Healthcare and Technology

One of the major milestones for an organization working within healthcare is to keep their information ‘HIPPA’ compliant. And for new technology companies entering the market of healthcare, companies like Amazon, they have had to learn from the ground up exactly what that phrase means. This however, seems not to have provided a barrier to the tech companies ability to keep their momentum.

Just last year Amazon offered $125K dollars to the best app developer that could help patients with type 2 diabetes. This as part of a strategy to find ways to provide care for mothers, babies, the elderly and those who currently have type 2 diabetes. They communicated the challenge with the following statement;

“With this pioneering challenge, innovators have a unique opportunity to help navigate uncharted territory: experimenting with and developing new solutions for those managing a chronic condition. Communicating through voice, rather than just on a screen, has the potential to empower patients to change habits and improve their overall well being.”

Obviously the costs of maintaining and assisting these patient populations are beneficial to the US as a whole, but certainly tech companies like Amazon are poised to make plenty of money if they are successful at delivering high value to customers for a lower cost and more convenient than visiting their primary care competitors.

Share your Thoughts:

Do you think Tech companies and healthcare management should work together to make healthcare information more safe? Do you think the consumer/patient will become healthier with these changes? 

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for the opportunity to learn how to grow and excel as health managers with the constant healthcare changes and advances. 

Sources:

https://healthitsecurity.com/news/amazons-alexa-healthcare-team-bones-up-on-hipaa-compliance

https://technologyadvice.com/blog/healthcare/healthcare-management-healthcare-tech/ 

A Simple Win-Win Skill to Improve Management-Team Relations

Hooray! You’ve gotten a promotion into a healthcare management position, but now you’re struggling with how to translate your technical and operational skills into managerial skills. 

According to David Brendel in the Harvard Business Review this situation is far from unique.

Brendel explains that even with a vast skill-set many new managers can find themselves ‘quickly feeling out of their depth.’ Becoming a manager, like other skills, takes time and often requires acquiring new skills. Brendel believes that with ‘one-simple step: asking more open-ended questions and avoiding directive statements’ a new manager can develop needed skills quickly and effectively.

• Open ended questions have the ability to:
•  Promote dialogue and engagement
• Gather information about teams
• Build confidence and trust
• Make team members feel valued.

According to Brendel, asking questions is a simple way to make progress as a manager and should be the majority of what healthcare management should be doing. He even quantified this idea with a ratio of 10:1 open-ended questions to directives.

As a healthcare manager you are not required to have all the answers to direct your employees on what to do, instead you can learn from your employees and discover how as a team you can all thrive and grow as an organization.

Share your Thoughts:

Should healthcare management lead their teams with open-ended questions? Would you appreciate this style as an employee or as a healthcare manager? Do you think this is a win-win type of healthcare management style?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for educating and shaping future healthcare management to be effective and influential.

Sources:

 https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2015/09/23/open-ended-questions?WT.mc_id=Email|DailyBriefing+Headline|DBA|DB|2018Mar22|FinalDB2018Mar22||||&elq_cid=3471459&x_id=003C000002F0V3oIAF

https://thebestschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MBA-Healthcare-Management.jpg

'Amazon' the New Medical Supply Company?

If you haven’t been trapped in an underground cavern for the last few years then you have heard of the company Amazon. But have you heard of Amazon in relation to healthcare management and medical supplies? As it seems Amazon is wanting to get in on the healthcare or medical supplies business which is making major medical suppliers a tad bit uncomfortable.

While Amazon currently sells some healthcare supplies through their platform ‘Amazon Business’ they are looking to expand its footprint within the healthcare market.

With a well established and well funded company such as Amazon other medical supply focused companies are being put in the hot seat to cut costs to increase margins to stay competitive.

Still Amazon has a lot of hurdles to face such as an already set up and heavily contracted marketplace, especially Premier and Vizient who has a good grip on more than half the market share and understands the ins-and-outs of supply logistics and storage while already having a relationship with their vendors. But the fact that Amazon is showing interesting in wanting to be a key player in the medical supplies business should alone, make companies think twice and look at their game plan on how they can keep a handle on their piece of the proverbial pie.

