Alegent CEO's Resignation Illustrates Difficulty of Culture Change
Alegent Health CEO Wayne Sensor's resignation was big news in the hospital world in 2009. In the time leading up to Sensor's resignation, medical staff at two of Alegent's largest hospitals took votes of no confidence against Sensor, who is considered a healthcare pioneer—from the drive to make healthcare prices transparent to the consumer to building a staff of employed physicians at the health system. Senior leadership editor Philip Betbeze highlighted the Sensor situation and questioned Alegent's board's decision to accept his resignation based on the physician employment question. He wondered if the move would put Alegent on the wrong side of history and questioned whether Alegent's board strategy will end up penny wise—and pound foolish.
Reported by Philip Betbeze on October 23, 2009
Little-Known Medicare Pay Code Change Will Hurt Specialists
While the healthcare debate kept health leaders' attention in 2009, many were not aware of a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plan to eliminate a series of five-digit CPT codes that specialist physicians, such as cardiologists, oncologists, and surgeons, use to bill for medical or surgical consults. This November article highlighted the issue and potential ramifications if the change became part of Medicare's physician pay schedule. Specialty providers said the change would have dire consequences for care far into the future, especially for rural communities where specialty doctors are in heavy demand.
Reported by Cheryl Clark on November 18, 2009
Who Will be the Winners and Losers in Health Reform?
One of the hottest topics in healthcare in 2009 was: How will health reform affect my business? In a July article, we looked at the possible winners and losers in healthcare reform. The almost certain winners predicted were: primary care physicians, health information technology, and comparative effectiveness. Possible winners: nurses, rural healthcare, and pharma. Possible losers: health plans, specialty physicians, and pharma. Almost certain losers: imaging, biologics, physician-owned specialty hospitals, durable medical equipment, home health agencies and providers of home healthcare, and skilled nursing homes.
Reported by Cheryl Clark on July 27, 2009
Health Reform Marks Beginning of Gen X Healthcare
Few topics can get physicians worked up like generational differences in practice styles. It's easy to fall back on dichotomic caricatures with this topic: Older physicians are hard-working professionals who think younger doctors aren't productive or committed enough to medicine and patients, and younger doctors are tech-savvy life balancers who view older doctors as burned-out luddites. Although they are overblown stereotypes, there are grains of truth in both of those perceptions. But the deeper reality is far more complex. The characteristics that define each generation of providers overlap and constantly evolve, so that the two are beginning to resemble each other more than they think.
Reported by Elyas Bakhtiari on July 16, 2009
Feds Target Radiology Imaging Payment Cuts
With the annual Medicare price tag for physician radiology services more than doubling between 2000 and 2006, the federal government looked to cutting payments for advanced imaging as a way to help pay for healthcare reform. Federal lawmakers looked at two major ways to lower what Medicare pays imaging providers. Radiology groups opposed both strategies, but acknowledged that the high increases in federal payments have made them a target.
Reported by Cheryl Clark on May 29, 2009
Nine Health Leaders Respond to Obama's Health Reform Speech
In hopes of getting healthcare reform back on track, President Barack Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress about a comprehensive health reform bill in September. The 45-minute speech was Obama's first in-depth national speech about healthcare reform after spending months on the sidelines as Congress worked on multiple reform proposals. So, after finally hearing directly from the president, what did health leaders think? Nine health leaders gave their thoughts.
Reported by Les Masterson on September 10, 2009
Killer Smartphone Apps for On-the-Go Physicians
Like other Americans, a growing number of physicians are using smartphones—mobile phones that combine online access to information with PDA functionality. In fact, a recent report noted that physicians who use smartphones increased by 64% over the past year. Smartphone users are constantly on the lookout for new applications that can make their lives easier and more enjoyable. Physicians are also finding that they are a way that can help their practices and patients. This article highlighted some of the hottest apps for physicians.
Reported by Cynthia Johnson on July 10, 2009
12 More Hospitals Fined For Putting Patients In Immediate Jeopardy
Twelve California hospitals received the latest fines for putting patients in "immediate jeopardy" of harm or death, including three that failed to remove sponges or towels from surgical patients, one where a psych tech repeatedly slapped an unconscious patient in the face in the belief he was "faking it," and another where staff failed to properly use restraints, resulting in a patient's critical fall. Poor training of medication use resulted in a heparin overdose that caused a brain hemorrhage in a patient at a sixth facility while at a seventh hospital, managers failed to properly staff the intensive care unit, and a patient whose condition was quickly deteriorating was not adequately treated. Some of the hospitals have been fined three times, and some for repeating similar violations.
Reported by Cheryl Clark on September 4, 2009
Why Nurses Are Rising Up Against a Shot in the Arm
As the campaign to inoculate America against the H1N1 virus started to ramp up, so did the controversy. Reports of hospitals and health systems mandating all employees receive H1N1 vaccines brought cries of civil rights infringements. With the H1N1 virus spreading across the country, the uproar left many nursing leaders scratching their heads. Considering the safety of our patients, why wouldn't nurses just get the shot? This article answers that question.
Reported by Rebecca Hendren on October 13, 2009
100 Ways for Hospitals, Health Systems to Twitter
Social networking is changing the way hospitals and health systems communicate with patients, potential customers, and the healthcare system at large. In this column by senior marketing editor Gienna Shaw, she provides examples of how health leaders are using new media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. She also gives some examples as how not to use these Web sites, such as organizations going overboard with fun, but meaningless posts and others that don’t offer enough personality.
Reported by Gienna Shaw on January 7, 2009