Strategic Financial Planning: Fall 2018

Strategic Financial Planning subscribers can access the individual articles and web exclusives listed below. 

Performance Improvement

A New Framework for Healthcare Performance Improvement

By Gary Auton

Improvement initiatives must increasingly focus on long-term, high-impact areas that reengineer clinical care, sharpen an organization’s service portfolio, and exploit the system’s scale of operations.

Data Analysis

Hospitals Are Using Cost Reduction to Trim Patient Charges

By Jamie Cleverley

The healthcare industry has undergone a major decrease in average annual charge growth. Hospitals at the lowest end of the charge growth spectrum are using cost reduction to slow the level of charge change.  

Payment Trends

How to Really Know Your Payment Rates

Sponsored By Kaufman Hall

By Debra Ryan and Daniel Seargeant

A deep understanding of active contracts, combined with proactive and purposeful performance monitoring and open communication with health plans must be in place to ensure that hospitals are appropriately paid and the incentives available to them are aligned.

Case Study

Safety Net System Achieves $130M in Fiscal Improvements in 4 Years 

By Laura Ramos Hegwer

Denials management and “keepage” strategies—keeping services within the health system—helped Maricopa Integrated Health Services improve its margins even in the face of a challenging payer mix. 

First Person

New Committee for Patient Safety Will Coordinate National Efforts

An Interview with Tejal Gandhi, MD, by Ed Avis

As CFOs field more funding requests for patient safety initiatives, they need to be included in initiatives that develop a culture of safety. 

Ethics

Refining the Art and Skill of Juggling

By William Marty Martin

The relationship between patient satisfaction and payment challenges financial leaders to keep both balls in play.    

Finance at a Glance

3 Actions for Hospital Disaster Preparedness

Hospitals and health systems can take specific actions to continue operations, protect revenue, and limit credit rating downgrades.