April 2017 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review
On the Cover
150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare | 2017
Becker's Healthcare is pleased to release the 2017 edition of its "150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare | 2017" list. Click here to continue.
Executive Briefings in this Issue
How Hospitals Can Protect the Bottom Line, Increase Efficiency by Outsourcing Key Revenue Cycle Functions
Increased patient financial responsibility, difficult patient collections and value-based reimbursement models have presented significant financial challenges for hospitals and health care providers. Click here to continue.
How Hospitals, Physicians and Health Systems Can Leverage Advanced Analytics to Reduce Claim Denials, Strengthen Financial Performance
Hospitals, physicians and health systems are operating in a challenging economic environment characterized by ever-changing payer contracts and increasingly complex payment models. Click here to continue.
Your Hospital's Medical Staff Bylaws May Be Creating Undue Medical Staff Burden — Here's Why
Reviewing and updating medical staff bylaws is a strategic priority for hospitals and healthcare systems aiming to provide high-quality clinical care in the time of value-based medicine. Click here to continue.
Choosing the Right Post-Acute Provider for a Risk-Bearing Partnership: A Closer Look at Opportunities Available to Hospitals
As reimbursement models become more closely linked to patient outcomes and quality of care, hospitals and health systems are increasingly assuming risk for patients' health — even beyond hospital walls. Click here to continue.
Improving Patient and Staff Safety and Lowering Costs Through Continuous Visual Monitoring
How a Digital Revenue Cycle Enables Transition to Value-Based Care
CFO/Finance
Despite Revenue Jump, UPMC Operating Income Falls 47% in Second Half of 2016
Pittsburgh-based UPMC saw revenues increase in the second half of last year, but the system ended the period with lower operating income than in the last six months of 2015. Click here to continue.
How CHS, LifePoint, UHS, Tenet and HCA fared in Q4
Major for-profit hospital operators produced mixed financial results in the fourth quarter of 2016. Click here to continue.
Dr. Toby Cosgrove: Drug Costs Contributed to Cleveland Clinic's Low Operating Income for FY 2016
Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, cited high drug costs as part of the reason the health system's operating income fell in fiscal year 2016, reports Cleveland.com. Click here to continue.
Tenet's Net Loss Balloons to $192M in 2016
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare will work to strengthen its hospital portfolio and expand its ambulatory network this year after ending 2016 with a net loss. Click here to continue.
Texas Hospital Files for Bankruptcy After $51.4M Aetna Loss
Humble (Texas) Surgical Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Feb. 24, after a judge ordered the hospital to pay Aetna $51.4 million in an out-of-network billing case in December. Click here to continue.
CHI's Operating Loss Swells to $153.9M in Q2
Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit 103-hospital system based in Englewood, Colo., saw revenue increase in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 but ended the period with an operating loss, according to recently released bondholder documents. Click here to continue.
Mayo Clinic's Operating Income Drops 9.8%: 7 Things to Know
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic saw its operating income fall from $526 million in 2015 to $475 million in 2016, reflecting increased costs associated with growing its workforce and providing uncompensated care to patients in Medicaid programs. Click here to continue.
CHS to Sell 25 Hospitals as Net Loss Swells to $1.7B in 2016
Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems will continue selling off hospitals this year after ending 2016 with a net loss. Click here to continue.
A State-by-State Breakdown of Hospital Adjusted Expenses per Inpatient Day
Here are the adjusted expenses per inpatient day in 2015, organized by hospital ownership type, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the latest statistics from Kaiser State Health Facts. Click here to continue.
5 RCM Metrics Hospitals Should Monitor to Improve Cash Flow
Hospitals and health systems continuously monitor revenue cycle management metrics, as they play a key role in helping organizations receive maximum reimbursement and an accurate assessment of their billing department. Click here to continue.
Blackstone Closes $6.1B Deal to Acquire TeamHealth
New York City-based global asset manager Blackstone successfully closed its acquisition of Knoxville, Tenn.-based TeamHealth Holdings, a physician services organization. Click here to continue.
4 Statistics on 2017 Pharma Price Hikes
While drugmakers typically raise list prices in January, many companies scaled back price hikes amid rising scrutiny over the cost of prescription drugs, reports The Wall Street Journal. Click here to continue.
