Sponsored by Kaufman Hall
In the August 2022 issue of HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, sponsored by Kaufman, Hall & Associates, LLC, an industry thought leader and advocate for improving treatment of mental illness offers insights into why we need to change our nation’s approach to mental health. Also included is an expert-reviewed feature that examines a new approach to developing a stable, cost-effective workforce.
Mental health
Improved access and quality of care are keys to solving the nation’s mental illness crisis
By Eric C. Reese, PhD
If we are to meaningfully address our nation’s crisis in mental health, we need to start by treating mental illness the same way we treat physical ailments, says Thomas Young, MD, a board-certified physician and long-time vocal advocate for improving mental health in the United States.
Health equity
Achieving health equity in the U.S. requires a preventive approach
By Gail R. Wilensky, PhD
Social determinants of health (SDoH) present a severe challenge for our nation by perpetuating inequities both in access to care and in the quality of care outcomes. Although interventions that address the challenges posed by SDoH are helpful throughout a person’s life, they can be most helpful if they occur early on, with a focus on enhancing early childhood education and food security.
The metrics that matter in today’s physician enterprise
Sponsored by Kaufman Hall
By Matthew Bates and Erik Swanson
Advanced practice providers now represent about two-fifths of the physician enterprise workforce. New metrics are required to reflect this and other transformative changes within the physician enterprise.
Labor management
EXPERT-REVIEWED
How a workforce marketplace ecosystem can reduce traveler nurse dependence and stabilize a hospital’s labor cost model
By Craig Allan Ahrens
High labor costs are threatening the viability of many hospitals and health systems. A workforce ecosystem approach, after Uber’s “gig worker” approach, can help ensure organizations have access to a stable, cost-effective workforce, with reduced reliance on costly alternatives such as over-reliance on trave nurse.
Voice of Experience
For hospital CFOs, success comes from understanding payer expectations
By Steven Berger, FHFMA
Terri Chinn, CPA, a 37-year member of HFMA, and vice president, finance, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, suggests success for her organization comes from its ability promote health in its service area. She has applied her lessons learned as a leader of both payer and provider organizations to financially manage a clinically integrated network, called Monument Health, with the purpose of improving quality and access while reducing cost for its beneficiaries.
Thought leadership
“Cost effectiveness of health: Why now?”
By Joe Fifer
“There is greater awareness of social determinants of health (SDoH) in healthcare circles today than ever before,” says Joe Fifer, HFMA’s president and CEO, in his September From the President column. Fifer discusses how we can translate this heightened awareness to action.
