And four more news items for hospital administrators, health system leaders, practice managers, and other healthcare executives to peruse this week.
- Preparing the enterprise for sustainable cost control is this year’s top concern for hospital and health system CEOs, according to Advisory Board’s Annual Health Care CEO Survey. What’s more, it is the first time the issue made it to the survey. The nationwide study was conducted between December 2017 and March 2018, and 62 percent of the 146 respondents named it their chief interest. Other areas of great importance include innovative approaches to expense reduction and exploring diversified, innovative revenue streams.
- A senior agency official with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) told Modern Healthcare that CMS intends to fine-tune, not scrap, its hospital star-rating system. Currently, the federal agency is collecting feedback from stakeholders and specialists. The adjustments, which should be made public by the end of this year, are expected to entail an approach that will assuage the influence that changes to measures have on hospitals’ overall ratings.
- Forbes reports on Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack for just below $1 billion as well as the purchase’s impact on drug store operators, such as CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance, and distributors like McKesson. PillPack, which is licensed to ship medications in every state, prepackages prescription pills for daily or hourly use by people who manage multiple meds. Amazon’s procurement of the web-based pharmacy is considered by many to be the online mega retailer’s first substantial foray into the healthcare sector.
- A recent com risk management article covers a study conducted by researchers from Stanford Hospital and Clinics and the Clinical Excellence Research Center at Stanford School of Medicine. Researchers found hospitals can conquer the challenges of population-based reimbursement models, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs), and decrease their in-house costs by engaging physicians with hospital cost accounting data to help pinpoint unwarranted care.
- NEXT Hospital Innovation, slated to take place in Dallas, October 7 – 9, will present hospital decision makers with an opportunity to learn how healthcare movers and shakers have delivered applications and tools to the market, and gain insights on making ideas a reality. The HealthLeaders event will feature major trendsetters in healthcare. Those who attend will experience “show and solve” general sessions, dive into the best methods for putting innovative ideas into practice, and see innovation from the field level.
Contact Optimum Permanent Placement Services at 603.288.1332 for assistance with your permanent staffing needs, and read our blog for helpful information and insights.
