Prior to the pandemic, we learned something quite surprising. In a Veralon survey, only 42% of respondents viewed the financial losses on employed physician enterprises as “unacceptable” or a “major priority.” Perhaps “surprising” is too tame a description. We were “shocked.” At the time of our survey, the level of losses typically varied between $150,000-$200,000 […]
COVID-19 delivered a gut punch to the outlook for not-for-profit hospitals in 2020, moving from a “stable but delicately balanced” outlook this past January to a negative outlook in late March due to the rapidly evolving pandemic. While independent hospital leaders have always needed to keep a careful eye on their organization’s ability to remain […]
Intro to M&A Blog Series: As healthcare organizations brace for financial losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, some will have a harder time weathering the storm than others. It’s a predicament that could propel some not-for-profit hospitals and health systems into partnerships in 2020 and beyond. Just months ago, experts thought hospital and health system […]
The pandemic has led healthcare leaders to ask, “Should we just throw out our strategic plan?” Though much has changed, the quickest and most effective way to lead and make good decisions – and to reassure boards and other stakeholders – is to revise and build on your existing strategic plan[1]. It will help set […]
Though COVID-19 has absorbed the world’s attention, hospitals must also effectively treat all of those patients who needed care before COVID-19 appeared. Many of these patients are deferring or skipping necessary care, often against their physician’s advice, for fear of contracting COVID-19 at a healthcare provider. Providers need to allay patient fears and establish effective […]
What COVID-19 volume should hospitals expect over the next 6 to 12 months? In the last two months, some hospitals experienced exponential COVID-19 census growth, while others stared at empty hallways as stay-at-home orders flattened the growth before it took off. Doubling of cases occurred as quickly as every 3-5 days before states exercised any […]
Across the nation, hospitals are planning for rapid resumption of elective and other non-emergent care. State regulatory approval to do so is the critical initial hurdle/”trigger”. If you are a COO, service line administrative/medical director, or ambulatory care center leader the chart below is Veralon’s guide in preparing for and assessing your readiness to proceed […]
Physician compensation plans have generally been designed to meet specific health system objectives including: Optimizing recruitment and retention Aligning physician financial incentives with organization goals around quality, productivity, citizenship Promoting consistency and equity among physicians Most compensation models reflect expectations with respect to production, quality, and time worked, and target expected levels of compensation based […]
The COVID-19 crisis is likely to include a series of recurring cycles over an extended period —a “pulsed recovery” that will result in a new normal in which clinical care operations have fundamentally changed. While Herculean efforts are focused on the immediate challenges, the deferred needs of the chronically ill (e.g., congestive heart failure, COPD, […]
Many physicians, and other clinicians, are working harder than perhaps they ever have under extraordinary conditions, as COVID-19 surges through our communities. While those conditions will improve as the initial surge subsides, physician practices, both independent and employed, will need to change to respond to the consequences of that surge, and the potential for secondary […]