10 States With the Highest Rates of Past-Due Medical Debt in 2015
Almost one in four nonelderly Americans had medical debt past-due in 2015, and it was more common in states with high rates of uninsured people, according to a recent study conducted by the Urban Institute. Click here to continue.
How Partners HealthCare's Errors Altered Medicare Payments Nationwide
Fifty-six Massachusetts hospitals received Medicare overpayments and hospitals across the nation received underpayments because Boston-based Partners HealthCare submitted incorrect wage and cost data for 19-bed Nantucket (Mass.) Cottage Hospital, according to a recent report from HHS' Office of Inspector General. Click here to continue.
Mayo Clinic to Give Preference to Privately Insured Over Medicaid, Medicare Patients
Mayo Clinic CEO John Noseworthy, MD, told employees in a recent speech that the Rochester, Minn.-based system will "prioritize" patients with private insurance over Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries if the patients have similar conditions and seek care at the same time, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Click here to continue.
CEO/Strategy
Swedish Health Services' CEO, Top Surgeon Resign After Investigation Into Medical Practices
Anthony Armada, the CEO of Seattle-based Swedish Health Services, resigned Monday, just days after a Seattle Times report prompted state regulators to investigate the Swedish Neuroscience Institute on the Cherry Hill campus in Seattle. Click here to continue.
How CEOs Should Address Contentious Politics: 4 Points to Consider
In an era when the political environment is more divisive and contentious than ever before, how should executives speak out about politics — if they should at all? Click here to continue.
Iowa Hospital CEO Resigns Over Improper Travel Expenses
Manchester, Iowa-based Regional Medical Center CEO Lon Butikofer has resigned. The hospital's board of trustees discovered that Mr. Butikofer had submitted "improper travel expense reimbursement." Click here to continue.
10 Most Concerning Issues for Hospital CEOs
For the 11th year in a row, hospital CEOs ranked financial challenges as the No. 1 issue facing their organizations in 2014. Click here to continue.
The Chief Compliance Officer's Paycheck is the Fastest Growing in the C-Suite
The increasing focus on regulatory issues may already be affecting executive pay within medical groups — and it appears chief compliance officers are poised to capitalize on this trend. Click here to continue.
Scripps CEO Chris Van Gorder Volunteers Up to 1,000 Hours a Year to This Demanding but Needed Work
I recently caught up with Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health, after he and other volunteers with the San Diego sheriff's department concluded a search and recovery mission for two missing people. Click here to continue.
More Than Two-Thirds of Healthcare Leaders Would Pursue Their Career Again, MGMA Poll Finds
A vast majority of healthcare leaders are happy in their career, a new Medical Group Management Association poll reveals. Click here to continue.
The American Health Care Act: 8 Things to Know
After years of lobbying to repeal and replace the ACA, House Republicans put forth The American Health Care Act on Monday. Here are 10 things to know about the legislation. Click here to continue.
CBO Scores the AHCA: 5 Things to Know
The Republican-proposed American Health Care Act would reduce the federal deficit, but leave millions more Americans uninsured over the next decade, according to the much-anticipated estimate from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Click here to continue.
Opinion: Why There Are so Few Female Supply Chain and Logistics Leaders
As director of JPS Supply Chain — a recruitment consultancy company specializing in logistics, procurement and supply chain — Jennifer Swain interviews many more men for logistics roles than women. Click here to continue.
12 Health System CEOs Recall the Most Memorable Piece of Advice They've Received
Over the course of a career, one will hear many pieces of advice from a variety of people — family, friends, mentors, teachers and career coaches. Each individual must decide for him or herself which advice to heed and which to ignore. Click here to continue.
Only 20% of Physicians Are Engaged With Leadership, Survey Shows
While physician engagement is low, there are ways hospitals and health systems can better link clinicians to their workplaces, according to athenahealth's 2016 Physician Leadership and Engagement Index. Click here to continue.
Former Health System Leaders Launch Strategic Advisory Firm: 4 Things to Know
Health system leaders have a new strategic advisory firm to help them navigate today's healthcare environment and the switch to value-based care. Click here to continue.
4 Things Leaders Can Learn About Resigning From MD Anderson President Dr. Ron DePinho
Ron A. DePinho, MD, president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, resigned from his post on March 8. Click here to continue.
