Aaron Crane: What’s cost effectiveness of health going to take?
We say we want to improve the cost effectiveness of health (CEoH). But what does that really mean? Let’s think about it for a moment. The most ambiguous word here is cost. Hearing it, most hospital- and provider-centric leaders would first think about the expenses incurred in their operations: Labor, supplies, utilities, purchased services, etc.…
AI and the rise of human-machine collaboration in healthcare
Commentators, researchers and academics can’t stop finding applications for ChatGPT.a Two of its recent claims to fame include passing all three medical licensing exams and the final exam for a core MBA class at Wharton.b ChatGPT, short for Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, is a form of conversational artificial intelligence (AI). The concept is not new.…
4 reasons why now is the time to revisit value-based care
Lessons from the pandemic, investment trends, shifts in Medicare policy, and technological change suggest that now may be the time to reconsider and revisit value-based care. Value-based care has been a hot topic for years now. Every conference, every industry meeting and every publication has talked about the importance of moving “from volume to value.”…
Hospital price transparency update: Regulatory enforcement soon could become stricter, CMS leaders say
Although nothing is official, CMS leaders indicate enforcement of hospital price transparency regulations is set to become more stringent. For an article published in Health Affairs, the Center for Medicare’s Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD, director, and Douglas Jacobs, MD, chief transformation officer, touted progress that has been made since the rules took effect Jan. 1,…
Care coordination networks offer path to addressing problems of health inequity
A recently completed initiative in Maryland, called the Health Enterprise Zone project (HEZ), exemplifies how effective care coordination networks can improve quality of care and help reduce costs. Funded by the Maryland Community Health Resource Commission, and implemented by Prince George’s County Health Department, which is headquartered in Largo, Maryland, HEZ reflected a population health…
In federal ACO programs, advocates see signs of slow but steady progress
Growth in accountable care organization (ACO) programs has been inconsistent since the Affordable Care Act made accountable care part of the healthcare lexicon in 2010. Nonetheless, proponents are optimistic about the state of ACOs and their potential in upcoming years, even if there’s uncertainty about CMS’s ability to achieve its stated goal of ensuring every…
DOJ withdraws guidance that bolstered antitrust safe harbors for GPOs, cost benchmarking and more
Potentially leading to stricter enforcement of antitrust policy in healthcare, the U.S. Department of Justice has withdrawn guidance that essentially promoted certain arrangements in the industry. The Feb. 3 announcement from DOJ’s Antitrust Division amounts to a cancellation of so-called “safety zones” that were established in three sets of nonbinding guidance issued between 1993 and…
Expanding its capacity to disrupt healthcare, CVS Health shells out billions to buy Oak Street Health
A month after stating it hoped to gain a presence in primary care, CVS Health accomplished that goal with a massive deal that could fortify its efforts to advance value-based payment in healthcare. The proposed $10.6 billion acquisition of Oak Street Health, a provider of senior-focused primary care, adds to a portfolio of assets that…
Healthcare News of Note: Most healthcare CEOs are optimistic about the future of their business despite a potential recession
Most of the CEOs in the Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Telecom & Cable, and Aerospace & Defense sectors indicated being somewhat or extremely optimistic about the future of their business even in the face of a potential recession. While roughly one-third of 2021 hip and knee replacement episodes were performed by providers with 100 or…
Vaccination: Good for the community, the industry and your bottom line
Jacob Braude, a principal at ZS, returns to the podcast to discuss his firm's latest research on vaccine hesitancy.