U.S. healthcare system is poised to begin a new phase in partnerships
Healthcare provider organizations should prepare for an emerging new phase in the evolution of healthcare partnerships, characterized by an increasingly diverse array of choices among care sites and settings for consumers, health plans and employers. In responding to the opportunities presented in this new partnership phase, providers should adopt a strategy that applies important lessons learned during the pandemic.
Healthcare providers face a growing risk of violating debt covenants
COVID-19 has increased the financial strain on healthcare providers that puts them at risk of being noncompliant with lending covenants. They should be taking proactive steps now to avoid or mitigate the potentially severe adverse financial consequence of such an occurrence.
4 essential tactics for sustaining an independent community hospital
Independent community hospital face threats to their survival, and they need to take deliberate action to address those threats in order to continue to deliver essential care cost effectively to their communities. Leading community hospitals that are committed to remaining independent share the tactics they have adopted to ensure their independence is sustainable
Research seeks to pinpoint health system characteristics associated with the tendency to ‘overuse’ healthcare
Higher bed counts, fewer primary care physicians and investor ownership are among the characteristics of health systems that tend to overuse healthcare, according to a new study.
Accelerated drug approvals present a mounting challenge to oncologists and raises concerns about cost effectiveness for health system finance leaders
In the past year, Americans have witnessed two extremes of the FDA’s accelerated approval process, exposing both profound strengths and worrisome weaknesses. Finance leaders should keep informed about new drug treatment options, their associated costs and efficacy and whether lower-cost alternatives that have the same efficacy are available so they can engage in meaningful conversations with clinicians about which options truly promote cost effectiveness of health.
Policy analyst and hfm columnist Paul Keckley discusses the cost effectiveness of health
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer interviews Paul Keckley, managing editor of The Keckley Report and author of an upcoming column in hfm magazine about the economy and healthcare spending, public health and the pandemic, and the cost effectiveness of health.
The HFMA editorial team discusses the biggest healthcare stories of the year and looks ahead to 2022
HFMA's award-winning editorial team looks back on key stories from 2021 in the news, hfm magazine, HFMA's Community, the podcast and more.
Recruitment and retention strategies can help mitigate impacts of the Great Resignation
To maintain a high-quality workforce, hospitals and health systems must take deliberate steps to address common pitfalls in the recruiting process and to adopt proven strategies for enhancing retention.
Home-based care is ripe for innovation and implementation post COVID-19
Despite the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic created for hospitals, it also created an opportunity for many important lessons learned on how care can be delivered more efficiently and cost effectively in patients’ homes.
How to create an employer-friendly healthcare center of excellence
Increasing health expenditures and the pressures of the recent pandemic have contributed to the development of a new type of center of excellence (COE), called the future-state COE, which is designed to better address the needs of large employers. This COE model incorporates value-based contracting and a strong incentive design into a service-line strategy to create employee health programs that benefit employers, patients and providers alike.