HealthLeadersMedia.com - Editor Columns

Keys to Managing Transitions of Care

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:15:00 GMT

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System's focus on care transitions for its elderly and heart failure patient population has continually resulted in good readmission scores. Other hospital leaders could do the same, but the process has taken years and attention to detail.

Hospitals Profit On Bloodstream Infections

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:55:00 GMT

Hospitals can reap a windfall when an insured patient has a preventable infection, and private health plans—not Medicare—foot the largest bills. Why aren't these payers doing more to help hospitals prevent infections?

Fortunately, Angelina Jolie Isn't On Medicare

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:56:00 GMT

Most large private payers cover testing for a genetic marker indicating inherited breast cancer risk and will pay for associated prophylactic surgery. But Medicare has no national coverage decision for the test or for preventive mastectomy.

Hospital Pricing Transparency a Marketing Game Changer

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:53:00 GMT

While hospital and health system marketers have traditionally been charged chiefly with touting the qualities of their healthcare services, the exposure of pricing data adds a level of complexity to the marketing mix.

Q&A: Rural Health Practitioner of the Year, Larry Rhodes, MD

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:06:00 GMT

West Virginia pediatric cardiologist Larry Rhodes, MD, speaks passionately about his work at three community outreach clinics. "It is always easy to hide under the guise of 'this is for patient care,' but the best days of the month for me are when I am in my truck driving to one of these clinics."

Insurer's App Aims to Lower Healthcare Costs, Securely

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:00 GMT

Aetna will allow patients and providers to communicate directly via a mobile application that protects data privacy and indicates when care options are high cost, out of network, or present challenging payment arrangements.

Don't Let Nurses Sink Your Bottom Line

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:25:00 GMT

Because higher patient satisfaction scores translate to higher HCAHPS scores and Medicare reimbursements, how nurses interact with patients has a significant impact on a hospital's bottom line.

Hospital Pricing Irks Nurses; More Jobs, Less Pay

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:26:00 GMT

In this week's news: Explaining hospital pricing to employees, exploring the complicated relationship between healthcare jobs and spending, and protecting staff and employers with new social media laws in several states.

Q&A: Catholic Health Initiatives' New Senior VP for Capital Finance

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:49:00 GMT

Nick Barto recently stepped up his role at the 80-hospital health system to increase CHI's focus on strategic finance in light of healthcare reform and the shift in patient volumes to outpatient settings.

Hospital Pricing Data Dump Won't Hurt You, Yet

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:49:00 GMT

If you are a high-cost outlier, don't panic. Even if you can't kill your chargemaster, you can mitigate its effect by identifying—and rectifying—what your hospital charges.

Hard-Nosed About Physician Teamwork

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:47:00 GMT

A Michigan healthcare system tells physicians: Be part of a multidisciplinary team or go away. Though many physicians are not collaborative by nature, a team-based approach is the only way to ensure success, says Spectrum Health.

Patient Harm Data to Remain on Medicare's Hospital Compare Site

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:28:00 GMT

An inaccurate media story about changes to Medicare's reporting on hospital-acquired conditions has sparked a flurry of criticism from patient safety advocates. Here's what's really going on.

Rural Healthcare Can Entice the Best and Brightest

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:24:00 GMT

Ali Chisti intends to pursue a career as an internist and a population health specialist providing care in underserved and rural areas—not as a neurosurgeon as he had originally planned. He changed his mind when he came to understand the gap in resources between rural and urban areas.

Community Engagement Drives Service Line Success

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:44:00 GMT

Saint Barnabas Medical Center leveraged an existing partnership with a New Jersey mall to promote its da Vinci robotic surgery service line.

MA Data Supports Retailers Fighting Enrollment Mandate

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:43:00 GMT

Small businesses pay higher premiums for buying coverage on health insurance exchanges because employers subsidized too many unhealthy individuals, research on employer-sponsored health plans in Massachusetts shows.

Esther Dyson's Population Health Dream

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:19:00 GMT

The former Wall Street technology analyst turned key Silicon Valley investor believes city-wide ecosystems of health incentives and disincentives for unhealthy habits could have a significant positive effect on the nation's health.

Online Nursing Master's Program Stresses Leadership

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:59:00 GMT

An online university program for aspiring family nurse practitioners promises "an exact replica" of the rigorous clinical and leadership training offered on campus.

Improving Collections Has No Blueprint

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:59:00 GMT

Starting with a directive to improve collections on unpaid patient invoices, Promise Healthcare used internal and external groups to bring in nearly $14 million.

Nurses Up the Hiring Ante

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:35:00 GMT

A federal report on nursing workforce trends, a nationwide legislative push to change scope-of-practice laws for nurse practitioners, and a legal reminder about the management of healthcare workers with hepatitis B round out the week's news.

Kill Your Chargemaster

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:28:00 GMT

Regardless of how your organization looks on the massive list of hospital pricing data released to the public by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, you've got some strategic thinking to do.