News


6 Highlights From CMS’ Final Stage 2 Meaningful Use Rule

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Written by Kathleen Roney | August 24, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review CMS has released the final rule (pdf) for the second stage of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program. The stage 2 rule includes the criteria eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals must meet in order to qualify for incentive… Read more »

Rural Hospitals: IOM Medicare Cuts Would Be “Devasting”

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August 20, 2012 | By Alicia Caramenico, Fierce Healthcare   The Institute of Medicine’s recent proposals to cut federal reimbursements would hit rural hospitals hardest, The Times-Standard reported. Healthcare leaders in rural areas of California, in particular, are worried about the institute’s recommendations, which would cut Medicare payments to the state’s hospitals by an average… Read more »

The New Competitive Edge for Hospitals and ACOs: Employee Health

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Written by Molly Gamble | August 20, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review It seems like a logical pairing for hospitals to aggressively manage employee health. Hospitals are communities’ anchors of well-being, after all. With the rise of value-based care models such as patient-centered medical homes and accountable care organizations, many hospitals have the resources necessary to… Read more »

10 Major Findings on ACOs: Most Common Patient Populations, Reimbursement and Leadership Models

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Written by Molly Gamble | August 21, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review How are today’s accountable care organizations led and reimbursed? How many lives do they cover and what are the most common types of patient populations? What challenges do they face, and how long does it take, on average, to create an ACO? Data from… Read more »

10 Questions Every Hospital Should Ask its Employees

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Written by Rachel Fields | August 21, 2012, Becker’s Hospital Review   Paul Spiegelman’s new book, co-written with president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas Britt Berrett, starts with an intriguing premise: Patients come second. Without downplaying the importance of patient care, Mr. Spiegelman posits that the root of a hospital’s success lies with how it… Read more »

What Does Governance Look Like in the Country’s Largest Health Systems? 8 Major Findings

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Written by Molly Gamble | August 08, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review The Commonwealth Center for Governance Studies has released its report, “Governance in Large Non-Profit Health Systems,” which analyzes governance and leadership trends in 14 of the country’s most sizable hospital organizations. Surveyed systems include Adventist Helath System (Altamonte Springs, Fla.); Ascension Health (St. Louis);… Read more »

4 Managed Care Trends With Health Systems, Surgical Hospitals and ASCs

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Written by Bob Herman | August 13, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review Managed care contracting between commercial payors and healthcare organizations is like a waltz — it’s an art form, and it’s not always done well. In the push to integrate all silos of healthcare, from hospitals and health systems to imaging labs and ambulatory surgery… Read more »

Spending More on Trauma Care Does Not Translate to Better Outcomes

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Written by Jaimie Oh | August 13, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review A large-scale review of national patient records reveals, despite variations in regional costs for treating trauma patients, survival rates are the same, according to research from Johns Hopkins.  For their study, researchers analyzed three years of data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s… Read more »

4 Characteristics Hospital Lean Leaders Can’t Do Without

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Written by Sabrina Rodak | August 13, 2012 , Becker’s Hospital Review Hospitals across the country are adopting Lean techniques to improve processes. Some hospitals use a Lean approach for specific projects, such as infection prevention and quality improvement, while others integrate Lean techniques and philosophy into the organization’s entire culture. To create a culture that… Read more »

Health execs need to have mentors, be mentors

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by Frank D. Byrne for Fierce Healthcare I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of mentors lately, with the passing of someone who was one of the most influential people in my life and my career: Stan Nelson. Stanley R. Nelson, LFACHE, was my predecessor twice-removed as president of Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind.,… Read more »