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?
Category: Hospital Leadership
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 to 70% of disease is influenced by …
Oct 25, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
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?
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 procedures were in place, the staff was trained on and understood the policy and procedures, staffing was adequate to do the work, but people didn’t follow the policy.
Taking the Fear out of Hospital Productivity
By Eric Dam, MHA, Principal, Labor Cost Management, Compass Clinical Consulting: In interviews conducted with senior Chief Financial Officers of hospitals it is abundantly clear that there is a fear to pursue improved productivity / Labor Cost Management. Many hospital leaders, especially in the non-profit sector of the healthcare industry, fear productivity or are otherwise reluctant to pursue a formal productivity assessment and coordinated program to improve their labor cost management.
Sep 25, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
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 tolerate a series of ineffective attempts at fixing the problem.
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
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.
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
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
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
Primary Care Doctors Disappearing Just When We Need Them Most
The number of medical school graduates going into primary care practice falling into chasm.
A graph tells a thousand words. In 1991 about 15% of medical school grads went into primary care. Then came a surge of PCPs from 1997 to 2000 when 35 to 40% of graduates set off on primary care careers. Today that [...]
Apr 27, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Getting Used to Hospital Transparency
By Kate Fenner: Whether discussing the financial meltdown, governmental affairs or health care performance, the vogue word is TRANSPARENCY. The term is defined as the ability of “outsiders” (customers, citizens, patients) to peer into the inner workings of the subject and judge efficacy, equity, clarity and/or accountability.
Facts Dispute Opinions on Healthcare Reform
The primary rule of medicine is “first, do no harm”. Why can’t health care policy makers adopt the same principle? Otherwise, in the not too distant future, we’ll be scrambling to replace the next broken healthcare system. Will we be the butt of the old joke?
Apr 21, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Achievements by Interim Hospital Executives
Interim healthcare executives and managers have produced impressive and measurable results across the entire range of hospital operations. As individuals or teams, they are capable of making quantitative and significant improvements at both the macro and micro level. Interims from Compass Clinical Consulting provide effective leadership throughout the hospital – from the board room to [...]
Apr 03, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Patient Re-admissions Call for Thoughtful Healthcare Reform
The president’s budget calls for $26 billion in savings from patient re-admissions over 10 years, which includes lowering payments to hospitals with high numbers of patients who are re-admitted. Such a kneejerk reaction simply penalizes hospitals for following the rules — get patients out of the hospital according to DRG rules.
Apr 02, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Preventing Unintended Consequences from Change
We all need to make sure that unintended consequences of reform do not tear down what is still – with all its room for improvement – the best healthcare system in the world. Hospitals, like all businesses, are in a race to become much more efficient, accomplishing more with the same, or even fewer resources. Stagnant or declining hospital revenue increases motivation to eliminate activities that bring little value, or even undermine quality outcomes, delivery and service.
Getting “Change” Rolling depends on Roles on the Team
It is suggested on leanblog.orgthat now’s a good time for starting a new business — many successful companies were started in recessions: Microsoft and Disney as two examples.
I would suggest it is also a good time for existing hospitals to consider changes that can make them into better hospitals. Bad economic times practically force change [...]
Mar 06, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Reinventing Hospitals for a New Reality
As never before, the medical profession will be challenged to find new ways of delivering effective care more efficiently. This does not have to be doom and gloom unless we choose to see an empty glass. Instead, it calls on all of us who work in and support the nation’s hospitals to become more innovative in how we deliver clinical care.
Feb 28, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post
Case studies to learn more about ways in which Compass Clinical has worked to create better American hospitals.