March 2020 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review
ON THE COVER
Leadership strategies for women in healthcare
Although women make up a larger percentage of the healthcare workforce and hold more leadership positions than in previous decades, there are still far fewer of them than men in healthcare C-suites.
How UT Austin's human-centered design program will give healthcare's future changemakers a 'different kind of courage'
A new master's program focused on human-centered healthcare design aims to bring care delivery back to basics, sparking change "at the human level," according to Stacey Chang, executive director of the Design Institute for Health at the University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School.
Social isolation and loneliness are America's next public health issue
At our core, people are social beings. Whether we are a part of a sports team, social group or professional society, we all have the need for some type of social network. These connections give us opportunities to thrive, learn new things and enjoy healthier lives.
Report: Providers predict Target, Amazon most likely to follow Walmart's standalone health clinic model
While it's yet to be determined the impact Walmart's freestanding health center model will have on provider organizations, executives and clinicians anticipate other retail and tech giants will soon follow and open their own clinics, according to a recent Reaction Data report.
Hospitals, not physicians, driving up healthcare costs for privately insured, study shows
Hospital prices are a bigger driver of healthcare spending growth for the privately insured than physician prices, a study published in Health Affairs suggests.
Aggressive creditor forced hospital chain into bankruptcy, CEO says
Americore Health and its affiliated hospitals were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late December after a lender hijacked the company's bank accounts, Americore Founder and CEO Grant White alleges in court documents filed last week.
Optum helps boost UnitedHealth profit past $5B in Q4
UnitedHealth Group saw its revenues just miss analysts' expectations in the fourth quarter of 2019, but the health insurance giant's Optum unit boosted profits.
Cleveland Clinic CEO: Being salaried without tenure helps us offer personalized care
As tension grows between standardization and personalization across all businesses, Forbes contributor Glenn Llopis asked the CEO of Cleveland Clinic how he maintains standards while encouraging individual contribution.
Moffitt Cancer Center's 1st chief digital innovation officer: Don't forget about the people behind the innovation
Though it has been barely one month since Moffitt Cancer Center named Edmondo Robinson, MD, chief digital innovation officer of the Tampa, Fla.-based organization, Dr. Robinson has already dived headfirst into the newly created role.
Dr. David Feinberg says 'we're super proud' of Project Nightingale with Ascension
Google Health leader David Feinberg, MD, continued to defend the company's partnership with St. Louis-based Ascension, nicknamed Project Nightingale, at the StartUp Health Festival, an event for biotech entrepreneurs, according to Forbes.
What millennials' lunch breaks reveal about their expectations for medical appointments
The ultra-efficient workday lunch break is nothing new, but millennials have taken this efficiency to ever more "joyless, ruthless" levels, CityLab reports, highlighting the generation's tendency toward total optimization at the expense of human interaction.
Pennsylvania hospital banned from reopening after racking up 40 citations
Americore Health acquired Ellwood City (Pa.) Medical Center in October 2017 and closed the hospital in December 2019. During that period, the Pennsylvania Department of Health cited the hospital more than 40 times, according to GoErie.com.
Popular care program doesn't significantly cut readmission rates, study finds
A well-known program to keep "frequent flyer" patients out of the hospital does not cut readmissions any more than typical care protocols, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Rush University System for Health has proactive investments, partnerships in the works, CFO says
John Mordach has more than 30 years of healthcare financial management experience to call on as senior vice president and CFO of Chicago-based Rush University System for Health.
BCBS of Minnesota CEO Dr. Craig Samitt: Healthcare needs reinvention. Look to the incumbents
Craig Samitt, MD, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and its parent company, Stella, is anxious about the trajectory of healthcare cost growth in his state.
Want to tackle health disparities? Start by taking people out to breakfast, says UTMC's CMO Dr. Keith Gray
Five years ago, Keith Gray, MD, wasn't overly familiar with the term "social determinants of health." He was also surprised to learn that 173,000 people were living in at-risk zip codes around Knoxville-based University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was practicing as a surgical oncologist.
