News


Transform Your Employees into Passionate Advocates

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By Rob Markey Harvard Business Review Employee happiness is becoming a hot topic among CEOs and in boardrooms, and it’s about time. The current issue of Harvard Business Review, which includes a series of articles focused on employee happiness, is just one more sign of the growing recognition that happy, engaged employees are more productive… Read more »

3 reimbursement changes for hospital performance

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Hospitals are bracing themselves for some significant reimbursement changes under health reform that could hit their pocketbooks. The American Hospital Association (AHA) outlined top issues in its 2012 advocacy papers, including how hospitals will be measured for performance this year and beyond. Value-based purchasing (VBP) – October 2012 Medicare will launch the hospital VBP program,… Read more »

Physicians, Hospital Executives Get Collaborative

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This article appears in the April 2012 issue of HealthLeaders magazine. Physician relationships with executive leadership have always been important at hospitals and health systems, but there is a history of distrust on both sides, to put it mildly. Executives often view physicians as a huge impediment to many important initiatives within the hospital, from… Read more »

Innovative Ways To Slash ED Overuse

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On a mild, gray day in February, fatigue lined the face of Anthony Parish, a slight, 39-year-old man who has been through a lot. He had a cancerous portion of his lung removed and struggled with postoperative pain. Chemotherapy treatments caused abscesses in his mouth that ruined his teeth and repeatedly sent him to the… Read more »

Prices for Doctor Services Lag Behind Inflation

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Physicians have long felt that the cost of running a practice is growing more quickly than payment received per service. New government data indicate that this is more than a feeling. The Consumer Price Index for all items went up 0.3% in March and 2.7% in the previous 12 months, according to Bureau of Labor… Read more »

Aviation Is an Inspiration for Improving Patient Safety

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Searching for ways to reduce medical errors and keep patients safe? Look up. That’s the idea of some patient-safety experts, who today will discuss the formation of an independent patient-safety agency modeled on the National Transportation Safety Board, and other strategies to reduce errors at a summit in Washington. Many of the safety and error-prevention… Read more »

How Hospitals Can Save Water and Big Bucks Too

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John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, April 23, 2012   It may seem odd that a leading proponent for water conservation in hospitals works in Washington, a state famous for its prodigious rainfall. For more than a decade, Geoffrey W. Glass, director of Facility and Technology Services at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, has been… Read more »

Patients choose hospitals based on social media

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With one-third of consumers using social media for seeking or sharing medical information, 41 percent say tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and online forums influence their choice of a specific hospital, medical facility or doctor, according to Tuesday’s report from consulting firm PwC. In a survey of more than a thousand consumers, more than two-fifths… Read more »

Keeping Your Nurses Happy

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With nursing shortages on the rise, there are no shortages of opportunities for good nurses. The best way to combat the turnover that might cause? Make sure your nurses are happy in their environment and their positions. A Life Concierge For most employees, a work-life balance is an important facet when choosing an organization. At… Read more »

ACOs Multiply As Medicare Announces 27 New Ones

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By Jenny Gold and Christian Torres KHN Staff Writers Despite uncertainty over how the Supreme Court will rule on the health law, a key provision intended to help transform the delivery of care is moving ahead. The Obama administration announced Tuesday that 27 health systems have been selected to participate in Medicare’s Shared Savings Program,… Read more »