3 ways to hire--and keep--exceptional employees
by Ilene MacDonald, FierceHealthcare
Although last week's report about nationwide job cuts in the healthcare industry may indicate otherwise, most hospitals and health systems are struggling to find--and keep--good employees.
And staffing problems will only get worse once the mandates of the Affordable Care Act go into effect in 2014 and 32 million more newly insured Americans seek healthcare services. Demands for HIT expertise are also on the rise in the midst of initiatives such as ICD-10 and Meaningful Use.
"In the next five years staffing needs will grow exponentially," Michael Lynch, president of Tiva Healthcare, ...
Source: hospital impact - August 8, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Don't forget each worker makes a difference in hospital results
by Scott Kashman
A few weeks ago, one of my colleagues suggested we ask each department managers to speak to their teams and understand their lagging and leading indicators. Specifically, what is one thing each person does every day to improve our overall results?
Last week I worked with one of the great ones. Dannette is part of our housekeeping team and she put me to work. While she said she would not make me clean the toilets, I told her to definitely make me clean the toilets as that's the first thing people will want to ensure she made me do!
It quickly became apparent Dannette had a lot of oversight to provide whi...
Source: hospital impact - August 8, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Informal doc leaders: A help or hindrance?
by Jonathan H. Burroughs
Informal physician and medical staff leaders represent the true source of power and autonomy on the organized medical staff.
These individuals have a large measure of political savvy, are well connected, understand the personalities and deeper motivations of key leaders, and masterfully work the system year in and year out. These individuals can be your best friend or your worst enemy but must be acknowledged, respected, and hopefully utilized to a positive end.
The following is a fictionalized account of a true story and serves as a cautionary tale for any CEO, chief medical officer (CMO), vic...
Source: hospital impact - August 8, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
'Show your work' to learn the real patient story
by Jeffrey Cohn
Many of us probably recall from high school the exhortation from our math/science teacher to "show your work" on test problems. I remember being irritated about that, thinking if I could come up with the correct answer what was the necessity for showing how I got there.
Looking back I believe that this was in my best interest. In the linear world of high school math and science, there truly is a best way to get to the correct answer, and showing the work allowed the teacher to determine whether I'd learned that pathway accurately.
Moving into college, I'm reminded of my first Introduction to Philosop...
Source: hospital impact - August 8, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
4 unlikely sources of patient experience success strategies
by Alicia Caramenico, FierceHealthcare
Patient experience, and ways to improve it, is a popular topic here at FierceHealthcare and our sister publications. And last week was no exception. But a Hospital Impact blog post last Wednesday offered a unique spin on the issue, highlighting unusual inspiration for patient experience improvement.
Hospital leaders usually turn to patient experience officers, health industry experts or government agencies for ways to provide superior experiences for patients during their hospital stays.
But as I learned this week, good advice can come from unexpected places. In fact, the blog pos...
Source: hospital impact - August 3, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Mentoring the next generation of hospital leaders
by Raymond Hino
I was recently contacted by a young man with a very impressive background. He has his bachelor's degree in political science and two master's degrees. The first is an MBA and the second is a master's degree in public health from UCLA.
He also is a former White House intern and congressional intern. He's working as a quality improvement consultant for a large hospital within one of the largest proprietary healthcare systems in the country.
I was extremely flattered when he reached out to me and asked for an hour of my time to learn about my journey to become an experienced CEO in a community hospital ...
Source: hospital impact - August 3, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Prioritize operational standards for patient experience success
by Doug Della Pietra
Does your organization have a prioritized operational framework for the patient experience that would effectively guide the beliefs, behavior and ultimate decision of the emergency department doctor in the following example and true story?
An elderly woman presents with stroke-like symptoms. After negative test results and failing to satisfy the criteria for admission, an ED doctor in Columbia, S.C. planned to send her home but admits her when the woman's family insists.
Why? As the Forbes article "Why Rating Your Doctor Is Bad For Your Health" from earlier this year explains: "'Her family refused,...
Source: hospital impact - August 3, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Make empowered front-line staff a healthcare reality
by Thomas Dahlborg
Imagine you are working on the frontlines of a large healthcare system. You are a clinician (i.e., physician, nurse, medical assistant or other), your department is understaffed and you are obligated to achieve productivity quotas (see more and more patients to ensure revenue is generated for the system).
