What attributes make for an effective leadership culture at healthcare organizations? Different hospitals and healthcare systems have succeeded with different approaches to leadership. Boards and CEOs are often preoccupied with establishing lasting leadership values, yet there is no easy method of doing so. Most healthcare organizations have created mission and values statements (combining clinical and business goals), some have developed formal leadership development programs, and many apply the standard tools of performance reviews, organizational charts, and...
Healthcare organizations' concerns about capital access and long-term viability are driving a boom in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and other affiliations. Increasingly, these agreements result in nontraditional partners: nonprofits with for-profits, academic medical centers with investor-owned firms, faith-based systems with secular systems, and affiliations across the continuum of care. Ownership and governance structures also vary in terms of control. Today's healthcare leaders must base their M&A search on a host of factors, including capital...
Healthcare leaders are preparing for the shift away from volume-based reimbursement by experimenting with different structures for population health. Organizations must learn how to collaborate with new partners, including erstwhile competitors. Population health management also requires internal bridge building; executive and physician leaders must work together to create networks. Primary care physicians could be in short supply, while specialists are likely to see their payment, work mode, and degree of control turned upside down. Good data and analysis of the...
Analytics has come a long way since the first scorecards landed in healthcare enterprises. Today, intelligent use of analytics may be the difference between profit or loss, growth or lost market share as healthcare moves from fee-for-service to accountable care. Analytics helps health leaders decide how to rearrange their businesses, processes, and work flows, and spark creative thinking about new opportunities or areas needing improvement.Part of the challenge is managing expectations in an era where big data is opening insights in all sorts of businesses, many...
Healthcare providers can improve outcomes and control costs by exploiting mobile technology, including patients' own phones, to deliver more care beyond the walls of hospitals and clinics. The virtualization of care enabled by mHealth technology can improve care of chronic conditions, redesign or streamline work flows, extend the reach of caregivers and facilities, and improve how information is shared across distance and time. Continuity of care requires mobile technology to boost patient engagement in an era when value-based care is replacing fee-for-service...
As healthcare grows more interconnected, standalone community or government-owned hospitals are facing a crisis. Many need partnerships or clinical affiliations with allied healthcare providers and tertiary hospitals that can provide care, and in some cases capital, that they cannot. They may make an unattractive merger partner for larger hospitals and health systems that may also have capital constraints. Even if the local hospital is an attractive merger partner, many boards do not want to give up the local control over available services and the jobs the local...
