Culture of Healthcare with Dr. Brian Wong

In this 6-part series, Dr. Brian Wong, physician, trustee, and CEO of the Bedside Trust discusses the definition of “culture” and how it pervades all levels of the healthcare organization. He challenges hospital leadership to examine the culture of their organization by asking themselves the question, “What business are we in?” Drawing from his experience […]

Moody’s: Considerations for the Board’s Investment Committee

Balance sheet strength, measured on both an absolute and relative basis, as well as liquidity, significantly drives not-for-profit and public hospitals’ credit quality. Stock market growth over the last several years has been impressive. However, in keeping with historic trends, volatility—temporary market fluctuations or a short-term downturn—will trouble institutional investors in the near term, according […]

Internalizing Enterprise Risk Management

As the healthcare market expands and evolves, the inherent risks also are increasing. These risks include: The shift from volume to value The rise of the consumer and expansion of consumer options New payment models Mobile strategies New entrants An aging population Continued political and regulatory uncertainty   Whereas hospitals/systems have traditionally done well at […]

Corporate Interest in the Delivery of Care

Now that the iProtean, now part of Veralon Symposium has concluded and we have a rich source of new material from our experts for the upcoming courses, we will from time to time feature select abstracts from our experts’ interviews. Subscribers will see new courses such as Health Care: We Have a Problem; Doing More […]

HHS Head Plans to Get Aggressive with Value-Based Payments

The head of the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) said recently that the department will aggressively push to implement value-based payment, extending beyond ACOs and bundled payment initiatives.   “ . . . we want to look at bold measures that will fundamentally reorient how Medicare and Medicaid pay for care and create a […]

Hospitals Threatened by Insurers’ Growth Strategies

“Hospitals will face greater competition, risk of volume declines and margin erosion as the nation’s largest commercial health insurers aggressively pursue growth strategies that are aimed at lowering healthcare spending,” according to Moody’s Investors Service.   Insurers’ strategies include:   Acquisition of physician groups Acquisition of non-acute care services Tougher contract negotiations Greater restrictions on […]

Health Lawyers Release Top 10 List

The American Health Lawyers Association released its list of the top 10 healthcare issues for 2018. Not surprisingly, healthcare reform and the status and future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) came in first. Emergency preparedness, telemedicine and digital health and the opioid epidemic also made the list. The full list appears below, followed by […]