March 2012 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

Healthcare Reform: Two Years Gone, Now What's on the Horizon?

President Barack Obama signed the landmark healthcare reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, into law in March 2010, and now here we are, two years later, trying to absorb the ramifications of the past and prepare for the future. Click to continue »

7 Steps for Building a Top-Tier Cancer Center

Many hospitals are building or upgrading oncology centers to more efficiently and effectively treat cancer patients. Click to continue »

Despite Distressed Assets, Private Equity Firms See Value in Healthcare

During 2011, healthcare mergers and acquisitions saw 980 deals worth a total of $227.4 billion, an 11 percent increase from $205.6 billion in 2010, according to an Irving Levin Associates report. Click to continue »

Publisher's Letter

Inside This Issue; 2012 Becker’s Hospital Review Annual Meeting — May 17-18, Chicago. Click to continue »

70 Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs

Becker's Hospital Review has named "70 Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs." Click to continue »

Turning Challenges Into Opportunities: Q&A With Brigham and Women’s Hospital President Dr. Elizabeth Nabel

ncreasing pressure to reduce costs and improve quality can be overwhelming for hospital leaders. Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, president of the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals in Boston, says she approaches this challenge, like others she has faced, as an opportunity. Click to continue »

5 Hospital and Health System CEOs: What “Top Performance” Looks Like to Me

What does it mean to be a top-performer, exactly? The phrase is often spoken with implicit meaning, but ask any two people and you'll likely hear different definitions. Click to continue »

“Everyone Rowing Together”: Q&A With Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute Executive Director and CMO Dr. Keith Churchwell

Keith Churchwell, MD, was named executive director and CMO of Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute in July of 2009. Click to continue »

This is the Worst Time for Healthcare CEO Paralysis

I speak to at least one healthcare CEO every day and I have to tell you: From coast to coast, I am seeing something akin to panic right now. Click to continue »

Bridging the Gap Between Fee-for-Service and Value-Based Care Starts With Physician Feedback

As hospitals and health systems across the country work toward coordinated and integrated care, most will need to alter their relationships with physicians. Click to continue »

7 Best Practices for Hospitals Implementing a Health Information Exchange

MHealth information exchange is a key goal of the HITECH Act and meaningful use program, as it is designed to enable the secure transmission of data between healthcare providers. Click to continue »

Becker’s Hospital Review Annual Meeting Conference Brochure

This exclusive conference brings together hospital business and strategy leaders to discuss how to improve hospital and health systems in these challenging but opportunity-filled times. Click to continue »

A Culture of Continuous Improvement is Necessary for Success Under Value-Based Care

Transformation. This word is one I've been saying a lot lately. At Mercy St. Vincent, where I served as president and CEO until October, a transformation — in the form of creating a culture of continuous improvement — has been taking place over the last several years. Click to continue »

CBO: Most Demonstration Projects Don’t Curb Medicare Costs

After reviewing the outcomes of 10 major Medicare demonstrations, the Congressional Budget Office has found most produced little or no savings to the federal health insurance program. Click to continue »

Survey Suggests Joint Ventures With Physicians Most Popular Alignment Strategy, Among Other Findings

The results of a recent survey of more than 200 healthcare leaders by Jarrard, Phillips, Cate and Hancock published in the firm's Inside Baseball newsletter suggests that joint venturing with physicians is the most popular current physician alignment strategy (49.8 percent of respondents indicated using this strategy), compared to aggressively acquiring practices (26.3 percent), traditional credentialing and medical staff relations (15.1 percent) and "keeping [physicians] at bay" (8.8 percent). Click to continue »

Common Ailments With Physician Practice Valuation

The following article is written by Nicholas J. Janiga and Jason L. Ruchaber, CFA, ASA of HealthCare Appraisers. CPT copyright 2010 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Click to continue »

St. Vincent’s HealthCare CFO Mark Doyle: 3 Burning Questions Right Now

Sitting in the healthcare "hot seat" is a turbulent experience right now for any hospital CFO. It's similar to the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" in that the personal pressure builds the further along someone goes, and there is gradually more on the line, financially speaking. Click to continue »

7 Best Practices for a Smooth Hospital Tax Process

As Benjamin Franklin famously quipped, "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Click to continue »

7 Ways Hospitals Can Trim Their Labor and Operational Costs

When it comes to a hospital's finances, most CFOs are awaiting decisions on just how much Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements will be cut. Click to continue »

The War Over ICD-10

This past November, the American Medical Association and its House of Delegates voted to "work vigorously to stop implementation of ICD-10." Click to continue »

Faster, Better, Stronger: Reinforcing Ties Between Hospitalists and Emergency Medicine

As the hospital industry continues to push collaborative care to the forefront of the agenda, hospitals may be underestimating two critical providers in these conversations: emergency department and hospital medicine providers. Click to continue »

11 Evolving Issues in Healthcare and Business

This article briefly discusses eleven different healthcare and business issues. We have divided the article into three key sections. Click to continue »

Hospital & Health System Transactions

Ashland (Ore.) Community Hospital considered proposals from five health systems to partner or form an alliance. Click to continue »

Hospital & Health System Executive Moves

Ascension Health of St. Louis, Mo., named Charles Barnett as president of healthcare operations and COO. Click to continue »