Technology clearly is a critical component for a telestroke program, but the business relationship is the foundation for success. 

In one-on-one interviews, selected HealthLeaders Council Connection members identify the key metrics they monitor to ensure that their healthcare organizations stay on track.

Lack of early planning could exacerbate the financial hit healthcare leaders expect.

A look at a few difficult transformations suggests the process will move quickly, if not painlessly.

Burned by the big-bang implementation strategies of the 1990s, leaders shifted to a drawn-out rollout for CPOE; but with meaningful use deadlines approaching, organizations are finding more efficient paths to go-live.

Under value-based purchasing guidelines, hospitals will be evaluated and paid based on how well they perform 12 process measures. There is some evidence—but at times little hard proof—that these tasks correlate with true outcomes, such as saved lives or reduced readmissions.

As demand grows for the procedure, so do competition and the challenges to improving volume and quality.  

Each week, a small audience gathers in the lobby of Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA. Some are waiting to hear news about a loved one. Others are awaiting checkups, test results, or critical health decisions. Though most healthcare waiting areas have TVs and magazines for distraction, at Lahey, melodies from the 1920s and ’30s played on a Steinway grand piano by rheumatologist David L. Freeman, MD, help reduce anxiety.