Share your Thoughts:

Do you think healthcare management should be willing view Amazon as a healthcare supplier? What would you do to prepare, if anything as a healthcare supply company? Do you think healthcare management should take a step back from signing long term supplier contracts to enable the best pricing?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for helping their students navigate the always changing landscape of healthcare management.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2017/06/15/amazon-medical-supplies?WT.mc_id=Email|DailyBriefing+Headline|DBECTake|DBA|DB|2017Jun15|ATestDB2017Jun15||||&elq_cid=1339315&x_id=003C000001tclvqIAA

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/17/176060/img/logos/amazon_logo_RGB.jpg

What does a Healthcare Consumer Want?

Healthcare management may have some new insights into what consumers want out of their healthcare. In a survey completed by the Advisory Board group they what consumers prioritize in their search for healthcare.

Here are some of the survey’s findings:

When asked to rank ‘Access and Convince’, ‘Provider Continuity’ and ‘Provider Credentials’ those surveyed ranked Access and Convince as most important.

This finding corresponded with 56% of consumers being willing to use retail clinics and 42% willing to try email visits.

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The next portion of the survey healthcare management should be mindful of pertained to primary care physician (PCP) loyalty.

When those surveyed were given scenarios on what would cause them to switch PCP it was not competition but instead missteps from their current primary care physician. So the takeaway was to not worry about the competition but your own PCP competency.

The other scenario that caused people to switch PCP was if their annual costs increased by more than $250, this rise was more likely to cause a switch then medical missteps.

And one of the most important takeaways for healthcare management was that manners matter in a PCP. Patients were more likely to switch if they were met by rude staff than different staff. So note to healthcare management; make sure your staff are friendly and courteous, it may just keep your patients coming through the doors.

Share your Thoughts:

Do you agree with these findings? Do you think healthcare management should take these finding into consideration? What do you feel is important when needing to see a physician or continuing to see a primary care physician?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for taking a comprehensive approach to educating future healthcare management.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/research/market-innovation-center/resources/posters/what-do-consumers-want-from-health-care?elq_cid=1339315&x_id=003C000001tclvqIAA&WT.mc_id=Email%7CDailyBriefing+Spotlight%7CBoldDB2017Jan09%7Cinfo%7CMIC%7C2017Jan09%7Cpatexp%7C&elqTrackId=118cf5776293458f853276ac3c38271c&elq=85fb3a58839a4c4da8751f543c5c9e8d&elqaid=62508&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28694

http://michael-sandnes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/physicians-473x300.jpg

3 Exercises to Increase Happiness at Work

How often do we hear that a friend or family member is unhappy with their job? But happiness in one’s work may have more to do with perspective than the actual job.

A recent survey completed by the Conference Board research group reported that more than have of U.S. workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

There are three key traits that could contribute to job happiness and how we can incorporate these traits into our jobs via ‘job crafting.’

1.       The desire for control over our lives.

2.       Making positive connections with other people.

3.       Deriving meaning from work.

Job crafting is a term used by Yale psychologist Amy Wrzesniewski and Jane Dutton professor at the University of Michigan. ‘Job crafting’ is taking control over the aforementioned traits to increase job satisfaction.

Dutton and Wrzesniewski recommend three exercise to increase job satisfaction.

1.     Identify the good and bad parts of your job.

Take an inventory of what you like and dislike about your job and other things you would like to integrate into your work. Setting goals and focusing on the positive can do wonders in snowballing positive focus.

2.     Build better relationships with your colleagues.

You spend a lot of time with coworker so why not invest a little effort and time and make some friendships? Having friends can make even the most difficult of work better.

3.     Look at your job in a new way.

Changing your mindset towards your work can make a difficult job more meaningful. Your job can be as full of purpose as you want to make it.

From a health care management perspective helping employees and staff enjoy their job and look at it from a new perspective can help hospital moral. Health care management and healthcare in general can be taxing and difficult work but integrating these three exercises can really turn a health culture around.

