Dennis Dahlen: New year, not-so-new struggles call for revamped approach
In January, 8,000 investors, innovators and market participants gathered in San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. This gathering has become a required event for healthcare leaders to take stock of the industry. You could feel the pulse of the conference accelerate during key moments, like when comments from an FDA regulator led to…
Why providers are struggling to succeed under value-based care
An obvious question that has often been overlooked in the rush to promote value-based care (VBC) is whether providers are equipped to navigate the transition from volume to value. Findings of a survey of providers and payers published in September suggest that there are reasons for concern.a Many providers report that capability gaps are negatively…
Gail Wilensky: How the pandemic created a new impetus for improved care coordination
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a catalyst for many significant changes in healthcare delivery. Some were intentional, representing seized opportunities to improve processes. But other changes were forced on the industry as a result of constraints imposed by the pandemic. One of the most significant of these changes, for example, has been the industry’s…
Using analytics effectively to drive margin improvement
Participants of an HFMA Executive Roundtable held June 27 discuss how healthcare providers are taking steps to encourage data sharing among units and create a single source of truth for operational and patient data.
Understanding the true cost to collect requires focusing on high-level KPIs
Revenue cycle management leaders from around the country share their perspectives on defining and maintaining a high-performance revenue cycle and the challenges they face in working to enhance revenue cycle management.
News Briefs: Medicare’s hospital outpatient payment rate for 2024 improves marginally from the proposed rule
The final rule setting Medicare’s 2024 payment rates and policies for hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) contained little to make hospitals optimistic about the government portion of their payer mix. Base payments for items and services furnished in hospital outpatient settings and ASCs will increase by 3.1% after factoring in the usual…
Jill Geisler: Tips on how to be an accessible, approachable leader
Ask people about the leaders they most admire, and they’re likely to describe someone who’s not only smart and strategic, but also approachable and accessible. Those respected leaders make that aura of warmth and welcome look easy, but we know the real story. It’s hard work. And it isn’t getting easier. Tackling business, technology, regulatory…
Deploying EPM in the cloud: 6 steps that drive value
Cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM) offers tremendous potential for health systems, but the ability to drive value depends on a thoughtful approach that puts as little pressure as possible on existing resources, both technological and human.
Kaleida Health taps Matthew Drake and Hugh Chisholm for new roles
Two HFMA fellows have been appointed to new leadership positions at Kaleida Health, the largest healthcare provider in Western New York. Matthew Drake, FHFMA, MBA, is the health system’s new executive vice president of strategy and partnerships. Drake, a member of HFMA’s Rochester Regional Chapter, previously was Kaleida’s executive vice president and CFO. Prior to…
Dennis Dahlen: It’s time to look at what’s working — and what isn’t — in reducing care costs
There’s a surprising phenomenon taking place in Medicare spending — and it points to the need to look deeper when it comes to healthcare cost containment. For years, Medicare was viewed as the nation’s “budget buster,” with spending spiraling so quickly that some budget experts predicted no amount of tax money could sustain it. And…