CEO Confidence at Highest Point Since Recession: 6 Fast Facts
CEOs are more optimistic about the economy this year, with greater plans for hiring and investment and higher expectations for sales over the next six months, according to the Business Roundtable first quarter 2017 CEO Economic Outlook Survey. Click here to continue.
CIO/Health IT
These 10 People Are Helping Create the Hospital of the Future
Wired and HP have worked together to find 10 individuals who are rethinking the modern day hospital, whether through IT initiatives or improved means of waste management. Click here to continue.
Vanderbilt UMC Notifies 3,000+ Patients of Data Breach
Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center is notifying 3,247 patients that their medical information was accessed by unauthorized individuals, according to The Tennessean. Click here to continue.
23 Ideas to Boost Cybersecurity at Your Hospital in the Next 60 Minutes
Hospital and health system CIOs don't need to figure out how to implement a blockchain solution to enhance cybersecurity at their organizations just yet — there are many simpler things they can do first, according to HIMSS17 attendees. Click here to continue.
16 Statistics on Current Salary, Benefits for Health IT Professionals
Most health IT professionals earn between $100,000 and $119,999 per year, and 46 percent expect a pay raise over the coming year, according to Healthcare IT Market Report 2017: Trends Edition, developed by Pivot Point Consulting, a Vaco Company. Click here to continue.
Cybercriminals Sell EHR Databases for $500k Underground
The majority (65 percent) of victims of medical identity theft have to pay roughly $13,500 to address their situation, according to a Trend Micro report. But how much do criminals charge for the information? Click here to continue.
81% of Healthcare Organizations Will Increase Cybersecurity Spending This Year
The majority — 81 percent — of healthcare organizations in the United States said they plan to increase cybersecurity spending in 2017, according to the 2017 Thales Data Threat Report, Healthcare Edition. Click here to continue.
Which Cities Have the Happiest CIOs?
A new survey from Robert Half Technology outlined the 10 cities in America with the highest job satisfaction rates among CIOs. Click here to continue.
NIST: 'Copy and Paste' Function Can Lead to Errors in EHRs
Overuse of the "copy and paste" function in EHRs may compromise the accuracy of patient data, according to a National Institute of Standards and Technology report. Click here to continue.
50 Things to Know About athenahealth, Cerner, Epic, McKesson & Meditech
From an organization founded in 1997 to one that has been around for nearly two centuries, the major EHR vendors come in all shapes and sizes. Click here to continue.
Epic Unveils App Orchard for Third-Party Developers
Epic Systems has officially launched its "App Orchard," an app store it first announced two years ago. Click here to continue.
752% Ransomware Increase in 2016 — 3 Cyberthreat Trends to Know
In 2016, the number of ransomware families increased from 29 to 247, representing a growth of 752 percent, according to a Trend Micro report. Click here to continue.
On Ransomware, FBI Director James Comey Has 2 Pieces of Advice for Providers
During a keynote speech on March 8, FBI Director James B. Comey took a moment to comment on the cybersecurity landscape for healthcare providers, according to the National Law Review. Click here to continue.
Cerner's Innovations Campus is Officially Open
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the morning of March 9, Cerner has officially opened its 290-acre Innovations Campus in Kansas City, Mo., according to The Kansas City Star. Click here to continue.
CMO/Care Delivery
10 Best States for Healthcare, as Ranked by US News
Massachusetts is the best state in the nation and the No. 2 state for healthcare, according to U.S. News & World Report's inaugural Best States rankings released Tuesday. Click here to continue.
Hospital Floors Could Transmit Germs More Easily Than Previously Thought
Germs on hospital room floors can move rapidly to high-touch surfaces and then healthcare worker hands, thus making dirty hospital floors more of an infection risk than previously thought, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control. Click here to continue.
Healthgrades Names 2017 Best Hospitals: 5 Things to Know
Healthgrades, an online resource for information on physicians and hospitals, named its list of America's 50 and 100 Best Hospitals for 2017 on Tuesday. Click here to continue.
WHO Ranks World's 12 Most Dangerous Superbugs
The World Health Organization on Monday identified 12 families of bacteria that serve as the greatest threats to human health. The agency expressed an urgent need for drugmakers to develop new antibiotics to fight the bacterial threats, reports STAT. Click here to continue.
