Innovation & Standardization

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Features

Building Effective Clinical Decision Support

Leading providers are using clinical decision support to standardize care, improve compliance with evidence-based protocols, reduce length of stay, and save lives.

Sidebar: Preparing for Mobile Clinical Decision Support

Promising Innovations for Complex Problems

The four innovations described in this article vary from technological marvels to group dynamics. Each holds potential for achieving the dual goals of improved quality and reduced costs.

Sizing Up Economies of Scale

How St. Louis-based Mercy is using economies of scale to standardize operations across dozens of hospitals.

Profiles

Addressing the 1 Percent

Jeffrey C. Brenner, MD, executive director/medical director, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers  

"The next 30 years are going to be about sucking cost out of the system, and if you don't figure out how to be a player in that, you're not going to be relevant," says Brenner.

A Caregiver's View of a Medical Home

Helen Kuryllo, caregiver and teacher

"How do we take care of our aging parents in a way that will keep the costs down-that's a consideration for all of us," says Kuryllo.

Web exclusive: N.J. Medical Home Collaborative Pays Off for Patients, Physicians, and Insurer   

The Gamification of Wellness

Bryce Williams, director, Wellvolution, Blue Shield of California  

"Bribing people is not a sustainable model for wellness," says Williams.

Q&A

An Arizona Collaborative Shares in the Savings
John Friend, executive director, Arizona Connected Care
Judy Rich, president and CEO, Tucson Medical Center
Jeffrey I. Selwyn, MD, chairman, Arizona Connected Care

Arizona Connected Care was initiated by Tucson Medical Center, a 600-bed hospital. "We needed an integration strategy for physicians who were still in private practice and not employed," says president and CEO Judy Rich.

Breakthrough Map

Launching an Innovation Journey

Innovation does not just happen. Leaders need to cultivate and invest in it, laying out a culture and framework that encourages bright ideas to blossom and grow.

Columns

Innovate or Standardize? 
By James L. Reinertsen, MD, CEO, The Reinertsen Group

"If we simply encourage everyone to innovate, without the accompanying discipline of standardization, we will fail to learn in a systematic way, and progress will be slow," writes Reinertsen.

Innovative Questions for the C-Suite

By Todd Nelson, technical director, HFMA

"In addition to asking the standard financial questions, we also need to consider other key issues when it comes to innovation," writes Nelson.

Separating Professional and Hospital Records

John D. Halamka, MD, CIO, Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center

"Beth Israel Deaconess shares data among its EHR record applications via private and public health information exchange transactions," writes Halamka.

Last Word

Collaboration Payoffs

Healthcare leaders describe some collaborative partnerships that their organizations have engaged in-and the benefits that have resulted.