Angeles Times ? February 10, 2010 Healthcare hiring continues Wall Street Journal Health Blog ? February 8, 2010 Long-term care hospitals face little scrutiny New York Times ? February 10, 2010 Hospitals may ask TN to tax them The Tennessean ? February 8, 2010
Webcasts/Audio Conferences
ED Overhaul: Reduce costs, improve quality, and increase satisfaction (February 23) Physician Compensation Models in a Strained Economy (March 8) Marketing Oncology: Service Line Strategies for Marketers (On Demand)
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From HealthLeaders Magazine

Five Strategies that Prove Healthcare is Still a Growth Industry

Here is a review of growth opportunities that will increase revenue, decrease costs, or enhance services in the areas of leadership, finance, physicians, technology, health plans, quality, and outcomes. [Read More]

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	Audio Feature Nurse Anesthetists Necessary In Rural Areas: Richard Rawson, President and CEO of three small Adventist hospitals in rural areas of California's Central Valley, says retaining the ability of nurse anesthetists to practice without physician supervision is essential for his hospitals' financial viability. The alternative would be "devastating," he says. [Listen Now] [Sponsored by McKesson]


	Sponsor Community and Rural Hospital Contact Paul Mattioli, Sr. Director of Sales, at pmattioli@healthleadersmedia.com or call 800.639.7477.

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