Cost of Care
Healthcare Cost Containment: February 2019
February 18, 2019
3:07 pm
Sponsored by Kaufman Hall
Healthcare Cost Containment subscribers can access the individual articles and web exclusives listed below.
Sustainability
Implementing Green Strategies That Contain Costs and Reduce Waste
By Laura Ramos Hegwer
A campaign to educate clinicians on proper waste segregation can improve compliance with regulations and keep regular waste out of more costly waste streams.
Drug Prices
The Hospital’s New Agenda: Pharmacy Cost Savings
By Karen Kobelski
Pharmacists who have defined roles focused on effective and efficient use of medications in hospitals are the best-equipped leaders to control rising and unsustainable drug costs. For example, one health system realized a $6 million cost savings through a combination of surveillance technology and empowered, motivated pharmacy leaders.
Containing Clinical Costs
Community Paramedicine Saves Organization $6M in 1 Year
By Laura Ramos Hegwer
By training paramedics to treat patients at home under a physician’s supervision, Commonwealth Care Alliance is reducing unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
EHRs
When Indirect EHR Communication Drives Up Medical Costs
An interview with Marlon Mundt, associate professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, by Laura Ramos Hegwer
Indirect communication among primary care team members using EHRs is associated with increased hospital visits and higher medical costs for their patients with diabetes, according to one study. Researchers found that medical costs rose by $223 per patient with diabetes in a six-month period for every increase in one percentage point in indirect communication.
Quality Improvement
A Data-driven Approach to Physician Performance Improvement
From our Sponsor Kaufman Hall
By Jennie D. Dulac and Walter W. Morrissey
With a data-driven understanding of how and where they can improve, physicians will be eager to close the gap where current outcomes lag behind expected performance.
Labor Costs
Determining the Long-Term Value of Labor Costs
By Pat Edmonds and Jeremy Hutton
Various methods can help healthcare leaders express the savings realized from a reduction in staff time and effort required to complete a task.
Total Cost of Care
Evaluating Cost-of-Care Progress
Although more time and evidence are needed to prove the efficacy of population-based VBP models, there are other models that may be more appropriate for different populations.
Healthcare Costs at a Glance
Annual Hospital Costs for Opioid Overdose Patients Approaches $2 Billion
The average cost for an overdose patient who was treated and released totaled $504, but the average cost rose to $11,731 for those that were treated and admitted to a hospital.
