Operations Management

Healthcare News of Note: What can be done to correct data disparities in women’s health?

The prevalence of women’s health conditions is roughly five times that of their documented diagnoses, which means for every woman diagnosed with a women’s health condition, roughly four go undiagnosed. The 2023 emergency medicine Match will see 555 initially unmatched positions, affecting a larger number of residency programs than in 2022, when 219 unmatched positions…

Deborah Filipek April 17, 2023

Medicare’s proposed FY24 update to inpatient payments falls short, hospitals say

Hospitals are less than pleased with Medicare’s proposed FY24 payment update for inpatient care. In proposed regulations, the net inpatient payment update is 2.8% after factoring in a mandatory productivity adjustment of -0.2 percentage points. As usual, the update would be reduced for any hospital that does not fulfill quality-reporting requirements or qualify as a…

Nick Hut April 12, 2023

Hospital operational changes underway as health equity becomes one of The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals

Reducing healthcare disparities became a Joint Commission accreditation standard (LD.04.03.08) on Jan. 1, a little more than a year after the organization issued a Sentinel Event Alert warning of impacts on patient safety. However, on July 1, the standard will become a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG), which experts say points to one thing: Healthcare…

Lisa A. Eramo, MA April 10, 2023

Maryland’s all-inclusive population health payment model continues to show promise, but nonhospital spending poses a concern

An innovative payment model for Maryland healthcare providers has improved utilization, cost and quality thus far, but an increase in nonhospital spending requires further study. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) released an analysis of the first three years of Maryland’s Total Cost of Care Model, an effort to improve population health management.…

Nick Hut March 31, 2023

How investing in the workforce can improve a health system’s bottom line

The year 2022 will be remembered as one of the worst financial years on record for healthcare. It will also be recalled as the year when the anticipated workforce shortage moved from being just one of many strategic concerns for health system leaders to becoming their most critical and urgent challenge. The rapidity with which…

Rodney B. Hanners March 29, 2023

Reports on patient safety indicate progress, challenges and a need to focus on pediatric mental health

Recent reports add context to the issue of patient safety in hospitals and health systems. ECRI released a report that ranks the pediatric mental health crisis as the No. 1 patient safety issue in healthcare. The report cites a JAMA study that found increases of 29% in anxiety and 27% in depression between 2016 and…

Nick Hut March 29, 2023

The impact of claims denials on the financial health of healthcare

While their hospitals and healthcare centers have long had to deal with claims denials, the number of denied claims continues to rise and payers are showing little inclination to help solve the problem, according to several roundtable participants.

HFMA March 29, 2023

Best practices for relieving unprecedented cost pressures facing healthcare providers

Due to labor cost increases, inflation, declining Medicare reimbursements and other reasons, health systems across the nation are feeling a new financial strain after the height of the pandemic.

HFMA March 29, 2023

Meeting healthcare’s workforce challenges requires innovation — with a dose of humanity

There is no low-hanging fruit left in workforce innovation. Yet hospital and health system finance executives who are looking for investments their organizations can make to reach higher up the tree should not be deterred. They can follow the lead of health systems that have already taken risk and reaped rewards — from taking an…

Liz DeForest March 28, 2023

Healthcare News of Note: Medicare to negotiate reduced prices for 40 drugs by 2028, says study

Medicare drug price negotiation has the potential to benefit Medicare beneficiaries across some of the most common disease states.

Deborah Filipek March 23, 2023
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