The financial profiles of US not-for-profit hospitals are stronger than they were three years ago, says Moody’s Investors Service vice president Daniel Steingart. In his summary in Healthcare Quarterly, Steingart notes that “stronger financial footing will undoubtedly help hospitals mitigate the headwinds associated with changing and more stringent reimbursement models.” (“Not-For-Profit Hospitals: Financially Stronger as […]
Veralon Views Blog
The Veralon Views blog is an extension of our partnership with leaders who are transforming the healthcare industry. Here, we share expert perspectives from our nationally recognized senior consulting team on issues that are key to the success of your organization.
Moody’s Investors Service reported a continuation of “favorable operating performance” for not-for-profit and public hospitals, citing its preliminary FY 2015 medians. “Strong revenue growth and strengthening profitability margins are due to gains in insurance coverage, volume increases, improved revenue cycle, expense management and the stabilizing of changes implemented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” […]
Physician engagement is critical to CIN success. True engagement, however, takes vigilance and a long-term commitment; having physicians join your network is just the beginning of the process. Our experience has shown that, despite their best intentions, many CINs lose touch with their physician membership at some point along the road. Effectively engaging physicians in […]
Industry transformation requires major adaptations from healthcare organizations – to increase scale, enhance scope, and achieve differentiation, among others. Partnerships can be a key vehicle to facilitate and pursue these adaptations. Partnerships between academic and community hospitals/health systems are a unique sub-set of healthcare provider partnerships. Academic providers aligning with their community counterparts is, of […]
Your selection of post-acute care (“PAC”) partners can make or break your value-based payment programs and care management initiatives. Even where fee-for-service is still dominant, having the right post-acute care partners can improve economic performance by reducing length of stay and minimizing acute care readmissions. Most health systems and hospitals do not own PAC facilities, […]
The impact of the Affordable Care Act on clinical practice patterns has influenced the utilization of and need for most physician specialties. Completing a medical staff development plan will help a health system or hospital right size its medical staff in light of these impacts, and ultimately help determine community need for physicians. Yet too […]
Social media’s most valuable role in strategic planning is in communication of strategic planning initiatives and priorities rather than for research during the planning process. It can be particularly useful for reaching employees and creating momentum for moving forward. Your organization can share information about mission, vision, goals, values and ongoing initiatives from your own […]
There are countless challenges that health systems may face in developing a strategic plan. Below are some of the more common reasons we have found for reluctance to plan. We have also included some thoughts on overcoming understandable hesitation. Reason 1: “We’re too busy keeping the organization operating.” Those in the C-Suite or on the […]
To achieve the best work product from strategic planning sessions, it is imperative for leaders to foster group collaboration and seek input from multiple stakeholders with different backgrounds and skill sets. Even when a diverse group of participants are selected, it can be difficult to obtain input from all participants if one or a few […]
A parade of headlines announcing record-breaking settlements (chart below) has left healthcare executives, lawyers, consultants, and even physicians wondering if they could be exposed to regulatory or legal action as a result of any of their employment or other physician-hospital alignment arrangements. The government’s incredible return on investment on enforcement actions, as well as a […]