• Helping Your Board Ensure Patient Safety

    Your quality team has studied the new standard changes, updated policies, and conducted tracers to monitor compliance. What else can you do as an executive to help …

  • The CMS Acute Care Episode Demonstration

    Will the new CMS Acute Care Episode Demonstration Project address the patient’s concern that their interests are being subordinated to the physician’s or the hospital’s financial interests?

  • How would Dr. King have influenced healthcare reform debate?

    It is difficult to guess the position of such a leader and revered figure but it takes little insight to predict his position: one of concern for the 44 million Americans who go without health insurance.

  • Early Detection: Stop Small Problems before they are Big Problems

    Bringing minor regulatory problems to light before they have a chance to grow is the most important step toward preventing big problems that could diminish quality and patient safety .

  • What Is a Hospital Near-Death Experience?

    Can a hospital have a near-death experience? If so, what would that look like?

Health Care Reform and The Elephant in the Room

Health Care Reform and The Elephant in the Room

There is an elephant in the room that is not being discussed – personal responsibility for health. For years, studies have shown that up
Oct 25, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Sitting Ducks Get Shot … Especially While Waiting for the Inevitability of Healthcare Reform

Sitting Ducks Get Shot … Especially While Waiting for the Inevitability of Healthcare Reform

By Kate Fenner, RN, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Compass Clinical Consulting.
Oct 15, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
How Could This Happen?

How Could This Happen?

By Cary D. Gutbezahl, MD, President, Compass Clinical Consulting. Although many factors may contribute to an avoidable injury, investigations often reveal that the policy and
Oct 09, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post
Why Do Some Hospitals Tolerate Poor Performance?

Why Do Some Hospitals Tolerate Poor Performance?

By Cary Gutbezahl, MD, President, Compass Clinical Consulting: Our experience says that while hospitals sometimes overlook indications of problems, more often, CEOs and boards
Sep 11, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

  • News & Careers

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  • Simple Math: Not Enough Doctors ... By Far

    Simple Math: Not Enough Doctors … By Far

    Healthcare in Handcuffs The American Academy of Family Physicians predicts that the shortage of family doctors will soar to 40,000 within the next decade. Worse yet, the overall shortage of doctors is expected to climb to nearly 160,000 by 2025, according

    Oct 14, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Social Media Being Taught at More Medical and Nursing Schools

    Social Media Being Taught at More Medical and Nursing Schools

    53% of nursing schools and 45% of medical schools include Web 2.0 tools in their curricula. 58% of nursing schools plan to implement social networking tools in their curricula in the upcoming year, compared with 50% of medical schools.

    Jul 15, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • New Report on Comparative Effectiveness Research

    New Report on Comparative Effectiveness Research

    The Institute of Medicine has released a report recommending 100 areas that should receive priority attention with comparative-effectiveness research, including atrial fibrillation, the effectiveness of primary prevention methods vs. clinical treatment, and the success of comprehensive-care programs such as medical

    Jun 30, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Other Recent Articles

  • Hospitals Facing Three Changes from Healthcare Reform

    Hospitals Facing Three Changes from Healthcare Reform

    It’s difficult to predict the specifics of what health care reform will bring, but it is clear that it won’t be business as usual. We believe that three things will be certain results of the current public debate. First, reimbursement changes are going to increase the importance of managing the cost of delivering services. Second, coordinating care will become more important. Third, increased accountability for patient safety and treatment plans consistent with best practices and evidence-based medicine will require cultural change.

    Aug 28, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Hospital Readmissions: Federal Policy Must Stop Interfering with System Thinking

    Hospital Readmissions: Federal Policy Must Stop Interfering with System Thinking

    In our experience in case management, both in hospitals and in managed care organizations, we have found many reasons why patients are readmitted to hospitals.