Then you learn your healthcare system is implementing a hiring freeze so the relief you were expecting (the opportunity to breathe and use the bathroom between patient visits) will not be realized.
Now imagine you are again a clinician on the frontlines of a large healthcare system and you have rece...
Source: hospital impact - August 3, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Pulse check: Are you on track for ICD-10?
by Ilene MacDonald, FierceHealthcare
Healthcare organizations have only 15 months left to implement ICD-10 but study after study indicates that the code set conversion isn't on their radar.
Hospital ICD-10 implementation efforts are either non-existent or still in their infancy, according to a recent analysis by the American Health Information Management Association. Physician practices are no better off: Only 4.8 percent of more than 1,200 responding practices indicated that they had made "significant" progress in their ICD-10 implementation efforts, according to a Medical Group Management Association study released in...
Source: hospital impact - July 26, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Improving patient experience: Lessons from an envelope company
by Anthony Cirillo
Physicians are suffering from a bad rap these days. Recently a FierceHealthcare article reported a study by Danielle Ofri, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine, which found "empathy and moral reasoning begin to erode during the third year of medical school, with students daily witnessing both patients and doctors experience fear, anger, grief and humiliation."
At the same time, JAMA took on the topic of physician communication. In one study, Amina White, M.D., and Marion Danis, M.D., of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., wrote "the presence of a co...
Source: hospital impact - July 26, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Quality care begins with appropriate care
by Gary S. Kaplan
When the Virginia Mason board of directors approved our innovative strategic plan in 2001, we knew our approach to healthcare was about to change for the better. Thus began our journey to transform healthcare by first transforming our organization.
As former Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill put it, we had embarked on a bold "bet the farm"strategy of pursuing quality and safety--something that differentiated Virginia Mason in a healthcare marketplace that seemed more focused on size and rapid expansion.
Since then, we've gained even more clarity about what it means to be the quality leader and pursue...
Source: hospital impact - July 26, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Congressional EHR interest brings both opportunity and risk
by Marla Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR
Look at at all of the attention that Congress is lavishing on electronic health records.
More than 30 bills aimed directly at EHR use have been introduced since the new session began in January and they cover a lot of ground.
In addition, while not a proposed bill, you've got lawmakers asking the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General to extend the legal protections allowing EHR donation programs, which otherwise would sunset at the end of this year.
And this doesn't even count the ongoing attention being given to the beleaguered Meaningful Use Ince...
Source: hospital impact - July 26, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Let's get--and keep--patients engaged in their care
by Julie Manas
Growing up, one of my favorite TV shows was "Marcus Welby, M.D." (Yes, I'm old). Although some of the story lines were considered controversial at the time, the actor-patients were generally portrayed as compliant and unquestioning of their physician, Dr. Welby, or his much younger partner, Dr. Steven Kiley.
Fictional drama mirrored real life back then, as patients tended to be recipients of care, one-directional, rather than engaged in care, bi-directional.
Fast forward, today's patients are far more involved with every aspect of their care. They come to our physician offices and hospitals armed with th...
Source: hospital impact - July 19, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Patient-centered care in radiology is good business
by Mike Bassett, FierceMedicalImaging
Over the past several years, radiologists have found themselves in an increasingly competitive environment in which patients are hard-pressed to discern the value that one practice provides compared to another. The profession, many radiologists have warned, is in danger of being commoditized.
Steps are being taken to combat this trend. For example, the Radiological Society of North America has launched "Radiology Cares," a program designed to facilitate direct relationships between radiologists and their patients, and to create an emerging practice model called "patient-centered" ca...
Source: hospital impact - July 17, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
Let's get--and keep--patients engaged in their care
by Julie Manas
Growing up, one of my favorite TV shows was "Marcus Welby, M.D." (Yes, I'm old). Although some of the story lines were considered controversial at the time, the actor-patients were generally portrayed as compliant and unquestioning of their physician, Dr. Welby, or his much younger partner, Dr. Steven Kiley.
Fictional drama mirrored real life back then, as patients tended to be recipients of care, one-directional, rather than engaged in care, bi-directional.
Fast forward, today's patients are far more involved with every aspect of their care. They come to our physician offices and hospitals armed with th...
Source: hospital impact - July 17, 2013 Category: Health Managers Authors: Wendy Johnson Source Type: blogs
