Early Warning Signs
Faced with constantly shifting financial winds, hospital leaders don’t need vital information in a year-end report. They need it now.
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What is RSS?
P4P Pioneer
Can other regions emulate California’s pay-for-performance success?
Can other regions emulate California’s pay-for-performance success?
Insiders’ Insights
Workflow Solutions
Workflow Solutions
Revolving Door
As the CEO turnover rate creeps upward, hospitals strive for executive stability.
As the CEO turnover rate creeps upward, hospitals strive for executive stability.
Translation from Afar
A network of interpreters helps physicians bridge language gaps.
A network of interpreters helps physicians bridge language gaps.
Beyond Calculators
For today’s hospital CFOs, crunching numbers is just the beginning.
For today’s hospital CFOs, crunching numbers is just the beginning.
What is RSS?
The End of Networks?
Are they fading into obsolescence? Will you be ready?
Are they fading into obsolescence? Will you be ready?
Temporary Workers, Permanent Problem
With millions of dollars on the line, hospitals target waste and inefficiency in contract staffing.
With millions of dollars on the line, hospitals target waste and inefficiency in contract staffing.
Pay with Plastic
The use of medical debit cards is rising, but can they help providers get paid faster?
The use of medical debit cards is rising, but can they help providers get paid faster?
What is RSS?
Calling for Backup
More hospitals are paying stipends for on-call coverage as the pool of willing volunteers continues to shrink.
More hospitals are paying stipends for on-call coverage as the pool of willing volunteers continues to shrink.
Culture Construction
Sisters of Mercy Health System wades into a new culture of patient safety via well-charted waters.
Sisters of Mercy Health System wades into a new culture of patient safety via well-charted waters.
Cleaning House
Association launches industrywide effort to measure environmental standards.
Association launches industrywide effort to measure environmental standards.
What is RSS?
Picture This
To connect its widely dispersed physicians, a radiology practice in Alaska blends multiple technologies.
To connect its widely dispersed physicians, a radiology practice in Alaska blends multiple technologies.
Behind the Wires
Reid Coleman bridges the gap between technology and medicine at Lifespan.
Reid Coleman bridges the gap between technology and medicine at Lifespan.
Deal!
An inside look at an IT contract.
An inside look at an IT contract.
Auxiliary Brain
A San Francisco physician loves his PDA, but handheld devices may fit better in hospitals than office settings.
A San Francisco physician loves his PDA, but handheld devices may fit better in hospitals than office settings.
What is RSS?
“[Revoking or suspending the medical license] is like killing a fly with an atomic bomb, or at least a sledgehammer.”
“He said, ‘I’ll just stop taking it—we can’t afford it.’ But I said, ‘That drug is keeping you alive, for crying out loud.’”
“We don’t have a healthcare system in America. We have a sick care system. If you get sick, you get care, one way or the other. But there are precious few incentives out there to keep you well, to keep you healthy, to keep you out of the hospital in the first place.”
“That is real savings to the organization. Not to mention the convenience factor and the productivity factor from staying on-site.”
“Every single patient deserves a private room, and it doesn’t matter whether they are rich or poor.”
Hometown Pride
It was great to read your article on the “Country Doctor of the Year” (April 2006, “On Call for All”). The article means a lot to me since I grew up in that very small town of Kilmichael, Miss. I am currently a podiatrist practicing in the big city of Cleveland, but I always feel a closeness to home. Katrina Poe is a wonderful person and physician. She is my mother’s primary-care physician. My mother was recently hospitalized for a bronchial infection, and she was successfully treated by Dr. Poe in the 19-bed hospital. I must admit that I didn’t know the hospital was that small. Thanks for the wonderful article on Dr. Poe, and thanks for the positive publicity for my hometown.
It was great to read your article on the “Country Doctor of the Year” (April 2006, “On Call for All”). The article means a lot to me since I grew up in that very small town of Kilmichael, Miss. I am currently a podiatrist practicing in the big city of Cleveland, but I always feel a closeness to home. Katrina Poe is a wonderful person and physician. She is my mother’s primary-care physician. My mother was recently hospitalized for a bronchial infection, and she was successfully treated by Dr. Poe in the 19-bed hospital. I must admit that I didn’t know the hospital was that small. Thanks for the wonderful article on Dr. Poe, and thanks for the positive publicity for my hometown.
First things first
Gary Baldwin’s article on the adoption of electronic medical records by physician group practices (“Paper Charts, No More,” May 2006) highlights some important data from the Medical Group Management Association. Specifically, only 14 percent of all medical groups are using EMRs for documentation, and 42 percent have no plans to implement an EMR in the next two years. A significant factor underlying these findings is that for many physician groups, basic office automation for practice management is still their fundamental IT priority. Many are still running outmoded UNIX- or DOS-based systems. As noted in the article, the average cost to purchase and implement an EMR is pushing past $32,600 per physician. If a group’s practice management system does not enable them to process claims quickly and accurately, maximize collections as a percentage of billed charges and control the aging of accounts receivable, can they really afford an EMR? The necessity to first solve basic practice management problems explains why many group practices are not moving ahead faster on EMRs.
Gary Baldwin’s article on the adoption of electronic medical records by physician group practices (“Paper Charts, No More,” May 2006) highlights some important data from the Medical Group Management Association. Specifically, only 14 percent of all medical groups are using EMRs for documentation, and 42 percent have no plans to implement an EMR in the next two years. A significant factor underlying these findings is that for many physician groups, basic office automation for practice management is still their fundamental IT priority. Many are still running outmoded UNIX- or DOS-based systems. As noted in the article, the average cost to purchase and implement an EMR is pushing past $32,600 per physician. If a group’s practice management system does not enable them to process claims quickly and accurately, maximize collections as a percentage of billed charges and control the aging of accounts receivable, can they really afford an EMR? The necessity to first solve basic practice management problems explains why many group practices are not moving ahead faster on EMRs.
“[Revoking or suspending the medical license] is like killing a fly with an atomic bomb, or at least a sledgehammer.”
“He said, ‘I’ll just stop taking it—we can’t afford it.’ But I said, ‘That drug is keeping you alive, for crying out loud.’”
“We don’t have a healthcare system in America. We have a sick care system. If you get sick, you get care, one way or the other. But there are precious few incentives out there to keep you well, to keep you healthy, to keep you out of the hospital in the first place.”
“That is real savings to the organization. Not to mention the convenience factor and the productivity factor from staying on-site.”
“Every single patient deserves a private room, and it doesn’t matter whether they are rich or poor.”
Held Accountable
The general move toward transparency and accountability in healthcare finance is often discussed in a theoretical or organizational context. What often gets less attention is that these movements have a face, and more often than not that face is the healthcare organization's chief financial officer.
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