Productivity and Process Improvement

Jim Wieland discusses the steps a practice took, and the lessons it learned, as it formed the nation’s first cardiology accountable care organization.

Geoffrey Boyce explains how using technology can address both behavioral health workforce shortages and geographical challenges as the need for greater availability of behavioral health services grows. 

If hospitals and health systems know the patients for whom they’re at risk and the benchmarks against which they are held accountable, they can lower costs and improve outcomes for an entire population—not just a single patient.

The average cath lab program generates a negative profit margin on Medicare patients, and that population is growing. Analyzing cath lab care pathway design can help hospital leaders bend the cost curve back to operating profitability.

Henry Ford West Bloomfield uses 100-day productivity cycles to improve operations and reduce waste. Over a three-year period, the hospital saved $8.7 million contributing to a financial performance turnaround.

Outsourced revenue cycle operations have lower performance on denial rates but other factors may still make outsourcing a viable option.

University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center’s revenue integrity program ensures a formal process to perform regular audits and educate physicians and their staff about compliance, and under-coding as well as over-coding. 

Bruce Jones explains the benefits—and simplicity—of confirming a patient is allergic to penicillin before opting to use alternative treatments.

Mary Kay Thalken explains that ensuring continuity of care to reduce readmissions requires a current, comprehensive referral network. Automating the process can be helpful as well.

Time-driven activity-based costing principles provide an excellent basis for helping healthcare organizations identify opportunities for improving their operations.