Study: Burned-Out Physicians Less Likely to View Medicine as Their 'Calling'
Physicians who experience more burnout are less likely to find their work meaningful or view medicine as a calling, according to a new study in Mayo Clinic Preceedings. Click here to continue.
Beware the Office Coffee Pot: 4 Everyday Surfaces Teeming With Bacteria
In the era of antibiotic resistant superbugs, it's important to be aware of the invisible bacteria that surrounds us every day. Click here to continue.
Survey: 24% of Hospital Staff Witness Expired or Recalled Product Used on a Patient
Supply chain improvements create better quality and promote patient safety, according to a new survey from Cardinal Health. Click here to continue.
Rude Surgeons May Also Be Most Hazardous: 5 Study Findings to Know
Patients seeing surgeons who elicit the greatest number of patient complaints are 14 percent more likely to experience complications within 30 days of a procedure than patients who see surgeons widely perceived as respectful, according to new research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Click here to continue.
10 States With Highest & Lowest RN Salary
Registered nurses earn an average of $71,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Click here to continue.
Physician-Rating Websites Have Serious Limitations, Study Finds
Nearly 60 percent of patients say online reviews are important to them when choosing a new physician, but according to a research letter in JAMA, the websites commonly used by patients to find a new clinician have significant limitations. Click here to continue.
Surgeon Donates Kidney to Fellow Physician at Hoag
When anesthesiologist Brian Dunn, MD, went into liver failure last year, a fellow surgeon at Newport, Calif.-based Hoag Health System gave him an exceptional gift: a new kidney. Click here to continue.
The Power of an Apology Post-Medical Error: 5 Key Points
Many hospitals are doing away with the "deny and defend" model when it comes to medical errors and instead are opting for disclosing, apologizing and compensating for mistakes, according to a Kaiser Health News report. Click here to continue.
An 'Eye-Opening' Experience: Canadian Physician Shadows Nurse for a Day
A pediatrician at Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, walked 12 hours in a nurse's shoes as part of a fundraiser and team-building experience and gained some perspective on what nurses do day in and day out. Click here to continue.
Joint Commission: 10 Most Common Sentinel Events of 2016
The 10 most common sentinel events reviewed by the Joint Commission did not change much from 2015 to 2016 — only dialysis-related events and perinatal death/injury fell off the list completely, and medication errors and criminal events took their places. Click here to continue.
New Data Shows Potential 100k+ Shortfall of Physicians by 2030: 8 Things to Know
The U.S. faces a shortage of 40,800 to 104,900 physicians by 2030 — though the shortage of physicians by 2025 is now projected to be smaller than previous estimates, according to updated data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Click here to continue.
Former Michigan Health Official Sentenced to Probation for Role in Flint Legionnaires' Outbreak
A former health official with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was sentenced to a year of probation for failing to disclose an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease to the public amid the Flint water crisis, according to CBS Detroit. Click here to continue.
Thought Leadership
7 Lessons on Supply Chain Management From Intermountain's Richard Beach
Intermountain Health Care in Salt Lake City is widely known as a leader in supply chain — it was among the first round of health systems to implement its own self-distribution network a decade ago, and Gartner named it the No. 1 healthcare supply chain in 2016. Click here to continue.
The Measure of a True Leader
How do you evaluate the impact of a healthcare leader? Of course, there are hundreds of metrics you might use, from net operating revenue to market share to the many quality awards and designations. Click here to continue.
5 Keys For Engaging the Millennials in Your Hospital's Workforce
Employee engagement is one of the more high-stakes buzzwords circulating the healthcare industry. The prevalence of disengagement throughout the American workforce warrants major concern from hospital and health system leaders. Click here to continue.
4 Questions With CHIME-HIMSS CIO of the Year Pamela Arora
Pamela Arora is not only the senior vice president and CIO of Children's Health in Dallas — she was also named 2016 John E. Gall, Jr. CIO of the Year by CHIME and HIMSS. Click here to continue.
The Corner Office: OSF HealthCare CSO Michelle Conger on Enhancing the Humanity in Health System Strategy
As health systems increasingly embrace value-based payment models and population health, many have identified a need to create new organizational strategies to propel them in the right direction. Click here to continue.