How University of Rochester Medical Center's associate CMIO juggles administrative work, being a physician
The motivating environment of an academic medical center led Justin Mazzillo, MD, to leave Texas after his residency and join the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center.
U of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO: 'Everything in healthcare doesn't need to be done by a hospital CEO'
Despite branching out through nearly 60 outpatient clinics, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City — which includes the only comprehensive university medical center in the state — by and large remains a healthcare destination.
The question Paul Black and Michael Dowling won't stop asking: Why can't it be improved?
In fall 2019, Northwell Health and Allscripts combined forces to create the next-generation EHR. The cloud-based, voice-enabled and AI-powered EHR will be designed based on input from Northwell clinicians, IT experts and administrators alongside Allscripts' development and systems integration expertise.
Corner Office: AdventHealth Winter Park CEO Justin Birmele on following in his parents' footsteps and being a team player
Justin Birmele is the new CEO of AdventHealth Winter Park (Fla.), but he isn't new to the organization.
CFO / FINANCE
Florida hospital to close billing department, lay off 63 employees
Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will lay off 63 employees early this year and close its billing department, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
West Virginia health system files for bankruptcy
Thomas Health, a two-hospital system based in South Charleston, W.Va., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 10.
Nurses lose bid to keep Washington hospital open
A bankruptcy judge on Jan. 14 denied a request from the Washington State Nurses Association to reconsider an order allowing Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima, Wash., to close, according to TV station KIMA.
Los Angeles hospital closes after purchase deal falls through
It took Verity Health less than three weeks to wind down services at St. Vincent Medical Center, a 366-bed hospital in Los Angeles.
Tenet on track to meet $450M cost-cutting goal this year, CEO says
Tenet Healthcare improved operational efficiencies last year, cutting $300 million in expenses, its CEO Ron Rittenmyer said during a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
CEO / STRATEGY
Report: Providers predict Target, Amazon most likely to follow Walmart's standalone health clinic model
While it's yet to be determined the impact Walmart's freestanding health center model will have on provider organizations, executives and clinicians anticipate other retail and tech giants will soon follow and open their own clinics, according to a recent Reaction Data report.
Why CEOs should solve problems outside their organization
Climate change, public health and social inequality are not just society’s problems to fix — they’re also the problems CEOs and executives should be addressing, according to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review.
4 New York hospital execs on what ‘Medicare for All’ would mean for them
More hospital closures, longer wait times, and cuts to research and development funds would be the new reality under a single-payer system like “Medicare for All,” four hospital executives told Newsday.
South Carolina health system lays off 327 employees
In a second round of layoffs, Columbia, S.C.-based Prisma Health said it is letting 327 employees go to improve operating efficiencies.
Arizona hospital responds to ‘women don’t do well here’ physician job posting
Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City responded to a ZipRecruiter physician job posting and its wording related to gender, according to The Arizona Republic.
INNOVATION
Moffitt Cancer Center’s 1st chief digital innovation officer: Don’t forget about the people behind the innovation
Though it has been barely one month since Moffitt Cancer Center named Edmondo Robinson, MD, chief digital innovation officer of the Tampa, Fla.-based organization, Dr. Robinson has already dived headfirst into the newly created role.
New AMA hub connects healthcare startups, physician-innovators
The American Medical Association announced on Jan. 14 an initiative launched in partnership with investment platform RedCrow to build collaborations between physicians and healthcare startups.
Express Scripts chief innovation officer focused on leveraging technology: Here’s why
Express Scripts’ chief innovation officer says technology is what is going to change the healthcare landscape for the better, and that’s why the pharmacy benefits manager remains optimistic about its investments in digital health solutions, according to Yahoo Finance.
How UT Austin’s human-centered design program will give healthcare's future changemakers a 'different kind of courage'
A new master’s program focused on human-centered healthcare design aims to bring care delivery back to basics, sparking change “at the human level,” according to Stacey Chang, executive director of the Design Institute for Health at the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School.
