HFMA VIEWS

Robert Fromberg
Editor-in-Chief, HFMA

When association editors and publishers talk with one another, a topic that frequently comes up is "interference" from senior management and the board in the association's magazine. What that means is that the association publishers feel their publications have additional value if they are independent voices about the particular industry rather than perceived as a house organ through which an association promotes some agenda or promotes its goods and services--more like a newsletter than a magazine. Fair enough.

Whenever this topic comes up, however, I reflect on the contributions that HFMA board leaders and senior management have made to the better covering healthcare finance through HFMA publications. Here is a smattering of examples:

• HFMA's 2005-2006 Chairman, Richard Rodriguez, encouraged healthcare finance professionals to focus on the role they play in ensuring patients get the care they need. He coined the expression "The Business of Caring." We translated that idea and that term into an award-winning publication for nurses that provides the business tools they need to better manage departments and serve patients.
• HFMA's CEO Dick Clarke encouraged research on the relationship between finance and nursing and wrote an article that was a call to action for healthcare finance professionals to reach out to nurse executives and managers. Was this an association "agenda"--yes, I suppose, but one that provided true leadership for the good of patients and that has gotten much positive attention.
• HFMA's 2004-2005 Chairman, Dave Canfield, in his monthly column, told stories of healthcare finance professionals he met in his travels--their outstanding work and their professional bonds. The magazine staff thought this was an excellent example, and we've since made sure to carve out more space for the human side of the profession because that is a true reflection of the profession and the energy around its mission. And it's fun to read.
• HFMA's 2006-2007 Chairman, Joe Fifer, has done some of the most persuasive writing and speaking I've seen or heard on the topic of price transparency, framing the issue in a way that focuses on benefit to patients and their families.
• HFMA's incoming chairman, Mary Beth Briscoe, is working on columns that will cover stories of how healthcare finance professionals have made a difference in their organizations, communities, and professions. Those stories are providing more strong material that we will draw from not only in Mary Beth's columns, but also elsewhere in our publications and communications.

Not interference, influence. In short, the best ideas for our magazine have come from board and management leaders.