Viewing Sustainability Through the Cost-Savings Lens
Sustainability strategies like installing fluid management systems in the operating rooms (ORs) can improve safety and reduce waste and associated costs.
Setting Targets for Health System Leaders Garners Results
Swedish American Health System’s VP and treasurer shares her organization’s successes in margin improvement.
Variation analysis as a tool to improve value
Two leaders with Providence St. Joseph Health describe the systematic approach their organization developed to improve the value of the care it delivers.
Focusing on facilities for sustainable cost savings
By implementing a campus consolidation, leaders at Boston Medical Center have saved millions of dollars per year on facility costs while substantially increasing patient volume.
Catalyzing Cost Transformation at a Rural Hospital
Leaders at a rural hospital use metrics reviews to identify areas of sustainable cost reduction.
Who Should Own a Healthcare Organization’s Cost Transformation Efforts?
To take costs out of the budget for good, organizations should establish cost reduction goals for leaders at every level. Why do so many hospitals’ cost transformation efforts get stuck after leaders have trimmed.
The Hospital’s New Agenda: Pharmacy Cost Savings
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.
When Indirect EHR Communication Drives Up Medical Costs
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.
Community Paramedicine Saves Organization $6M in 1 Year
By training paramedics to treat patients at home under a physician’s supervision, Commonwealth Care Alliance is reducing unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
Implementing Green Strategies That Contain Costs and Reduce Waste
A campaign to educate clinicians on proper waste segregation can improve compliance with regulations and keep regular waste out of more costly waste streams.