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

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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