Author Archives: Thomas Finn
WalMart Will Transform Healthcare –Not a Question of “If” or “When,” but “Where”
At a recent healthcare conference, Marcus Osborne, Walmart’s vp for health and wellness joked with his audience suggesting that he didn’t even know why he was invited: “After all, Wal-Mart’s in retail, we’re not in health care.” The crowd responded with polite, but uncomfortable chuckles. I recently read a post in The Healthcare Blog written by Dan Diamond entitled, “Wal-Mart Could Transform Care –But Does It Want To?” I have to admit that my reaction was decidedly more visceral. In fact, I found myself having fun with imagining different titles for Dan’s post: “Walmart will Transform Care –Because It Can,” [...]
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RAND Report Highlights Cost Savings Opportunity: ER Admissions Standards
With so much attention being paid to value based purchasing and the perfect, paperless order and payment process, it’s not a bad idea to remind ourselves of the role physicians play in shaping patient demand –and the impact their decisions have on any/all hospital cost savings initiatives. As the industry moves to eliminate variance in all of its forms, it is becoming clear that establishing and enforcing a more enlightened admission standard needs to become a much higher priority. Consider this: despite the fact that emergency room physicians account for only 4% of all hospital physicians, their decisions account for [...]
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Efficiency vs. Effectiveness: Are We Reaching a Tipping Point?
On my way back from Pittsburgh yesterday, where it actually snowed on Mother’s Day, I had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Martyn, BravoSolution’s vp of supply chain strategy and a previous colleague of mine at CombineNet. Naturally, we quickly found ourselves discussing the current “state of the nation” in all matters concerning healthcare supply chain. Whether or not this is a sad commentary on the state of our relationship is a separate topic. Anyway, we actually landed in a few interesting and provocative places –and here’s an example: Raise your hand if your tired of an SCM strategy that [...]
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What A Hospital Charges Vs. What Medicare Pays — Yet Another Case for Pricing Transparency
According to “A Study of Hospital Charge Setting Practices” by the Lewin Group, “the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has expressed concerns about the accuracy and fairness of the current Medicare hospital in- and out-patient prospective payment systems (PPSs). Payment rates for these systems are based, to varying degrees, on hospital charges. However, little is known about how hospitals set their charges.” Really? Isn’t it getting old. Why the “shell game” with hospital charges? Charging everyone the same published price –a la Walmart—is exactly what Walmart will do at thousands of outpatient clinics, so saying it can’t be done is, [...]
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Fee For Service On Life Support in Michigan –New BCBS & Trinity Contract Sets Industry Example
The new contract between Trinity Health (Trinity owns a dozen hospitals in Michigan that include Saint Mary’s Health Care in Grand Rapids and Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon, both of which now operate under the Mercy Health banner) and BCBS of Michigan puts a heavy spotlight on reform era reimbursement models. This deal highlights the latest and preferred compensation mentality –one that eliminates fee for service in favor of putting the focus on patient outcomes instead. BCBS and Trinity both refer to the agreement as a “value-based contract,” saying it should improve care quality and drive costs lower, not only [...]
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US Pharma Spending Declines for First Time in 60 years
Despite the fact that overall healthcare spending (direct and indirect costs, revenues), are at all time highs, U.S. spending on pharmaceuticals is reaching an all time low –if you are willing to count the last 60 years an adequate measuring stick. It’s simple: the market’s acceptance of widely used, inexpensive, generic substitutes has succeeded in driving the decline. And the generic manufacturing industries’ adept maneuvering –when a big drug hits its patent cliff— is darn near optimized. Not only do employers and insurers “get it,” but according to lots of related survey data, consumers understand the drill too. “The largest [...]
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Intuit’s Inaugural Consumer Spending Index Confirms a “Nation on the Rebound”
U.S. consumers are spending again. After a prolonged lull following the 2008 recession’s historic spending lows, consumers are now spending about nine percent more than they did just four years ago. Gasoline, gift and healthcare spending have increased significantly, and the biggest spenders are men. These are among the findings of the new Intuit Consumer Spending Index, from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), which provides a unique view into the U.S. economy. The Intuit Consumer Spending Index findings are based on anonymized, aggregated, transactional data from Mint.com, Intuit’s leading online and mobile personal finance software. The key takeaway? Americans are rebounding. [...]
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How Does Healthcare IT Re-Invent Itself Amidst a Serious Skilled Labor Shortage?
Would you be surprised to learn that the US Department of Labor expects jobs for medical records and health information technicians to jump 21 percent from 2010 to 2020? And while that may be a good thing for the general economy, it’s a real nightmare for HIT executives who have no option other than to play the new game –by its evolving set of rules– yet can’t find the players to field a competitive team. Despite the fact that hospitals are spending tens of millions upgrading their IT systems, “there’s nobody to work on them” says Steve Ullman, director of health [...]
