Strategic Planning

Hospital ownership of physician practices appears to lead to statistically and economically significant increases in hospital prices and spending, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs. But that doesn't mean providers should retreat from integration and tighter alignment.

Disasters, natural and man-made, threaten more than hospital property. With many healthcare information technology systems integrated and focused on patient care, the threat of an IT or communications shutdown can be both dangerous to patients and costly to the health system.

Hospitals confront extraordinary challenges in the aftermath of a natural disaster. These risks seem to have enlarged in recent years, and can shut down hospital operations, temporarily or entirely. Consequently, many hospitals have upgraded their business continuity planning.

If global spending becomes the norm in Medicaid, health systems, medical practices, home health and community organizations will face an even greater impetus to collaborate. In the Empire State, some are already starting the journey.

Almost a third of all hospitalizations now treat diabetic patients, and cost more than average. Diabetic admissions may be a problem that regulators, ACOs and providers need to solve for the long-term.

According to a study published this week in Health Affairs, the Great Recession did not have a permanent negative financial impact on vulnerable hospitals, such as safety net facilities, or those considered financially weak prior to the recession. However, this doesn't mean these same hospitals will fare so well in coming years.

Powerful social forces will drive the healthcare industry to innovate, overcoming institutional and political inertia, says healthcare consultant and futurist Ian Morrison. But things may not get 'serious' until 2018.

Twenty-four states, including almost the whole South, took the stubborn path and have so far refused to expand Medicaid. That's a big reason rural hospitals are continuing to struggle.

As the federal government continues to cut reimbursements and private insurers follow suit, many CFOs are having a hard time justifying buying new property to expand services, however, in some cases, it shouldn’t be ruled out.

Although accountable care organizations are still in nascent stages in many areas of the country, a few large provider groups are ahead of the curve, getting into the nuts and bolts of how these alliances should exist, operate and perform, and what they're finding is that there may not be one "right" way to do it.