    Aug 27, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

  • The Ill Effects of Shutting off Constructive Healthcare Reform Debate: First, Do No Harm

    The Ill Effects of Shutting off Constructive Healthcare Reform Debate: First, Do No Harm

    The Reconciliation Process can do nothing but shut off oppositional thinking before the best possible healthcare reform is designed and implemented. Cognitive conflict can yield stronger programs that assure hospitals and doctors are in a position to provide quality care for patients. I hope they don’t repeal “First, do no harm”.

    Aug 21, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • A Cure for ER Diversions

    A Cure for ER Diversions

    Diversions are when ambulances are sent to another ER because the nearest ER is too busy and does not believe they can safely provide care. I thought it might be useful to understand that the hospital goes on diversion because it has determined that patient safety might be at risk if more critical patients were added to those already at the hospital. Adding more work beyond the capacity of the ER not only jeopardizes the new patient but puts all the other patients at risk.

    Aug 17, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Is Healthcare Reform On the Wrong Track?

    Is Healthcare Reform On the Wrong Track?

    What everyone wants, in the end, is healthcare reform that accomplishes the goals of wider access and lower cost. But there are many different tracks to achieve this needed goals.
    But when “reducing the cost of healthcare” by mandating lower fees to providers, this should be more carefully analyzed to prevent a future of continuous change. Best to [...]

    Jul 23, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Resignation Without Notice Leads to Process Discovery

    Resignation Without Notice Leads to Process Discovery

    On the Lean Blog, Jesus “Chuy” Ellin, HT PA andPeter P Patterson, MD MBA noted that the histopathology laboratory at their hospital recently had a breakthrough in the lean journey begun in 2007. The monthly defect rate in the order entry process has fallen precipitously from 33.5% to 2.5% over the past five months, after [...]

    Jun 30, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Case Management Reduces Length of Stay

    Case Management Reduces Length of Stay

    At one mid-sized community hospital, technological limitations, communication failures and inadequate training of personnel lead to a system in which cases were handled inefficiently.
    This resulted in a long stays and low levels of reimbursement.
    Compass Clinical Consulting worked with this hospital to break down communication silos along the case management chain so team members would better [...]

    Jun 30, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Implementing Force Multipliers to Reduce Hospital Costs

    Implementing Force Multipliers to Reduce Hospital Costs

    Force multiplication, in military usage, refers to a combination of attributes or advantages which make a given force more effective than another force of comparable size. A force multiplier refers to a factor that dramatically increases (hence “multiplies”) the effectiveness of a group. A hospital team can use this concept by combining labor cost management with case management.

    Jun 30, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

  • Private Philanthropy -- Another Key to Hospital Financial Stability

    Private Philanthropy — Another Key to Hospital Financial Stability

    By Jim Mahon, PhD: Colleges and universities have traditionally placed a much higher premium on generating both annual and planned gifts than the majority of hospitals. Rather than expounding on the many legitimate reasons why this is the case, let’s focus on steps the Board, the Executive Suite, and the Chief Development Officer (CDO) can take.

    Jun 09, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • St. Jude's Childrens Hospital wins $797,123 from Target

    St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital wins $797,123 from Target

    Contest on Facebook earns nearly $800,000 for St. Jude’s Childrens Research Hospital.

    May 28, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Is the Hospital's Backdoor Closing?

    Is the Hospital’s Backdoor Closing?

    Freestanding EDs are growing. Are they also a threat to acute care full service hospital patient flow?

    May 28, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Trying to confirm what you already believe is a dangerous practice

    Trying to confirm what you already believe is a dangerous practice

    By Cary Gutbezahl, MD: The issue is the misuse of research findings and extending conclusions beyond the conditions of the research. That this research is publicized is evidence of the failure of our educational system! It’s time to stand up and scream “Foul!”

    May 22, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

  • Lost Genius and the Yanked Chapters

    Lost Genius and the Yanked Chapters

    Three “lost” chapters were yanked from Accidental Genius right before publication. Now you might be wondering, “Yanked? Why were these chapters torn from the thin, yet virile, body of the book?”

    May 13, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

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