Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare CEOs ranked financial challenges (e.g., reducing the operating costs for staff and supplies, declining reimbursement) and increasing competition from other providers, among the top issues facing hospitals. But with coronavirus expenses straining hospital budgets, in 2020, a new element, service line optimization has become critical to hospitals’ ability to […]
The pandemic has placed significant constraints on capacity, making volume growth, or simply maintaining normally budgeted volume levels, a formidable challenge. Organizations must implement novel clinical and administrative workflows that allow for the most efficient use of provider and patient time, ensure patient and staff safety, and drive bottom line performance. Many have opened services […]
The pandemic provided an initial introduction to virtual care for many, and most patients and providers have responded positively, embracing its convenience. Health systems, hospitals, and other providers now need to take the time to develop a business plan that identifies opportunities to optimize virtual care platforms, drive revenue and adapt practices to effectively meet […]
Every organization has sacred cows. The financial challenge from COVID-19 calls for large scale improvements. This has emboldened our clients to address sacred cows, making tough changes that were unthinkable a few months ago. The time to act is now! Sacred cows to consider include: Underperforming Assets: Every organization has some assets that perform significantly […]
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 […]
Covid-19: A prediction challenge like no other Covid-19 will challenge hospital leaders in many ways. But no one expected that a key challenge would be in a basic skill every hospital administrator mastered early in their career – estimating volume. Hospital leaders are accustomed to estimating volume. They do it all the time – for […]
Many conversations we have with hospital and health system executives about market growth strategies eventually turns to the topic of micro-hospitals — and for good reason. These facilities typically include a small-scale emergency department (ED), low-acuity surgery, and are often comprised of eight to 10 inpatient beds as well as additional observation beds (notably, these […]
The greatest risk for health systems will be to assume that their leading role in health care is an immutable given. The strategic challenge will be to…
“Everyone in the industry is merging. We should be too.” “We’ve always been independent, and we should stay that way.” Independent hospitals continue to merge or affiliate with other hospitals or with health systems. However, independent hospitals still have company. In 2016, the latest year for which information is available, there were about 1,600 independent […]
Challenge/Situation: To assist CRMC in determining if the medical center could remain independent and financially viable, and if not, to identify and evaluate potential affiliates.
