A government plan mandating insurance coverage for all Americans could rake in revenue for commercial health insurers, but whether that revenue would trickle down to robust profit growth remains unknown, according to Wall Street analysts. A universal coverage plan could bring the roughly 46 million uninsured people into a coverage pool, but such a plan would lead to government oversight on underwriting. That could place "downward pressure" on profits, analysts said.
The care of trauma patients in the United States is roughly the same no matter what the patient's race or ethnicity, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. For the study, researchers analyzed data from almost 8,600 trauma patients included in a 2003 national survey. The patients were divided into three groups: white (6,106); black (1,406), and Hispanic (1,051).
Wellington (FL) Regional Medical Center has introduced phase one of the ongoing expansion of its emergency room, and also has presented to the public the services it offers. Hospital officials are hopeful that expanding the ER will make room for more patients, while also reducing their wait times. The department now houses 17 patient beds; once phase two is complete in February, that number will rise to 36.
Citing an effort to better manage expenses, Kansas City-based St. Luke's Health System laid off 61 management and administrative employees. The cutbacks impacted less than 1% of the health system’s workforce, and did not include any direct patient-care positions. According to officials, the job cuts occurred in the corporate offices. The health system, which operates 11 hospitals in the Kansas City region, will also close the cranial and craniofacial programs at St. Luke's Hospital at the end of this year.
If, like me, you're curious about what's next for healthcare marketing, you're probably keeping an eye on Florida Hospital's plans to open the Disney Children's Hospital in 2010. In addition to the usual promises—great doctors, advanced technology, and high quality—the Orlando hospital has big plans for branding itself on patient experience. (You can read more about the planned hospital in my September 10 column, You Need a Different Differentiator.)
For the November HealthLeaders magazine cover story on new brand strategies to attract patients, my colleague, contributing writer Marianne Aiello, interviewed Sy Saliba, senior vice president of marketing and planning at the 17-hospital health system. He had so many interesting things to say, but we just couldn't fit them all in the article. Thank goodness for the Internet . . . now I can share them with you here.
Saliba talks about an issue that hospital and health system marketers have long struggled with: the fact that, with only a few exceptions, they're selling a product that nobody wants.
"Even the vocabulary of hospitals resembles that of a prison. We talk about inmates and inpatients. There's a whole vocabulary of hospital language that is very custodial in its approach, versus the hospitality industry, the hotel industry—which talks about guests," he says.
"Basically, when you come in as a patient you have to surrender your clothes, you have to put on a gown, your things are kept for you. There's a very custodial environment still associated with the hospital culture, even today, if you stop and reflect on it."
In fact, the healthcare industry seems unusually attached to the model, a habit developed over many, many years. But if you want to compete in today's patient-centric environment, it's time to let go and try something new.
As Walt Disney once said, "It's kinda fun to do the impossible."
"In terms of the patient experience [we ask], ‘How can we re-craft the experience so it reflects more one of the hospitality industry rather than one of a prison?'" Saliba says. "But the hospitality industry isn't quite where [hospitals] should be—that's fun and entertainment. People are dealing with fairly serious issues when they come to the hospital, so the experience probably should partake of dimensions and facets of the hospitality industry and merge those with some of the home and of the family. And that's really the kind of experience we're trying to craft."
You might not have the resources to match Disney Children's Hospital's magical plans. But it doesn't hurt to dream about and plan for the future.
As the Fairy Godmother once said, "Even miracles take a little time."
Gienna Shaw is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. She can be reached at gshaw@healthleadersmedia.com.
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Chronically ill Americans suffer far worse care than their counterparts in seven other industrial nations, according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund. The findings are the latest telling evidence that the dysfunctional American healthcare system badly needs reform, says this editorial in the New York Times.