Share your Thoughts:

Could you use these exercises in your own health care management field to increase job happiness? How do you think you could best implement these exercises into employee and health care management culture?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare program for focusing on a culture of happy health care management.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2016/09/13/love-your-job?WT.mc_id=Email|DailyBriefing+Headline|DBA|DB|2016Sep13|OldDB2016Sep13||||&elq_cid=1339315&x_id=003C000001tclvqIAA

http://www.freedassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Nine-best-practices-in-healthcare-IT-project-management_710_249.jpg

Rural Healthcare in Crisis

Health Management in Rural America is struggling to meet the increase in Medicaid patient demands. In Northern California the amount of Medicaid patients doubled to approximately 40,000 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA requires Americans to sign up for healthcare insurance or be fined annually.

What rural healthcare networks especially those that serve low-income individuals and families are seeing is an increase in demand for services but not enough nurses and physicians to meet the demand.

In rural Northern California some health centers have had to stop accepting new Medicaid beneficiaries which causes the patients in some cases to have to travel long distances for primary care or use local emergency departments for regular or preventative care.

It’s a tug of war of resources affecting patients, physicians, hospitals, clinics, emergency rooms and even potential health care providers looking into the career of health management.

Share your Thoughts:

How would you as a health manager deal with the increase in Medicaid recipients in a rural area? What could you see as potential solutions and barriers? Does your State participate in the ACA Medicaid expansion, if so what effects have you seen?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for the skill to brainstorm and help problem solve complex health management questions.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2016/08/05/medicaid-expansion-straining-rural-providers?WT.mc_id=Email|DailyBriefing+Headline|DBA|DB|2016Aug05|ATestDB2016Aug05||||&elq_cid=1339315&x_id=003C000001tclvqIAA

https://usm.maine.edu/sites/default/files/styles/landingpage_slide/public/muskie/cutler/RuralHospitalSign_photo_hires_500.jpg?itok=kdQ1u6lT

Hospitals Expect More Negative Margins for Medicare Reimbursment

Medicare reimbursement rates have always been a big focus for healthcare managers and administrators because it is an area where hospitals/clinics can potentially hemorrhage money. Medicare reimbursement is not dollar for dollar for procedures that are carried out so healthcare management is always mindful of how they can improve their hospitals to qualify for the best reimbursement rates. However according to Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) hospitals are expected to see a negative 9 percent average on their Medicare margins. This compared to negative 5.8 margins in 2014.

So why are these margins falling? The results from MedPAC point to declining Medicare reimbursement and the implementation of other federal policies for example the move towards value-based payments and 0.8 percent payment reductions to recoup improper overpayments related to coding errors.

What can healthcare management do to help lessen their losses and the pressure they feel with all the changes occurring in the healthcare industry?  Here are a few suggestions listed by the Advisory Board Company:

• ·         Instill greater employee accountability for benefit costs
• ·         Accelerate the transition to ICD-10 coding
• ·         Build clinical model for population health
• ·         Implement Best-in-Class CDI programs
• ·         Gain new patients with Convenient Offerings
• ·         Standardize care across Clinics and Sites of Care

Hopefully by considering new strategies to lessen losses healthcare management can alleviate some of the strain placed on health facilities by dropping reimbursements.

Share Your Thoughts:

How do you view the issue of declining Medicare reimbursement margins? How would you solve the problem in Healthcare Management? What role do you see physicians and clinical healthcare professionals playing in the Medicare reimbursement margins?

Thank you to Baylor Healthcare MBA for introducing early on the strengths and struggles seen daily by healthcare management.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/research/financial-leadership-council/resources/margin-intensive/margin-intensive-infographic

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2016/05/02/medicare-margins-projected-to-decrease

http://kalamazoohomehealthcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Medicare-Certified-Home-Healthcare.jpg

Hospital Transactions up almost 20% in 2015

In 2015 the amount of hospital structure changes, or ‘hospital transactions’ i.e. mergers, acquisitions, joint operations and joint ventures has increased by 18% in 2015. It should also be pointed out that the increase in hospital transactions increase by 70% since 2010. Of the 112 transactions in 2015 83 of them were in the not-for-profit being acquired.  

What has caused the increase in hospital transactions so dramatically since 2010? Many would point to the changes with healthcare reimbursement brought on by the Affordable Care Act.

Some smaller community hospitals feel the financial stress of needing to provide more services to patients at a reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rate as well as an increase in free services covered under the umbrella of the Affordable Care Act. Larger hospital companies are buying up these smaller hospitals as they have a greater ability to afford these financial changes.

