Briefs Focus

Overview

Briefs Focus

February 15, 2011

Briefs Focus was created to promote a constructive dialogue about key issues in health care. Building on the many strengths hospitals across California bring to the table, Focus also provides solutions that improve and strengthen care quality, access, operational efficiency and patient satisfaction.

We draw on top experts in their field—from those key to health care delivery to legal professionals working with hospital environments—as contributors. To be considered, please contact us.

Briefs Focus

Effective Strategies for Workforce Wellness

April 24, 2012 Teri Hollingsworth Dr. Adam Bordes, Senior Health Strategist, American Council on Exercise

As we explore who’s responsible for leading the Battle Royale against obesity we, of course, look to the healthcare industry (physicians, dietitians, nurses, etc.). In doing so, we have to wonder if these professionals are any different than the rest of us. Are those in the healthcare industry immune to the rapidly growing obesity epidemic?

Read Dr. Adam Bordes’ article for simple, proven methods of engaging employees in wellness programs that work for health care environments. The article previews some of the successful strategies that will be outlined at the 2012 Health Care Provider Wellness Conference, June 14-15, at the Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City. Click here for more information.

Briefs Focus

Community Colleges and the Health of California

February 27, 2012 Teri Hollingsworth Michele Siqueiros, Executive Director, Campaign for College Opportunity

California’s population is growing, aging and becoming increasingly diverse. These compounding factors—including the additional four million Californians expected to secure health insurance coverage by 2014 under the Affordable Care Act —will create unprecedented demand for health care services that must be delivered by a strong health workforce.

Briefs Focus

Palliative Care Offers Compassionate Options for Patients, Families

January 24, 2012 Ifsha Buttitta, Contributing Editor, HASC

Since the inception and development of palliative care in the United States as its own distinct medical discipline in 2006, the number of hospitals with palliative care teams has steadily grown. The Center to Advance Palliative Care currently estimates that about 55 percent of hospitals in California have a palliative care team in place.

Briefs Focus

View of the Future
by Jim Barber

December 7, 2011

It is not certain that every hospital will successfully cross the transformational chasm. Radical change and major financial investment are required by hospitals while at the same time we face the most problematic economic outlook in 20 years.

Inpatient volumes are falling and it’s not only because of the depressed economy. Admissions/1,000 and days/1,000 are being reduced through better care coordination, fewer readmissions, more outpatient work and improved quality. Comprehensive chronic disease management and post-acute care help people stay at home longer, perhaps for their lifetime, whereas before those at-risk and elderly populations consumed many admissions and inpatient days.

Briefs Focus

Survey Reveals Move Toward Uniformity in Hospital Emergency Codes

November 9, 2011

In August 2011, the California Hospital Association (CHA) surveyed facilities statewide to assess the use of hospital emergency codes to quickly convey urgent information to hospital personnel during emergency situations. Findings show significant growth in code standardization among the 240 respondents since the last survey conducted in 2009.

Briefs Focus

Many Not-for-Profit Hospitals Not Optimizing 340B Pharmacy Savings

September 28, 2011 Jeffrey Hall, Keenan HealthCare, and Scott Ponaman, Ponaman Healthcare Consulting

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act improvements in community-based primary care will have dramatic effects on the sustainability of the nation’s non-profit safety net hospitals. Starting in 2014, the Act imposes across the board 25 percent reductions in Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funding and over $144 billion of reductions in state Medicaid DSH allocations. Affected hospitals must find immediate solutions to reduce the loss of revenue and increased costs if they will survive. Significant cost savings for qualifying not-for-profit safety net providers exist today under the Federal 340B drug discount program.

Briefs Focus

Six Steps for Managing the Revenue Impact of Clinical Process Redesign

August 25, 2011 Leslie Gold

With the many changes brought on by health care reform, clinical process redesign is at the forefront. Hospitals are doing what they can to reduce costs while improving quality—and the results have been impressive. Quality scores are increasing, readmissions are declining, LOS is dropping, complication rates are falling, and ICU stays are shorter. These clinical process improvements increase patient satisfaction, and they often result in lower costs to the hospital. But what can you do about the negative impact on revenue?

Briefs Focus

Creating a Culture of Health in Your Hospital

July 14, 2011 Teri Hollingsworth

Earlier this year, the American Hospital Association (AHA) delivered a call to action for hospitals and their employees to be leaders in creating a culture of health, a working environment that promotes healthy behaviors. Creating an environment that values health and fosters engagement requires hospitals to incorporate some key supportive actions in wellness initiatives. Find out more by reading this week’s Briefs Focus, “Creating a Culture of Health in Your Hospital.”

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Briefs Focus

Creating Value through Lean Enterprise Transformation

June 3, 2011 Jennifer Wortham, Dr.PH, MPH, guest author

Lean management practices have become a primary method of maximizing customer value while minimizing waste across functions within an organization. In health care, Lean strategies have improved patient throughput, decreased supply costs and increased customer satisfaction. Learn more about what Lean can do for your organization in this week’s Briefs Focus, Creating Value through Lean Transformation, by guest author Jennifer Wortham, Dr.PH, MPH.

Briefs Focus

ReddiNet® Celebrates 25 Years of Providing Essential Emergency Medical Communications

February 11, 2011 Catherine Winans, CAE

ReddiNet is a flexible emergency medical communications network that links hospitals, EMS agencies, paramedics, dispatch centers, law enforcement, public health departments and other health care system participants within local and regional communities. 2011 marks ReddiNet’s 25th anniversary. From its humble beginnings as a voice radio system to its current fifth generation software, ReddiNet has indeed had a strong impact on emergency medical communications over the last quarter century.

Briefs Focus

Co-Management Re-emerges as a Hospital-Physician Integration Option

December 1, 2010 Michael A. Dowell, Esq., Guest Author

Co-management is a hospital/physician alignment strategy to elevate hospital service line performance. Health care reform promotes payment models that are designed to focus on improving the value of care by improving quality and reducing costs. Guest author Michael A. Dowell, Esq., Partner and member of the Health Care Law Group in the Los Angeles office of Hinshaw & Culberton, LLP, shares his insight on the co-management model in this month’s Briefs Focus.

Briefs Focus

HASC and Blue Shield Collaborate on Claim Adjudication Process Improvement

November 1, 2010 George Mack, FACHE

The HASC Contracting Committee and Blue Shield have engaged in a claims adjudication process improvement collaboration that has produced positive results, such as faster claim payments, reduced accounts receivable, and reduction of waste and inefficient practices.

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Briefs Focus

Are Your Service Lines Ready for Healthcare Reform?
Repositioning Your Centers of Excellence in an Accountable Care World

October 1, 2010 Barbra Z. Riegel, MBA, Vice President, The Camden Group, guest author

Healthcare reform will require a significant change in the way many healthcare organizations are currently structured and paid for services. Hospitals will need to reexamine strategies to improve service line performance in an accountable care world. Click here to read this week’s Briefs Focus, authored by Barbra Riegel, The Camden Group: Are Your Service Lines Ready for Healthcare Reform?

Briefs Focus

Winning in the New World of Health Care Reform
Tools and Strategies to Align Hospitals and Physicians

August 1, 2010 Phil Dalton, guest author

Paradoxically, chaos and uncertainty seem to be the most stable features in today’s health care marketplace. Some elements have been with us since we can remember—reimbursement changes, quality report cards, and pay-for-performance, to name a few. Now, health care reform portends changes to these elements and adds more levels of financial uncertainty.