Author Archive
Healthcare I.T. Systems: Solution or Problem?
August 10, 2009
In Don Finley’s article “S.A.’s Methodist and VA hospital improving patient safety” he lays out the effect of Heath IT systems on patient care. It seems that Healthcare I.T. systems do not always result in better patient care or lower preventable deaths. What does this mean for Hospital administrators?:
“We really think that 85 percent of the time it is a system issue. That means that we need to make things foolproof, just like in the aviation industry and the nuclear industry, where there’s all these different safeguards and checklists that you go through. We need to make it easier to do the right thing and make it harder to make an error.” -Dr. Lawrence Siegel
Full Article:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/SAs_Methodist_and_VA_hospital_improving_patient_safety.html
- Categories: Uncategorized
Doctoring up the Healthcare Industry
July 29, 2009
Shortages of Staff combined with changes in the overall environment are shaping up to be quite undefined for the future.
http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/07/28/jc-doctoring-up-the-healthcare-industry/
- Categories: Employee Attraction, Uncategorized
Obama: “Please submit Healthcare Ideas” – (Video)
July 17, 2009
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/27/obama-asks-for-your-quest_n_221878.html
The white house wants to crowdsource some new ideas from the public. You can submit your suggestions at the whitehouse.gov site or follow the link above.
- Categories: Legislative Strategy, Uncategorized
Mayo Clinic to Open in Mall of America
July 6, 2009
The Mayo Clinic has signed a letter of intent indicating that it is planning on being a part of Mall of America’s new expansion project. This development is particularly interesting in a time when medical-tourism is on the rise and top notch healthcare providers are expanding market share to underserved populations. Health Care providers like the “Cleveland Clinic” have opened facilities in Canada and are working on one in Abu Dhabi with a focus on driving more patients to their home facilities. Satellite healthcare facilities have the name recognition through their home facilities while not having to deal with the clinical “stuffy nose” patients that raise the cost of providing care in most other facilities.
- Categories: Uncategorized
Innovations in Healthcare marketing: Key tools for success.
June 22, 2009
Thanks to access to information, the public is becoming more empowered when choosing where they will go for their health care. The litany of choices that are available combined with the the spread of consumer-driven health plans has changed the landscape from monopoly to a competitive landscape. The days of “We are the only game in town” seem to be fading away which is why innovative marketing is key to survival. All of these forces combine to make innovation an even more critical strategy for traditional providers of health care to provide value to consumers and stand out from the competition. See the full 28 page PDF below.
http://files.thinkinterval.com/website/media/pdf/papers/paper-paper-innovation.pdf
- Categories: Employee Engagement, Social Media, Technology
Prepare for the Mutiny – Healthcare’s Whistleblowers.
June 4, 2009
Home Health and Security Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, and Attorney General, Eric Holder, announced they would be forming a joint task force which would be tasked with tracking and sharing real-time data for more efficient identification of fraudulent billing patterns. In addition to this task force, the Whistle Blower protections have been accompanied by a “finders reward” for any individual who reveals fraudulent activity within organizations. What does this mean for Healthcare systems?
Underpaid and overworked employees are now agents for transparency and an integral part of this task force that has intimate knowledge of billing practices and procedures. Whistleblowers receive protection from legal ramifications as well as a portion of the recovered funds when they reveal fraud within an organization. With the recovered funds totaling $14.3 Billion since the program started, it wouldn’t be a surprise if people take notice and act accordingly.
- Categories: Legislative Strategy, Uncategorized
Video: Nurse Shortage as High as 500,000 by the Year 2025
May 27, 2009
Nurses are increasing in demand due to a perfect storm of increased demand and decreased supply… but why? The aging population of Baby Boomers need caretakers (demand increase) combined with low nursing school acceptance rates (supply decrease) leads to a storm that leaves a large shortage. Some Nursing schools have a 4 year waiting list and that list is getting longer and longer. The problem seems to be an imbalance of compensation for teachers vs healthcare practitioners. A Nurse makes an additional $50,000 more than a nurse instructor per year so the decision to work in a hospital rather than a classroom, seems to be a no-brainer. Where is the Nurse Education Bailout?
- Categories: Employee Engagement, Legislative Strategy, Uncategorized
Top Ten Technologies C-Suite Executives Need to Focus on for 2009
May 26, 2009
Healthcare IT News has outlined the top 10 technologies that are impacting hospitals:
- Categories: Employee Attraction, Technology
Leverage “Best Places to Work in Healthcare”
May 26, 2009
Modern Healthcare is now open for submissions to the “Best place to work in Healthcare program”.
Why would an organization want to do something like this? Possibly for the awesome PR that it generates. Maybe they like to have some cool logos to put in the brochure every month. or maybe.. It is a Major Factor for potential employees when researching employment opportunities. Since it is almost free and hosted by a well known healthcare source, this distinction has relevance as well as clout which is key when attracting top talent to small or large organizations. Use this to leverage top opportunities within your organization to the job seeking public and see your quality of care skyrocket!
- Categories: Employee Attraction, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention
Developing Healthcare IT
May 14, 2009
New Federal laws will enable hospitals to become eligible for Medicare incentives if they can demonstrate that they are “meaningful users” of certified electronic health-record technology. What does this mean for Hospitals? This means, that there is an incentive to add these systems swiftly and accurately but the path to getting there seems treacherous and fraught with uncharted territory.
Hospitals are seeking out consultants to keep them on the cutting edge of this race however, the funding is difficult to acquire and Broadband Tele-health systems are complex. Congress has promised around $19 Billion for Health IT systems but this will only be allocated as hospitals prove that they can achieve and maintain a “Meaningful User” status under current guidelines.
- Categories: Legislative Strategy, Technology