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GHX Announces Industry’s First Implantable Devices SCM Solution –First Looks at This Year’s Supply Chain Summit
GHX today announced the release of Case XpertSM and Order IntelligenceSM, two components of a solution that the company bills as the healthcare industry’s first end-to-end supply chain solution for managing and tracking implantable medical devices –including the physician preference items (PPI) used in the OR. Case Xpert and Order Intelligence are among the first in a series of GHX solutions designed to address the estimated $5 billion in revenue losses currently recorded every year by healthcare providers and manufacturers due to the lack of automation and process efficiency for these devices. Case Xpert captures and shares data from case [...]
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Just in Time for Mother’s Day: New FDA Warnings for Moms-to-be
The FDA is now warning doctors and putting out the message to women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications commonly prescribed to treat migraine headaches have been found to decrease a child’s intelligence, if taken while their mothers are pregnant. In fact, just yesterday, the FDA said that the drugs, including Depakote and Depacon, should never be taken by pregnant women for the prevention of migraine headaches. These drugs all contain the ingredient valproate sodium which already carries a boxed warning about the risk of birth defects. But the FDA said that it is now adding this new warning based [...]
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Procurement is a Team Sport –But Measuring Individual Performance is Still Key
Throughout the industry, procurement, sourcing and supply chain management software and services spending continues to grow at an astonishing rate — up by more than 30%. The profession(s) continues to advance by most every measure. And while executive “dashboards” of all types continue to proliferate and keep the C-Suite’s appetite for performance metrics fully satiated, has the procurement profession reached a point where it can be trusted to define those metrics and/or measure the value of its own performance? As procurement becomes increasingly responsible for non-traditional areas of spend, its organizational importance will continue to soar. But cost control is [...]
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Why ACO’s Won’t Fail — A Contrarian View?
Will ACOs succeed? Well, if you put a lot of weight behind what the industry’s “commentariat” are saying, you would be hard pressed to place a positive bet. I recently ran across a post by Les Funtleyder, the managing director of Poliwogg, where he took a contrarian view and gave reasons why ACOs will not fail. Here are some excerpts: When ACOs are touted as a saving grace for the system, you can almost hear the collective groan of the industry veterans. Ever the contrarian, however, we took the side of the debate that said ACOs will NOT fail. The [...]
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ObamaCare’s List of Unintended Consequences Conspicuously Alarming –And Growing
Just last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a study that indicates that ObamaCare has caused annual family health insurance premiums to increase at a rate three times higher than in 2010. It’s just one more unintended and negative consequence that has been added to a list that continues to grow at a conspicuously alarming rate. Remember that provision that guaranteed health insurance for children? And what about the simplest goal of all –how Obamacare was supposed to quickly reduce the number of uninsured? Not only are less people insured these days, but health insurance costs significantly more. In fact, [...]
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Inbound Logistics Reveals Top 100 Logistics SCM Technology Providers
An Inbound Logistics magazine survey of approximately 300 logistics and supply chain technology vendors reveals that supply chain managers have more technology tools and delivery methods at their disposal than ever before, making it vital that they select the right solution and provider for their business logistics needs. The study also identifies a new trend: companies are buying technology through their third-party logistics (3PL) providers, as well as directly from solutions vendors. The new market research shows cloud computing has opened new ways for logistics managers to deploy best-of-breed solutions. Variable cost and deployment models make initial technology investments more [...]
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MHA Acquired by Roper Industries
Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (“MHA”), a diversified health care services and technology company focused on alternate site providers has been acquired by Roper Industries. MHA provides expertise in Group Purchasing, Managed Care and Payer Contracting, Reimbursement Management, Specialty Pharmacy Solutions, Pharmaceutical Data Analytics, Clinical Pharmacy Software and Legislative Advocacy. Roper Industries is also a well-diversified company and is a constituent of the S&P 500, Fortune 1000, and the Russell 1000 indices. Among other things, Roper provides engineered products and solutions for global niche markets, including software information networks, medical, water, energy, and transportation. Going forward, the MHA will be [...]
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Novation Dishing Out The Awards at its Annual Supplier Summit
Novation recognized 22 suppliers yesterday at its annual Supplier Summit. These awards were given in recognition of the winners’ superior service provided to the health care organization members of VHA, UHC and Children’s Hospital Association. In addition, Novation also honored an overall supplier of the year with its second annual Mark McKenna award. Mark McKenna served as the president and CEO of Novation from 1999 through 2006. He passed away in October of 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. By honoring the overall supplier of 2012 who demonstrated outstanding service, this award continues McKenna’s legacy of putting hospitals and [...]
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- Healthcare in the Cloud: Forecast Still Hazy : HIMSS 2013: Top Takeaways Gathering Clouds said: [...] to David McCament’s mind, the future of healthcare cloud is not so clear. In a gue... more
- Time Definite Logistics –MNX Expands Global Network and Adds Track & Trace : Daniel said: Everything is very open with a precise description of the issues. It was definitely inform... more
- Varian Runs a “Clinic” in Effective Lobbying –Harry Reid Rides Shotgun : Thomas Finn said: Thanks for your comment Bo. I do not fully comprehend the differences between the two opti... more
- Varian Runs a “Clinic” in Effective Lobbying –Harry Reid Rides Shotgun : Barton 'Bo' Cooke said: Tom, you nailed it. This rider, put in at the last minute and was rushed into the Congres... more
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