The University of Texas Regents violated state law by meeting in secret to authorize the layoff of 3,800 employees at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, according to a lawsuit filed by the Texas Faculty Association. The lawsuit accuses the regents of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act when they closed the doors to a meeting and decided to authorize the layoffs to help stem financial losses caused by Hurricane Ike.
At least 50% of hospitals throughout Ontario have been in deficit this year, with nearly 70% of them expected to experience similar financial woes next year. Hospitals province-wide are now looking to substantial budget cuts that would impact workforces and hospital services, according to a recent report by the Ontario Health Coalition.
Talk to CEOs of American hospitals, and they'll freely admit the U.S. health system is fraught with waste. In the next breath they might very well tell you about the efficiencies and cost controls they have tried to implement, but few would point fingers at the local hospital administrator as the source for the country's spiraling healthcare costs.
After all, healthcare here is a competitive business. Margins are thin for most, and some community hospitals are even closing their doors. Some of the real sources of waste are noted in a recent Washington Post story. Top health system CEOs tell the Post that the U.S. needs to pay for results rather than services and that as much as half of the $2.3 trillion spent doesn't improve patient health. If I'm a large employer reading this story, you'll probably be able to see the steam coming out of my ears. Bad enough I'm struggling in a depressed economy, but CEOs of major health institutions are telling me that they knowingly waste half of what I spend on employee healthcare.
We've heard this complaint before, and it comes down to the quality-value equation—which is the very thing that can give global hospitals a competitive edge. Without the burdens of the fee-for-service model and onerous regulations, global providers can concentrate efforts on providing the great outcomes at a good value that consumers, employers, and payers are looking for.
However, as third-party payers enter the global marketplace and private international hospitals continue to feel the pressure of adding expensive technology and amenities, global CEOs should work hard to avoid the pitfalls that lead to unnecessary costs.
With a global physician shortage looming, it is all too easy to give in to the urge to buy the newest technology even if you're not sure it will improve outcomes. Here in Boston, Paul Levy, president and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, writes in his blog that he's giving in to business pressures to purchase a da Vinci Robot Surgical System because other hospitals in his region already have the technology and he thinks it will help him recruit physicians.
These concerns are hardly limited to Boston academic medical centers. Private hospitals in India, Thailand, Singapore, and the Middle East no doubt want to add the latest—but not necessarily the greatest—technology in their efforts to attract top-notch doctors and patients seeking state-of-the-art care. When it makes business sense, there's certainly nothing wrong with this, but in an increasingly flat world the quality-value equation should rule over adding cost for the sake of marketing strategy.
Nearly every hospital leader wants his or her hospital to be considered a center for innovation, but the more mature leader considers what the value is to the patient and delivers it consistently.
Note: You can sign up to receive HealthLeaders Media Global, a free weekly e-newsletter that provides strategic information on the business of healthcare management from around the globe.
The TEPR 2009 conference is scheduled for February 2009. The conference is designed to give clinicians, healthcare executives, and HIM and HIT professionals innovative, cutting-edge and practical solutions for today's health IT issues, say organizers.
VMware has renamed and expanded upon its desktop virtualization software, with features that reduce storage requirements and allow offline access to desktops. VMware View, formerly known as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, gives IT managers an easier way to manage desktops while also providing end users more flexible access to personalized desktops from pretty much any thin client or PC, says Raj Mallempati, a VMware product marketing manager.
While 3-D images has worked wonders in radiology, some technology data managers are getting into the game by using 3-D imaging to analyze power and cooling air flow in data centers. In this Forbes article, two data center consultants say 3-D models can help services professionals pinpoint exactly where air flow improvements are needed or where to help technology managers adjust capacity planning and budgeting for increased energy efficiency.