January/February 2011 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

The Year Ahead: 10 Key Trends for Hospitals in 2011

Two hospital CEOs, three association executives and two consultants discuss 10 trends for hospitals in 2011. Click to continue »

9 Strategies for Maintaining Profitability in 2011 and Beyond

A multitude of forces — some already in effect and others set to take effect in 2011 and beyond — pose possible threats to hospital profitability. Hospitals have long been faced with the challenge of compensating ... Click to continue »

10 Ways to Improve Your Hospital’s Heart Program

A great cardiac program can boost patient volume, improve your hospital's reputation and significantly increase revenue. Here five cardiology program experts — three from the hospitals ranked as having ... Click to continue »

Publisher’s Letter: January 2011

2010 was an interesting year for hospitals. Hospital leadership, with the overhang of healthcare reform, aggressively examined and often moved forward with plans for accountable care organizations. Click to continue »

10 Ways to Cope in This Anxious Time of Healthcare Reform

1. Hold meetings with staff. Hold a series of meetings with all your personnel — nurses, physicians, housekeeping and others — to talk about the implications of the healthcare reform act. There's a lot of confusion in all quarters about reform. Click to continue »

Top CEOs of Hospitals and Health Systems Share Goals for 2011

The next few years bring significant changes to the healthcare industry, from incentives distributed for "meaningful use" of electronic medical records to significant fee cuts to the implementation of a new coding system. Click to continue »

52 Women Hospital & Healthcare Leaders

Here is a list of 52 women who demonstrate outstanding leadership within the hospital and healthcare industry. Click to continue »

40 Hospital Benchmarks

Here are 40 hospital benchmarks to help evaluate how your hospital performs on various measures of quality, patient experience, finance and operations. Quality The following information is from ... Click to continue »

7 Steps Hospitals Must Take to Embrace ACOs: From Kevin Brennan at Geisinger Health System

Geisinger Health System, an integrated network in Danville, Pa., served as one of the models for the new accountable care organization. The system participated in CMS' seminal Medicare Group Practice Demonstration, ... Click to continue »

ACOs: One System’s Approach Toward Accountability and Success

One of the prominent aspects of the recent healthcare reform discussion is the effort to change the reimbursement methodology for both hospitals and physicians. A number of models, including the patient ... Click to continue »

Should Your Hospital Develop or Join an ACO? 5 Questions to Ask

The Medicare Shared Savings Program, also referred to as the accountable care organization program, was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and will be effective by Jan. 1, 2012. ... Click to continue »

Accrediting Body Issues Proposed Standards for ACOs, Asks for Comment

The National Committee for Quality Assurance, which accredits managed care organizations, has released a set of draft standards for accountable care organizations and is asking for public comment through ... Click to continue »

7 Factors to Assess the Sustainability of a Hospital: Assessing a Hospital’s Viability, Its Financial Situation and the Severity of the Threats it Faces

There are approximately 4,500 medical-surgical hospitals in the country. Of these, nearly 2,500 are affiliated with or a part of system, nearly 2,000 are independent, and approximately 200 to 250 are physician-owned ... Click to continue »

10 Successful Hospital Turnarounds

Strong leadership and smart changes can make the difference between closing your doors and leading the market. Here are 10 hospitals that accomplished successful turnarounds. 1. Anaheim (Calif.) ... Click to continue »

8 Things to Know About Medicare’s Bundled Payment Pilot

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a provision to begin a national pilot on payment bundling, which is essentially an expansion of CMS's ongoing Acute Care Episodes Demonstration project. Click to continue »

Bundled Pricing Opportunities & Challenges: Q&A With Baptist Health System’s Michael Zucker

Vanguard Health Systems' Baptist Health System in San Antonio is one five hospitals in the country participating in Medicare's Acute Care Episode Demonstration project and one of only two to offer bundled ... Click to continue »

The Case for Shifting More Services to Midlevel Providers

With reimbursements shrinking and patient volume expected to rise under the reform law, our healthcare system comes up against a stark reality. There are not enough physicians to go around, and the federal ... Click to continue »

9 Key Considerations for Healthcare Internal Investigations

Healthcare providers face a climate of increased investigation coupled with a quickly changing business environment. The Department of Justice has requested increases in its budget, including substantial ... Click to continue »

Maryland’s St. Joseph Medical Center to Pay $22M to Settle False Claims, Kickback Allegations

St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Md., has agreed to pay the United States $22 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that it paid kickbacks and violated the Stark Law when it entered ... Click to continue »

CHRISTUS Health in Houston to Pay $1M Settlement in Medicare Fraud Lawsuit

CHRISTUS Health, a hospital system based in Houston, has agreed to pay almost $1 million to settle allegations that it committed Medicare fraud by falsely billing the federal healthcare program for unapproved ... Click to continue »

Ohio’s Marion General Pays $1.2M to Settle Stark Violations

Marion (Ohio) General Hospital has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve self-reported allegations of the Stark Act and Anti-Kickback Statute, according to a Marion Star report. The violations, ... Click to continue »

Simi Valley Hospital Settles Medicare Fraud Lawsuit, Agrees to Pay $5.15M

Simi Valley (Calif.) Hospital has agreed to pay the U.S. government $5.15 million in order to settle allegations that the hospital filed fraudulent claims to Medicare, according to a Pacific Coast Business ... Click to continue »

6 Things Health Systems Look For When Acquiring a Hospital

Hospital acquisitions by health systems are increasing as hospitals find it easier to survive as part of a larger organization. Here Mark Bogen, CPA, vice president of finance at South Nassau Communities ... Click to continue »

University of Louisville to Merge With CHI, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s

Officials from the University of Louisville, Ky., have signed a letter of intent to move ahead with a merger between the school’s healthcare system and two other healthcare organizations to form a statewide organization, according to a Courier Journal report. Click to continue »

January/February 2011 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

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