Top hospital executives derive innovative ideas not only from each other but from organizations ranging from Epic to Wal-Mart and CVS, according to a new report, "Into the Minds of the C-Suite 2015" by Peer60.
The most innovative healthcare provider organizations were ranked as Mayo Clinic, Kaiser, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger, Intermountain Heathcare and HCA, according to the report using feedback from 336 C-suite executives nationwide.
Wal-Mart and CVS were also named when the hospital leaders were asked to answer the open-answer question, "What organization do you view as the most innovative?"
[Also: Data, analytics lead Cleveland Clinic's top 10 healthcare innovations of the past decade]
Forty percent of the respondents were CEOs; 21 percent were CFOs and most others were CIOs, COOS and CAOs, representing critical access and ambulatory facilities to 1,000-plus bed hospitals.
All providers cited managing the switch to value-based reimbursement as a top concern, though for executives of 1,000-plus bed hospitals it did not carry as much weight as it did for smaller hospitals.
Executives of larger systems were more likely to say they were undergoing or considering a merger or acquisition than those leading smaller hospitals.
In organizations of 26 to 100 beds, close to 70 percent said they were not currently planning or undergoing a merger or acquisition. Of organizations with 500 to 1,000 beds that number dropped to under 60 percent and for those 1000-plus, to 30 percent.
Overall, more than one-third of hospitals are currently considering a merger or acquisition, according to the report.
[Also: Bulk of healthcare not prepared for value-based payments, KPMG survey says]
CEOs and CFOs said the greatest challenges were managing the switch to value-based reimbursement models, shortages of physicians and nurses, regulatory compliance and meaningful return on information techology purchases.
Other concerns reported were coordinating care, managing patient population, patient engagement, managing data, improving information security, and reducing hospital acquired infections.
Concerns varied by hospital bed size. Smaller hospitals have the biggest struggle attracting and retaining physicians and nurses. In larger facilities, security is listed as a higher concern.
Challenges differed by title.
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Surprisingly, CIOs cited mergers and acquisitions as their second biggest challenge, after improving security. The report said a merger or acquisition would force new solutions and integrations.
The most innovative vendors and technology companies cited were Epic, Cerner, Apple, GE, Google, athenahealth and Theranos.
Meditech leads the market share trends in enterprise clinical IT solutions; followed by Cerner, Epic, Evident, McKesson, Allscripts, Healthland and Medhost.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse