August 2018
Cover Story
The Value of IT Due Diligence During Hospital M&A
Health systems looking to enter a merger or acquisition should do a full study on the IT department of the acquired organization.
Web Exclusives
6 Tactics of Successful ACOs
To gain the assurance of success under value-based care, all accountable care organizations (ACOs) should adopt the best practices of the most high-performing ACOs.
Managing the Cost of Technology in a Disruptive Era
Healthcare organizations that adopt a managed equipment services model will be better equipped to face the challenges of the industry.
For Hospitals Facing Hurricane Season, Preparation and Practice Are Critical
Stewart Simonson, former HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness, points to four areas where potentially affected hospitals should consider revising their disaster preparedness plans in preparation for hurricane season.
Delivering on Potential: The RTLS Effect on Productivity
A North Dakota health system has seen positive results in patient wait times and staff productivity by using real-time location system technology.
Features
Integrating Care to Improve Surgical Outcomes and Reduce Costs
As a hospital’s major source of income, surgical procedures present the biggest opportunities for cost savings and process improvement.
Health System-Owned Physician Practices: Are Any Losses Acceptable?
Health systems that own physician practices should fully address losses those practices incur and take steps to remediate the issues underlying those losses.
Home Is Where the Hospital Is
The hospital-at-home model provides a potential means of reducing total costs of care and improving outcomes, but it would present traditional acute care hospitals with a strategic challenge.
Focus Area
Creating an Integrated Healthcare Ecosystem Through Mobile Communication Technology
Mobile communication technology can allow a healthcare organization to operate more efficiently, resulting in cost savings and increased patient and staff satisfaction.
Columns
Identifying Opportunities for Innovation in Healthcare Finance
Healthcare finance leaders should be attuned to the presence of opportunities for innovative improvements that may exist all around them.
Atul Gawande: A World of Promise
The appointment of Atul Gawande to lead the Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-JPM Morgan Chase healthcare venture could be an important step toward finding effective solutions to the deficiencies of the nation’s healthcare system.
Six Ways to Look at Your Next Consolidation
To avoid making changes simply for the sake of change, healthcare leaders should attend to any unfinished business from prior changes and ensure any new move toward consolidation accounts for future uncertainty as well as potential new opportunities.
Medicare Advantage for More: A Pragmatic Alternative to Medicare for All
An expansion of Medicare Advantage presents an opportunity for the U.S. to test the waters of a single-payer system.
Effective Merger Integration Requires Focus on All Four Pieces of The Treasury Platform
To achieve a truly effective merger integration, careful attention should be paid to treasury operations and invested assets, along with capital management and external financing.
The Experience Economy Is Coming to Health Care
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer discusses the implications of the experience economy for healthcare finance leaders.
Departments
Number of MSSP ACOs and Shared-Savings Characteristics
The number of ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program increased at a faster rate from 2013 to 2018 than did the number of participants that achieved shared savings in the first four years of the program.
Trends in Building and Fixture Costs, 2007-16
An analysis looked at Medicare cost reports to compared trends in capital costs for buildings and fixtures among different types of acute care hospitals.
Supplements
Transforming Accounts Payable: Opportunities, Challenges, and Next Steps
Education report that delves into the importance of revamping accounts payable and considering automation.
Optimizing Capital Structure Decisions Under the New Tax Law
A roundtable discussion about 2017 tax law changes and strategies for optimizing capital structure.
Advertising
Grant Thornton: Optimizing the Ambulatory Workforce
One of Grant Thornton’s senior healthcare consultants addresses the topic of workforce management and the importance of a data-driven approach.