Share your Thoughts:

Do you think patients will benefit from the increase in healthcare transactions? How should healthcare management change or improve based on these changes? How do healthcare managers succeed and adapt to these changes?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare Program for the knowledge to navigate through an ever changing Healthcare system environment.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2016/01/25/number-of-announced-hospital-transactions-jumps-nearly-twenty-percent-in-2015

http://www.upp.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/highlight-product-image/iStock_000020246978XSmall_2.jpg

Changing Healthcare Management Methods

If you work in healthcare today you might have noticed that management styles are beginning to change, unless of course you work for an organization that is completely behind the times. These changing management techniques have several different names, but essentially they’re all aimed to do one thing; allow and empower the frontline staff to make decisions in the areas they work for increased clinical efficiency.

Recently an article was published by the CEO of ThedaCare explaining why the traditional “top-down” approach is getting the boot. He lists 3 popular methods that have been adopted by healthcare companies to compete in the more and more competitive climate.

These methods include;

• The "Plan-Do-Study Act" (PDSA) cycle, which is a methods that allows the different areas of the facility to hold daily huddles in order to come to a consensus of solving a problem or potential problem.

•  Model cells, which takes a more dramatic look at all of the roles and responsibilities in a certain area, and assess ways to make that area more efficient by completely restructuring the area. I could see hospitals where they might be undergoing a merger or acquisition to use this method.

•  Lean Management, which is a method that I am the most familiar with. It is a method that was adopted by the car industry, and more specifically Toyota. This method incorporates many efficiency models and is meant to change the culture to becoming more thoughtful about the resources of the facility.

Whatever the method chosen, they have been proven to produce results. Many articles, not just this one that I have sited here has shown that they can not only have an immediate impact, but have long lasting effects. 

Share your Thoughts:

As a healthcare manager have you seen the impact of any of these healthcare management changes? Is your health system using any of these methods? As a patient have you noticed a change in care with the healthcare management changes?

Thank you to Baylor University MBA Healthcare program for keeping their students relevant and informed in the ever changing world of healthcare management. 

Sources:

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/3-steps-healthcare-management-supports-frontline-workers/2015-08-24

http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/sites/healthcarefinancenews.com/files/styles/companion_top/public/doctor-at-work-caption.gif?itok=klMQSxBT

Top Healthcare Issues in 2015

With 2015 now in full swing it’s not too late to look for what to expect in the healthcare industry. PwC’s Health Research Institute has put out a list of the top 10 trends that are expected to begin or continue this New Year. What I think is fascinating about the language of this publication is the fact that they refer to these new trends as the top ten “issues.” When I reveal the list below it might make more sense why I believe that is an interesting way of phrasing. Here is the list;

1. Do-it-yourself healthcare  

2. Making the leap from mobile app to medical device

3. Balancing privacy and convenience  

4. High-cost patients spark cost-saving innovations      

5. Putting a price on positive outcomes   

6. Open everything to everyone            

7. Getting to know the newly insured

8. Physician extenders see an expanded role in patient care  

9. Redefining health and well-being for the millennial generation  

10. Partner to win  

 

A little more context is given in the article, but as most of you can probably tell, many of the top 10 listed above should perhaps not be seen as ‘issues,’ but as opportunities to increase value for the patients. Certainly as healthcare continues to become more and more competitive there will be some challenges, but in the end the people win, and managing healthcare becomes more of a demand.

Share your Thoughts:

Do you think the list is of opportunities or issues in healthcare management? How many things on the list were you familiar with, or had heard of when referring to healthcare management? Do you believe healthcare for the patient and hospitals will improve in 2015?

A Special thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for the education to innovate the future of healthcare management.