How Ochsner’s focus on social determinants will continue to lead its innovation efforts
New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System has been innovating around population-level social determinants of health since it was founded in the 1940s, well before value-based care had become a widespread priority of the healthcare industry.
CIO/HEALTH IT
How HHS’ proposed interoperability rules will affect patients, EHR vendors
ONC’s proposed interoperability rules will require the healthcare industry to adopt standardized application programming interfaces to allow patients to access their medical records via smartphone apps, according to a Jan. 19 Capital Times report.
Epic CEO Judy Faulkner asks hospitals to oppose HHS’ interoperability rule
Epic CEO Judy Faulkner on Jan. 22 emailed some of the EHR giant’s largest U.S. hospital clients, asking them to voice disapproval of HHS’ proposed interoperability rule, CNBC reported.
Cerner withdraws bid to sell portion of its Innovations Campus
Cerner retracted its bid to sell a portion of its Kansas City, Mo.-based Innovations Campus to developers for “retail and mixed-use,” according to a Jan. 14 Kansas City Business Journal report.
Dr. David Feinberg says ‘we’re super proud’ of Project Nightingale with Ascension
Google Health leader David Feinberg, MD, continued to defend the company’s partnership with St. Louis-based Ascension, nicknamed Project Nightingale, at the StartUp Health Festival, an event for biotech entrepreneurs, according to Forbes.
New Cerner patent hints at company’s efforts to move beyond EHR products
Cerner Innovation, a subsidiary of the Kansas City, Mo.-based EHR vendor, was granted a patent on Jan. 7 for a device that identifies inadequacies in blood samples before they get processed, Kansas City Business Journal reported.
CMO/CARE DELIVERY
Newark Beth Israel put patients in ‘immediate jeopardy,’ CMS says
Newark (N.J.) Beth Israel Medical Center’s heart and lung transplant program put patients in “immediate jeopardy,” and, even after planning corrective measures, the hospital still isn’t in compliance with all federal standards, ProPublica reported.
Allegheny Health Network cancels surgeries after Cardinal Health puts hold on surgical gowns
After Cardinal Health warned customers that some of its surgical gowns may not be sterile, Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network canceled some elective surgeries for a day in January, a health system spokesperson confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review.
Geisinger cited for infection control issues after NICU deaths
State regulators discovered several infection control deficiencies at Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Medical Center after three infants died from bacterial infections in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit in fall 2019, according to The Citizens’ Voice.
Pennsylvania hospital banned from reopening after racking up 40 citations
Americore Health acquired Ellwood City (Pa.) Medical Center in October 2017 and closed the hospital in December 2019. During that period, the Pennsylvania Department of Health cited the hospital more than 40 times, according to GoErie.com.
State questioned Seattle Children’s over lack of air filter in OR
The Washington Department of Health interviewed leadership at Seattle Children’s in November 2019 to determine why cardiac surgeries were still being conducted in operating rooms without advanced air filtration systems, according to a state report cited by local NBC affiliate King 5.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Rush University System for Health has proactive investments, partnerships in the works, CFO says
John Mordach has more than 30 years of healthcare financial management experience to call on as senior vice president and CFO of Chicago-based Rush University System for Health.
BCBS of Minnesota CEO Dr. Craig Samitt: Healthcare needs reinvention from the inside out
Craig Samitt, MD, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and its parent company, Stella, is anxious about the trajectory of healthcare cost growth in his state.
Want to tackle health disparities? Start by taking people out to breakfast, says UTMC’s CMO Dr. Keith Gray
Five years ago, Keith Gray, MD, wasn’t overly familiar with the term “social determinants of health.”
How University of Rochester Medical Center’s associate CMIO juggles administrative work, being a physician
The motivating environment of an academic medical center led Justin Mazzillo, MD, to leave Texas after his residency and join the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center.
U of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO: ‘Everything in healthcare doesn’t need to be done by a hospital CEO’
Despite branching out through nearly 60 outpatient clinics, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City — which includes the only comprehensive university medical center in the state — by and large remains a healthcare destination.