HealthLeadersMedia.com - Roundtables

Building the Digital Hospital of the Future

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:02:00 GMT

The healthcare industry is moving toward a system where information can be secure, reliable, and easily accessed. The goal is to give caregivers the ability to concentrate on caring for the patient, rather than wasting time with burdensome technology and inefficient care delivery processes. HealthLeaders Media recently convened a panel of experts for a high-level discussion regarding what moves hospitals should be making now to prepare for a digital, interoperable healthcare system.

Making Patient Experience Initiatives Stick

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:02:00 GMT

A patient experience initiative can fail for many reasons. For starters, you can treat it like just another initiative—a fad that will inevitably fade from favor with the next change in the weather—or the C-suite. It can die from simple neglect—a lack of time, money, and attention—even if everybody understands and agrees how important it is. On the other hand, there are plenty of ways to make patient experience more than just another initiative, to weave it into the very fabric of your organization's culture, and ultimately to reap the rewards of a healthier bottom line and a reputation that people will talk about with anyone who will listen. HealthLeaders recently convened a panel of experts who shared their best tactics not only for making patient experience a priority, but also for maintaining the momentum.

Maximizing Quality from IT

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:02:00 GMT

The promise of healthcare IT lies in the gulf—the one between what computers can do with speed and precision versus what healthcare can do to properly structure the data. In the end, the idea is that the precision and speed of IT will enable doctors and nurses to make better decisions with robust, real-time data delivered to them by precisely the right tool in the right space. While the government and other players are adding pressure to bridge the gulf, fundamental issues remain. HealthLeaders Media recently convened a panel of IT experts to address these questions.

Challenges and Opportunities Facing Community Hospitals

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:02:00 GMT

Many community hospitals experiencing financial difficulties or capital deficiency see only a few unappealing options for securing their future: selling outright, merging with a large chain or nonprofit system, or continuing to struggle as they fall further and further behind the competition. HealthLeaders Media recently convened a panel of experts for a high-level discussion on a third choice for such hospitals: Union with a well-capitalized partner that allows the hospital to retain significant operational control.

The Bottom Line of Health Policy

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:02:00 GMT

The healthcare industry has suffered huge financial losses in the past year due to the recession and a confluence of other factors. According to some reports, as many as 50% of the nation's hospitals will show losses in 2009. Amidst all of this, leaders in Washington are drafting legislation that may change the entire healthcare infrastructure. HealthLeaders recently met with industry leaders to discuss key legislation and conversations they are following that will have a direct financial impact on hospitals.

Leadership Recruiting and Development 2009

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:02:00 GMT

Finding the right leaders to guide an organization to the other side of this recession is extremely challenging. With half of all hospitals losing money, the housing crisis, layoffs, and a massive scale-back of services, recruitment efforts have been severely hampered. That?s not exactly the environment that a new leader wants to walk into right now. What strategies can organizations use to get the right talent in the door? How can organizations develop internal leaders? What role do interim executives play in the current market? HealthLeaders Media recently convened a panel of experts to seek answers to those questions and many more.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: What Hospitals Need to Do Now

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:02:00 GMT

Few industries depend on legislation and regulation as much as healthcare does. That's why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is so important for healthcare organizations of all sizes, from the smallest physician practice to the largest and most complex academic medical center. Why? Because they all stand to gain unprecedented reimbursement increases in return for meaningful use of information technology in their treatment of patients. Second, they all stand to be penalized if they don't comply with the technological specifications outlined in the act. How many healthcare organizations are currently ready to live with its provisions? What remediation do the vast majority of organizations need in order to be eligible for the rewards and disqualified from the penalties? HealthLeaders Media recently convened a panel of experts to seek answers to those questions and many more.

The State of the Healthcare IT Infrastructure

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:02:00 GMT

For any industry to deliver on its business promise it needs an infrastructure that supports quality and allows for growth. The healthcare industry is facing a convergence of pressures to use information technology to improve the quality of care and reduce cost. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act calls for $19.2 billion in funding to at first promote and, subsequently, mandate the use of electronic health records. But the government is hardly the only healthcare stakeholder to question the value provided by the patchwork nature of the nation's healthcare IT. Only a fraction of the nation's hospitals are using point-of-care technologies like computerized physician order entry or medication bar coding. Those that do use such point-of-care systems do so in isolation, their data walled behind proprietary software from EMR vendors. Are the tools of healthcare technology an adequate foundation for the performance demands that are no longer far away? HealthLeaders convened a panel of experts to ask for their insight on whether the industry can build on what exists, or whether a new, more innovative healthcare IT infrastructure that improves data at the point of care is required.

The Talent Life Cycle: How to recruit, develop, retain, and engage

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:21:00 GMT

Recruitment and retention of employees is an ever-growing challenge for senior leaders as work force shortages mount in multiple departments of the hospital. Healthcare organizations must adopt an approach to hiring that covers much more than getting employees in the front door. They must look at the entire talent life cycle, from recruitment to development to long-term engagement—and, sometimes, separation. HealthLeaders convened a roundtable panel of experts to discuss strategies for dealing with this complex problem, as well as how hospitals can re-create themselves as workplaces of the future.

Building and adjusting your outpatient strategy

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:17:00 GMT

In the face of financial headwinds that include reimbursement cuts, increasing bad debt, and patients’ desire for convenience, many hospitals have found that their best-paying patients continue migrating to outpatient locations. Patients are demanding more flexibility in both the sites where they receive care and in the way they pay for that care. That means the best-performing hospitals have to learn flexibility, too. But change can be expensive—so can building and expanding, not to mention adding programs and modalities to capture the patient population’s demands.

Ties That Bind: Developing Hospital-Physician Alignment

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMT

It's no secret that the business model between hospitals and physicians is in a state of flux. In fact, a recent HealthLeaders Media survey of hospital and medical group CEOs found that 36 percent of participants spend more than 26 percent of their time on physician relations.

Medical Travel

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:55:00 GMT

The healthcare world is becoming flat. The days when American healthcare was isolated from the rest of the world are starting to change, with growing numbers of Americans looking overseas for care.

Opportunities in Hospital Capital Access

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 05:00:00 GMT

If you run a hospital and you need capital, these are the good old days. Interest rates are at historic lows, hospitals' margins overall are expanding across most of the country, and cheap debt doesn't just come from bond offerings anymore. Hospitals are taking advantage by replacing outdated facilities and acquiring ancillary businesses such as physician practices and outpatient facilities to position themselves for the competition of the future.

The Leadership of Quality

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 05:00:00 GMT

The Federal Stake in Quality

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 05:00:00 GMT

Healthcare Quality: The Dynamic System

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 05:00:00 GMT

The TLT Roundtable

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 05:00:00 GMT

Building a Business Case for Quality Healthcare

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 05:00:00 GMT