Sources:

http://hitconsultant.net/2014/12/04/pwc-top-10-healthcare-industry-issues-to-watch-in-2015/#at_pco=smlwn-1.0&at_si=54c158728bc7c222&at_ab=per-2&at_pos=0&at_tot=1

http://work.chron.com/DM-Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/251/68/77629533.jpg?w=650&h=406&keep_ratio=1&webp=1

5 Great Ways to do Healthcare!

A fascinating Harvard Business Case recently published about 5 great ways to do healthcare has caught the attention of many healthcare professionals. The ‘5 Great Ways’ (or examples) are listed in the publication as follows:

1. Transparency at University of Utah Health Care

2. Culture of shared responsibility at Mayo Clinic

3. Teamwork at Northwestern’s Integrated Pelvic Health Program

4. Addressing socioeconomic issues at Contra Costa

5. Consolidating care with the London Stroke Initiative

As may be able to tell from the titles of these 5 great examples, the author has chosen to focus on the accountability that hospital facilities and healthcare companies have to their employees and their communities. Of these 5 the one that, personally stuck out the most was probably number two. Number two from the article was featured as follows:

… “I was amazed by how well everyone worked together to give patients first-rate, coordinated care. For example, if a patient is referred to a heart failure specialist because of shortness of breath, but the real problem turns out to be lung disease, the patient will be sent to a pulmonologist – but that initial heart failure specialist continues to play to role of doctor to the patient, making sure all the loose ends are tied up during and after the consultation. It’s wonderful for the patients, but not the way most specialists in U.S. health care work.

I asked some Mayo physicians why they were willing to do this “extra work” beyond their specialty expertise. One said, ‘Look, we think we are pretty good, but we know that these patients did not come here for us as individuals. They came because we’re the Mayo Clinic. So we all know that they are not really my patients – they are our patients.’”

I am amazed that even though Mayo Clinic has one of the most sought after medical facilities, and their physicians are top of the line, they still take the time to coordinate their patients care and go the ‘extra mile’ with their healthcare management.

It is my ambition as a future healthcare manager to create some of my own “great ways to do healthcare.”

Share Your Thoughts:

Would you want to be a patient at a hospital that functioned like the Mayo Clinic? How do you think more Healthcare Management can improve their facilities and patient interaction? Are you satisfied with your healthcare experience? 

Thank you to Baylor Healthcare MBA for propelling their students to strive to be the best in healthcare management.  

Sources:

https://hbr.org/2014/11/5-examples-of-great-health-care-management

http://www.liberty.edu/media/9932/academic_programs/Master-of-Business-Administration-Healthcare-Management.jpg

Best Hopes for ACA

One of the “best hopes” that came out of the Affordable Care Act was a provision to enhance the role of primary care providers in decreasing the overall cost of healthcare.  The logic simply is that as individuals need more access to healthcare early on, before the issues become a problem, they would be able to receive that care in one of the more less expensive ways – a visit with their primary care physician. Other first world countries follow a similar approach, even taking it one step further by making it necessary to visit your primary care physician before being allowed to see a specialist.

Just today Reuters has reported that “this program has experienced significant success with reducing cost while increasing the quality of care by keeping patients out of hospitals. ” According to CareFirst, its medical home program, in its fourth year, also delivered high-quality care, measured by yardsticks such as whether doctors gave recommended cancer screenings and immunizations. The organization said it saved $130 million or 3.5 percent compared to projected spending under standard fee-for-service.

The savings reached a level "I wouldn't have thought possible," said CareFirst President Chet Burrell. The non-profit covers 3.4 million people in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia.”

This program has had other significant contributions towards modern healthcare management. Primary care physicians who have historically not made nearly as much money as other physicians, especially specialist, are now seeing upwards of $148 dollars for participating in the program as opposed to the $100 dollars they might have traditionally received.

This program is largely reliant on medial data, which compares specialists rates, and alerts patients and physicians when it’s time for a check ups, medications, etc.

Unfortunately not all organizations who have participated in this program have shown success. Certainly as these organizations continue to work out the ‘kinks’ there will be more success stories. 

Share your Thoughts:

Have these changes on healthcare management and the way healthcare is being distributed impacted you personally? What can we as consumers do to establish a more viable healthcare system? What can healthcare management do to increase the quality of care and decrease cost of care for patients?

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/10/us-healthcare-medicalhome-idUSKBN0FF0AI20140710

http://www.adp.com/~/media/RI/images/ACA-Compliance-Hero-1.ashx?h=557&w=1030

Thank you to Baylor University MBA in Healthcare for keeping their students engaged and aware of the changes in healthcare management and how we can impact patients and healthcare for the better. 

The Copper Plan: Another Possible Healthcare Plan?

