Page 10 - May 2017

Four Areas Hospitals Can Focus When It Comes To Patient Care,

on to Strengthen Performance Don’t Be “United”

During Political Uncertainty
As of this publication, the passenger, a combi-
it has been about a nation? At the end of
President Donald Trump
and Republicans seem likely month since a passenger the day it does not mat-
to continue efforts to repeal (who United Airlines ter. Any good reputa-
and replace the ACA or at decided to randomly tion United had devel-
least mandate significant bump with three others) oped in its 90+ year
changes to the current health- was violently dragged history was tarnished
care law. While what these off a domestic flight because of an incident
revisions or new legislation from Chicago to Louis - and video that took
will look like remains ville. less than 2 minutes.
unclear, the pressure on hos- Days after the inci- When it comes to
pitals to further reduce costs dent, despite an eventu- patient care, do not get
while improving quality of al apology from United’s “United”! Make sure
care will only increase. BY RAMONA LACY, FACHE, AND CEO and to nobody’s BY JAY JUFFRE policies that could hurt
Hospital leaders today surprise, the passenger your organization’s
must rise above the politics GEORGE WHETSELL, FACHE lawyered up. Between reputation are turned
to advance their organiza- the immediate drop in stock, legal in to “guidelines” where employees
tion’s missions while also efficiently managing the bottom line. Hospitals and health sys- fees, any settlement or payout to the can use common sense.
tems should focus on four key areas to strengthen performance during this time of uncer- victim or his family, it all pales in com- Constantly train and retrain every
tainty: parison to the immediate aftermath of employee on how to handle difficult
1. Reduce operational costs and improve efficiency – Healthcare providers must have the event. Every (and I mean EVERY) situations which may occur to
a clear understanding of their cost structure, revenue stream and the areas that have a cable and broadcast news network ran patients or their families. Make sure
major impact on margins and then adopt a mindset of relentless cost reduction without video clips of the incident on 24-hour there are processes in place so that
diluting quality. For example, labor expenses typically represent 60% of the overall cost rotation for a solid week. This is on things never get to a ridiculous level.
structure for any health organization. Hospitals should identify opportunities to create top of millions of views on line. When people think of United Airlines
efficiencies in the delivery of services through strategies such as redesigning work “Flying the friendly skies” has never right now they think of one incident.
processes to use less resources and leveraging IT investments to implement automation. looked so unfriendly. United has close When your patients and their families
Supply chain is another area of opportunity. Tactics to reduce supply chain costs and to 800 planes which each week deliv- think of your organization, are their
improve processes include renegotiating contracts, working with physicians on prefer- ers nearly 2 million people to their thoughts good or bad?
ence items, and leveraging size and scale to secure lower pricing on supplies and services. final destination. Now one passenger
2. Rationalize service offerings and programs – Standalone community hospitals will incident on one flight has given the Jay Juffre is Regional Vice President,
benefit from assessing the programs and services they offer with a critical eye to under- airline a reputation their biggest com- South East Region / National Service
stand which ones are profitable and will contribute to the enterprise’s long-term financial petitor could not have dreamed up. Director, ImageFIRST. For more
success. As economic pressures amplify, it will become increasingly difficult to carry Who is to blame for this? A bad policy, information on ImageFIRST, call
service lines that are not profitable. Multi-hospital systems must conduct a similar exer- some United employee(s), the police 1-800-932-7472 or visit
cise at a market level to rationalize services and locations so hospitals serving the same who dragged him off, the actions of www.imagefirst.com.
population are not offering competing services. Instead of offering a vast array of
mediocre services, which does not lend itself to profitable growth, all types of providers
should focus on excellence in key service lines.
3. Hone in on economies of scale and system integration – As the pace of healthcare Coastal Wealth Advisor
mergers and transactions persists, system integration and coordination is critical. To
remain profitable, systems must centralize, consolidate and standardize processes and Guest Panelist at the April
leverage scale to gain competitive advantage in local markets. At a corporate level, sys-
tems must remove redundancies and duplication of processes and positions to achieve South Florida Healthcare
an efficient and cost-effective enterprise.
4. Physician engagement – Renewed efforts to engage physicians will be essential to
improve quality, reduce variation and facilitate the shift from inpatient to outpatient care. Executive Forum
Providers must focus on aligning physicians and physician networks to the broader
organization to improve patient access, coordination of care and case management.
These complex but worthwhile initiatives will only be successful and sustainable when Howard Wolkowitz a
clinical decision makers, particularly physicians, are part of the team and held account- representative of the
able for outcomes. Coastal Wealth’s Medical
While the future of healthcare policy remains to be seen, continual focus on these four Division, a general agency
areas will help hospitals and health systems leaders position their organizations for long- of Massachusetts Mutual
term success, regardless of the changes to come. Life Insurance Company
(MassMutual), spoke on
Ramona Lacy, FACHE, and and George Whetsell, FACHE, are Managing Partners at Prism Planning Your Career in
Healthcare Partners. For more information, visit www.prismhealthcare.com. Healthcare at the South
Florida Healthcare
Executive Forum on
Thursday, April 20th,
2017 at Memorial
Regional Hospital.
Howard, a financial
advisor and author of The Health of Your Wealth book series, suggested strategies for
healthcare professionals on how to establish better financial habits, manage their
financial wealth, and prepare for upcoming financial trends that may affect their
practice.
A Financial Services associate for 24 years, Howard Wolkowitz is a member of the
South Florida Hospital & Healthcare Association, Broward County Medical
Association, and Palm Beach County Medical Society. He and his team specialize in
fee-based, and Fee-Only Financial Planning in the South Florida area.

For more information, visit www.mycoastalwealth.com/coastal-wealth-md.
PRP10
MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
(MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives. Howard Wolkowitz is a registered
representative of and offers securities and investment advisory services through MML Investors Services,
LLC. Member SIPC. OSJ: 2400 E Commercial Blvd., 11th Floor, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308

10 May 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News