Between a “Rock and Hard Place”

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™

A recent white paper by the Joint Commission suggests that hospitals must respond in new ways to meet the increasing complexity of patient care and to address rising health care costs. Duh! What an insight. Why did it take so long for them to declare same?

The Hospital Accreditation Competition Heats-Up

Was it because of competition from DNV Healthcare Inc? Was it their new ability to determine if hospitals are in compliance with Medicare Conditions of Participation [COP]? DNV joins the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO], and the American Osteopathic Association [AOA], as the only national hospital accrediting agency approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS].

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/hospital-accreditation

Recommendations

Nevertheless, the JCAHO report recommends action in five areas:

• Economic viability and ROI
• Technology adoption and use
• Patient-centered collaborative care
• Medical and human resources staffing
• Hospital architectural design

Patient Centered-Philosophy

Of course, it is no surprise that patient-centered care should be philosophically at the core of any partnership between a patient and his/her hospital and medical providers. Yet, just think of the last time you saw your HMO doctor and tried to engage in a collaborative health 2.0 discussion with him/her? Na-da!

Health Information Technology

The Joint Commission, despite the interoperable eHR controversy often presented on this blog, suggests that technology adoption can play a major role in improving patient care, safety and quality.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/the-case-against-inter-operable-ehrs

This transformation from paper to electronic records, according to the report, will involve:

• Making the business case for ROI and funding
• Redesigning business processes with HIT implementation
• Extending the digital footprint to the “medical-home”
• Engaging IT leaders for guidance on prior mistakes 
• Improve workflow – minimize labor intensive activities

Of Hospital “Insider” Administrators

One local hospital administrator insider, here in Atlanta, confidentially tells us that a single hospital bed is currently worth about a million bucks a year to the institution; private or public. And, the mantra of most hospital CEOs to staff doctors, is: “fill the beds”; “schedule the procedures”; and/or “book the operating rooms.”  So, the priorities outlined in the report really don’t seem appropriate; do they?

IOW: Put the hospital first; not the patient? And, this echoed our experience in hospital administration two decades ago. Has anything changed?

Assessment

Nevertheless, it may be refreshing to see an approach to healthcare technology implementation that seems to leverage the experience and knowledge of other industries. Privacy concerns however, are the biggest obstacle to HIT and true inter-operable eMRs, in our opinion. Yet, it doesn’t need to be. Who cares if grandma has a bunion, or dad had his cataracts repaired. They aren’t running for public office; are they?

The road to the Hospital of the Future will be bumpy, but we are hopeful enough to trust the benefits will be great once we arrive.

Full report: hosptals-future 

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Are hospitals today “between a rock and hard place?” Is technology and business process reorganization being offered as a substitute for critical thinking and true collaborative medicine? Especially, in light of the healthcare capitalistic thrust to: “do more – in order to earn more.”

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Filed under: Health Economics, Health Insurance, Healthcare Finance, Information Technology, Research & Development | Tagged: ADA, AMA, AOA, CMS, DNV Healthcare, Hetico, JCAHO, Kenneth A. Powers, Marcinko | 3 Comments »