Last week, with only four days left for those who were uninsured to enroll in the new healthcare marketplace, lawmakers were getting closer to creating a whole new level of healthcare options that would meet less than what was minimally acceptable by the Affordable Care Acts original intention. 

‘Copper Plans,’ would be a whole new option for insurance seekers who wouldn’t mind pay more out-of-pocket costs for a smaller monthly premium. This type of insurance plan was originally deemed illegal by the Affordable Care Act because they lacked the minimum coverage required by the law, and millions of individuals lost their coverage because insurance companies began dropping them.

The reason why these ‘Copper Plans’ will be cheaper is the fact that they will hold a much smaller actuarial value than their Platinum, Gold and Silver plan counterparts. That is to say, that the healthcare consumer is expected to pay a much higher amount of their expected healthcare costs over the course of the coverage.

The Walls Street Journal had this to say; “Now, some insurers and a pair of Senate Democrats are trying to change the law permanently so that individuals and small businesses can buy so-called copper plans. The plans likely would have lower premiums, but purchasers would pay more of their ordinary health costs upfront. Greater coverage would kick in for serious, unforeseen health episodes that would require, for example, a hospital stay.”

Another reason why Senate Democrats might be feeling the pressure to create such a plan, is the fact that one of the several promises of the Affordable Care Act was that this legislation would reduce premiums for the majority of Americans. However, now that less risky healthcare consumers are subsidizing more risky healthcare consumers, and the fact that these less risky consumers are only allowed to have reduced plans by a 3:1 ratio compared to the most risky consumer, the overall cost of premiums has slightly increased. These smaller actuarial plans will allow consumers to take on more of their own healthcare risks, while simultaneously reducing their monthly premiums. 

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

Would you be interested in a Copper Plan? Do you think it a good idea for the consumer? Have you enrolled in an ACA healthcare plan? Did your premiums increase? Do you think healthcare management and health policy is being handled properly?

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303874504579373342002006318

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OG-AA801_HCProm_D_20140205132038.jpg

Continued Glitches with Healthcare.gov

Be patient. That seems to be the preverbal advice coming from the Whitehouse as techies are still working on the glitches that are plaguing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

So what is the latest in these round of fixes? Apparently new complications are replacing the old ones, and there doesn’t seem to be an answer so far to the complex Healthcare.gov website to date.

"Essentially what is happening is people are going through the entire process," Medicare spokeswoman Julie Bataille, who runs the daily call, told reporters. "As we have fixed certain pieces of functionality, like the account creation process, we're seeing volume go further down the application. We're identifying new issues that we need to be in a position to troubleshoot."

Bataille also told reporters that she’s hoping to have the website operating functionally by the end of the month, giving American a grand total of two full months without an efficient website for the anticipated insurance exchanges. Indeed the question will ever remain, why couldn’t the go-live for Healthcare.gov been postposed till it operated more smoothly?

In addition to this bad news, the Healthcare.gov Chief Information Officer has also recently announced that he will be resigning his post and joining the private sector.

“Tony Trenkle, chief information officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), sent an e-mail to co-workers on Tuesday that said he will be leaving on November 15 "to take a position in the private sector." 

Apparently, Trenkle's resignation isn't directly a result of the bungled website, but rather a management restructuring within the department, according to information sent to CNET by CMS.”

At this point most people would agree, could anyone blame him for running?

Share your thoughts:

How do you think Affordable Care Act has been handled? Do you think the government has done a good job at managing healthcare in america? Have the problems plaguing ACA affected you personally? What are some ways you would improve healthcare management?

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/07/uh-oh-techies-are-finding-new-problems-with-healthcare-gov/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57611187-93/healthcare.gov-chief-resigns-amid-web-site-glitches/

http://b-i.forbesimg.com/theapothecary/files/2013/10/healthcare.gov-crash-1.png

Continued Changes to Affordable Care Act

As Americans anxiously await the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or as it is widely known today as Obamacare, President Obama has made the decision to make sure that Congress and their staffs will continue to keep their healthcare subsidies.

Senator Chuck Grassly, a Republican from Iowa threw those subsidies in question by proposing an amendment to the healthcare law by requiring the political staff to enter into the healthcare exchange of purchase “insurance” by law.

However, after meeting with Democrats, President Obama has personally assured his fellow colleagues that they would not be losing their subsidies after all.  This exemption for staff will allow members to retain their “executive subsidies” under the Affordable Care Act. What’s more interesting is how Obamacare continues to be tailor-made in order to meet the needs of those who support the law.

“These proposed regulations implement the administrative aspects of switching Members of Congress and Congressional staff to their new insurance plans — the same plans available to millions of Americans through the new Exchanges,” said Jon Foley, OPM Director of Planning and Policy, in a statement.

The political healthcare management is showing Americans that our version of Obamacare is not good enough for the politicians who wrote the Affordable Care Act. A double standard that Americans are understandable upset about. 

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

How do you feel about the difference between politicians’ healthcare insurance and the people’s healthcare insurance? Do you think that Healthcare Management at the political level is helping you personally? Do you think that Healthcare Management will have your best interest in mind? What do you think of Political Healthcare Management controlling our healthcare choices?

Sources:
http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/07/members-staff-will-keep-healthcare-subsidies-under-obamacare/#ixzz2bPfvaPDi

Physicians and Pill Payouts

Physicians and Pill Payouts

Transparency in healthcare management may become clearer due to some stipulations in the Affordable Healthcare Act (AHA) regarding physicians and pharmaceutical companies.

According to the AHA drug companies and makers of medical devices will be forced to publicly divulge any money paid to doctors under new US regulations. The purpose of the regulation is to make patients aware of conflicts of interest that could affect their healthcare. There is also another stipulation within the AHA mandated through the centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services; companies will have to publish any payments made to doctors for research and/or consulting services.

The purpose of more discloser to narrow conflicts of interest between doctors recommending certain products based on their personal payoffs has been met with some slight concerns. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the foremost lobbying group for drugmakers supports most of the new disclosure regulations it feels the public should take ‘the importance of context in the publication of physician payment information’ into account when reviewing publications. PhRMA’s also stated ‘Ethical interactions between biopharmaceutical companies and health-care professionals are essential to maintaining patient trust.’ However for the most part PhRMA feels the provisions are ‘complementary to this belief and it has great potential for helping patients understand the ways in which collaboration (between companies and physicians) benefit their health and medical innovation.’

So it seems that this portion of the Affordable Healthcare Act has been met with the least amount of drama from all camps involved. It is not very often that lobbyist, healthcare management, physicians and healthcare companies agree with minimal conflict. Hopefully this trend will continue as the regulations take effect by the end of September 2013.

Share your Thoughts:

Do you want to know who is paying your healthcare management? Do you think the transparency between healthcare management and medical companies will benefit patients? Do you believe the transparency regulations will benefit the healthcare industry or hurt it?

Thank you to Baylor Healthcare MBA for sharing skills that builds a better healthcare management system for the future.

Sources:

http://www.motorola.com/web/Business/Solutions/Asset%20Management%20Solutions%20for%20Healthcare/_Image/Static%20files/Asset_Management_for_Healthcare_LG_US-EN.jpg

http://www.phrma.org/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-24/drugmakers-prep-for-u-s-rules-on-disclosing-payments.html

The Declines and Rises in Healthcare Costs

The Declines and Rises in Healthcare Costs

There has been a decline in healthcare costs the past few years, but not enough for people to actually pay the bills. Healthcare costs have begun to slow when compared to the late 90s and early 2000s, but not enough for most Americans to revel in the act of using healthcare. According to KaiserEDU there have been some troublesome realizations that have been realized in the past decade. "Since 2002, employer-sponsored health coverage for family premiums have increased by 97%, placing increasing cost burdens on employers and workers. In the public sector, Medicare covers the elderly and people with disabilities, and Medicaid provides coverage to low-income families.  Enrollment has grown in Medicare with the aging of the baby boomers and in Medicaid due to the recession. This means that total government spending has increased considerably, straining federal and state budgets"[1]

What I find to be interesting is the current way which Americans use our healthcare system. A report for 2011 complied by the Healthcare Cost Institute broke down the spending trends for 2011.[2] (It should be noted that the report is based on people under the age of 65 with employer sponsored or private insurance). The three points from that report that I found most poignant were;

1. Rising prices drove spending increases for ALL major health care service categories.

This means that because medical suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals etc. were increasing their prices, the cost for services rendered increased in every single major healthcare service. Therefore the cost went up across the board from a strep throat test to a heart transplant.

2. Out of pocket spending increased by 4.6% to $735 in 2011.

The already crushed middle class is spending even more money out of pocket from their own paycheck than the year before.

3. Spending on children ages 0-18 has risen 7.7% to $2,347, continuing a trend observed in 2010.

This statistic can be taken in a few ways. One, is that healthcare providers are lessening their coverage for children, and thus parents have to foot more of the bill. Or it may also mean that our children are getting more unhealthy and that the healthcare coverage previously afforded to children just isn’t able to keep up with the declining health of our youth.

After reading these reports I found a conflict. The Health Cost Institute reported that there were rising costs for kids, rising costs for out of pocket spending and for rising costs for all health services. But other reports I had read had reported a decline in healthcare costs over the past few years. So what’s the truth? The truth is, we don’t quite know yet, with many governmental changes that have been in the works the past few years, it has not yet become clear if the decline in healthcare costs is valid, or due to a major legislative overhaul of the system which has caused healthcare management to shift their game plan. While healthcare management and the government gets their new plans in action, it seems the American people are paying for the changes, changes that seem to be leaving Americans with the same healthcare but with a higher bill.

What do you think of Healthcare Management and Governmental changes in healthcare?  Please comment on your experiences and thoughts.

Thank you to Baylor University Healthcare MBA for a wonderful education that has helped prepare me for the future of Healthcare!

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[1] http://www.kaiseredu.org/issue-modules/us-health-care-costs/background-brief.aspx

[2] http://www.healthcostinstitute.org/files/HCCI_IB3_Spending.pdf

Medical Tourism: A MBA Healthcare Tutorial

Medical Tourism:

A MBA Healthcare Tutorial

Medical tourism I thought involved black market dark alley surgeries and stolen organs. But apparently my Hollywood based assumptions were for the most part fictional. In fact Medical tourism in the medical world is becoming more and more appealing to highly respected physicians in the United States and motivated patients. I asked myself WHY?

1.      Why are patients choosing to leave the United States where we have the best and most well trained doctors to go to other countries to have procedures completed?

2.      Who are the doctors completing these procedures and what are their credentials?

3.      What procedures are available in other countries?

4.      What are the risks involved in leaving the United States to have a procedure done in another country?

1. a. One of the reasons people have begun to travel for medical procedures is due to the high cost of medical care and inaccessibility to comprehensive care. Patients are not as they were in the past, traveling for non-elective surgeries such as plastic surgery, but patients are now traveling for non-elective procedures such as hip surgery, heart surgery and even brain surgery.

    b. Also in conjunction with the lower costs, the patients are often getting the same care with the great physicians but in a different country.

(The costs are lower due to lower wages and less structured or demanding health coverage and governmental restrictions, these add to absorbent costs. There are also lower costs due to lower malpractice insurance costs for physicians who work in developing countries.)

2. The doctors that are completing procedures may have been trained in the United States or any other country that offers medical training. When traveling abroad to receive medical treatment it is explicitly important to DO YOUR RESEARCH! There are plenty of qualified doctors who work outside of the United States but as a patient going into a new situation it is important to familiarize one’s self the countries standards of care as well as the doctor’s certifications and training. Familiarizing yourself with the types of surgeries and the number of surgeries they have done is also a good indicator of the qualifications of the physician.

3. There are a lot of procedures offered in other countries the more common surgeries are those that are not covered by medical insurance in the United States. Such as stem cell procedures, weight loss, spinal surgery, cancer surgery/treatments or any alternative type treatments that the United States has not yet accepted as appropriate treatments meaning they are still often considered ‘experimental’.

4.  There are risks when getting medical treatment anywhere. However medical tourism to some can add a bit of extra anxiety since a person is going to a new place and seeing a physician that they have usually never met before. While medical tourism can be a wonderful option for many to receive cutting edge treatments and/or lower cost medical care it is of the utmost importance to do research and feel comfortable with the country, hospital, and physician before receiving any procedure.

 As we become more developed medically across the globe we have opportunities to discover what options and discoveries are being made. As a MBA healthcare student at Baylor University understanding how healthcare is spreading around the world is fascinating and leaves a lot to be learned and investigated.