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Hodes Health Care Recruitment Metrics Survey Results
By: Health Care Matters, Bernard Hodes Group, January
2004
http://www.hodes.com/hcrecruiting/index.html
A 2003 survey of health care recruitiers by the Bernard
Hodes Group found that Registered Nurses, Occupational
Therapists and Respiratory Therapists have the highest
turnover rates, while Rad Techs, Pharmacists and Lab
Techs have the lowest turnover rates. The study also
found that Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists,
and Speech-Language Thearpists are the positions with
the highest vacancy rates.
The Group also evalauted the most successful recruitment
methods for Registered Nurses and Allied Health professionals.
Employee referral programs, word of mouth, and clinical
rotations were ranked the most successful RN recuirtment
strategies, while out-of-market newspaper ads, career
directories and the radio were ranked the least effective
recruitment techniques.
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HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles
By: Bureau of Health Professionals, National Center
for Health Workforce Information and Analysis, Health
Resources and Services Administration, US Department
of Health and Human Services, December 2000
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/profiles/
The State Health Workforce Profiles compile accurate
and current data on supply, demand, distribution,
education and use of health personnel. Estimated numbers
of workers indicate the size of the state's health
workforce. Per capita ratios facilitate comparisons
with other states and the nation. Each Profile has
three sections:
- Brief overview of residents' health status and
health services that influence supply of and demand
for health workers;
- Health care employment by place of work, including
hospitals, nursing homes and other settings; and
- Health care employment in more than 25 health
professions and occupations.
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In Our Hands: How Hospital Leaders Can Build a
Thriving Workforce
By: AHA Commission on Workforce for Hospitals and
Health Systems, April 2002
http://www.hospitalconnect.com/aha/key_issues/workforce/commission/InOurHands.html
In Our Hands recommends bold, innovative changes
that hospitals and their leaders must make in order
to avert limitations in necessary health care services
now and in the future. The report also contains recommendations
for others, such as the government, which are critical
to support the actions of hospital leaders.
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E-Health
What is e-Health?
By: Journal of Medical Internet Research Editorial,
April-June 2001
http://www.jmir.org/
A quick, concise overview of what e-health is. Includes
a list of definitions: The 10 e's in "e-health".
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Policy Proposal: e-Health Code of Ethics
By: Helga Rippen & Ahmad Risk. Journal of Medical
Internet Research, May 2000
http://www.jmir.org/2000/2/e9/
This article describes the "e-health code of ethics"
and its details, including the vision, definitions,
and guiding principles. The code of ethics is the
result of a Washington DC summit attended by a panel
of experts from all over the world.
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Trends of Internet Use for Health Purposes
By: Health on the Net Foundation, March 2001
http://www.hon.ch/Survey/FebMar2001/survey.html
This web page provides results of an international
survey about Internet usage for health purposes. The
responses of over 3000 participants are shown graphically,
including their profiles, usage, and the Internet's
impact on them.
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Healthcare Professionals' Experience of the Medical
Net Survey
By: Health on the Net Foundation, July 2000
http://www.hon.ch/Survey/ResPoll/Total.html
These survey results are about health care professionals'
use of the Internet, their patients' usage, and the
impact it has. The results can be refined to a specific
country or type of practice.
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Health Consumerism
If You're Niched, It Might Be Your Fault: Physician-Driven
Specialty Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers
By: Cain Brothers, March 21, 2003
http://www.healthleaders.com/news/wp1.php?contentid=43615
The use of outpatient services has grown dramatically
over the past two decades. As inpatient procedures
have declined, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) and
single-specialty hospitals (SH) have emerged. ASCs
are usually owned in whole or part by physicians.
Single-specialty hospitals are a natural evolution
of the ASC, with typically ten or more inpatient beds
and four to six operating rooms. Both the ASCs and
SHs are designed to improve physician work environments
and increase efficiency, and are generally owned and
operated by physicians.
This Cain Brothers report looks at MedCath Specialty
Heart Hospital as a model, explaining its features
and interaction with the community. The theory is
that specialized hospitals provide higher patient
satisfaction and better outcomes because they are
focused on one single area of health care. MedCath
affirms this theory, as a 2000 study found that compared
to its peer hospitals MedCath heart hospitals had
relatively higher cardiac case mix severity, lower
mortality rates and lower average length of stay.
The article then explores potential next steps in
the industry for ASCs and SHs, including accelerating
orthopedics and imaging growth, the "big box" ambulatory
strategy and the digital community hospital. The rationale
for ASCs and SHs as well as their impact are approached
from both the physician and the hospital side, with
final recommendations that it may be better for hospitals
to partner with physicians in these ventures rather
than try to compete.
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The Value of Investment in Health Care
By: The Value Group, January 28, 2004
http://www.hospitalconnect.com/aha/value/index.html
This study of American health care spending over
the past twenty years found that every dollar spent
on health care nets a return of $2.40 - $3.00 in health
gains. Although health care spending increased by
$2,254 per capita between 1980 and 2000, the overall
death rate declined by 16%, life expectancy increased
by 3.2 years, disability rates declined by 25% for
people over age 65, and Americans spent an 56% fewer
days in the hospital. The findings illustrate the
value of America's increasing investment in health
care.
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Patient Safety
The Medication-Use-System Safety Strategy: Introduction
and Task Analysis
By: A Project of the American Society of Health-System
Pharmacists (ASHP) Center on Patient Safety; Funded
by a grant from the ASHP Research and Education Foundation,
2001
http://www.ashp.org/patient-safety/MS3-1.pdf
This project report outlines a proposed strategy
to design, implement, and maintain safe medication-use
systems. Gives job responsibilities and tasks for
a variety of categories, such as patient and medication
information, prescribing and monitoring, communication
of medical orders, medical labeling, and medical storage,
preparation, and delivery.
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The National Quality Forum Report: Serious Reportable
Events in Patient Safety
By: National Quality Forum, February 2002
http://www.qualityforum.org,
(202) 783-1300
In order to increase patient safety and change processes
to reduce the chance of harm to patients, reliable
and consistent information about serious preventable
adverse events must be available. This report outlines
the National Quality Forum's project on Serious Reportable
Events, including a mandatory "list" with a standardized
set of serious reportable events.
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To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System
By: The Institute of Medicine, September, 1999
http://www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=5575
The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report estimates
that as many as 98,000 people die annually from medical
errors in hospitals. The report describes a comprehensive
strategy that the government, health care provides,
industry and consumers must undertake to reduce preventable
medical errors. The authors conclude that the knowledge
and capability for preventing many medical errors
already exists, and a goal of a 50 percent reduction
in medical errors over five years is proposed.
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Doing What Counts for Patient Safety: Federal
Actions to Reduce Medical Errors and Their Impact
By: A report of the Quality Interagency Coordination
Task Force (QuIC) to the President, February 2000
http://www.quic.gov/report/toc.htm
The book includes an introduction and four chapters:
- Chapter 1: Understanding Medical Errors
- Chapter 2: Federal Response to the IOM Report
- Chapter 3: Beyond the IOM Report: Identifying
and Implementing Additional Strategies
- Chapter 4: Working With the Private Sector and
State Governments
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Disaster Preparedness
Enhancing Disaster Planning and Preparedness in
America's Healthcare Organizations
By: Joanne McGlown & Stanley Hupfeld; American College
of Healthcare Executives, January 2002
http://www.ache.org,
(312) 424-2800
These seminar slides emphasize the importance of
addressing new disaster standards, as well as the
current lack of preparedness for terrorist attacks,
including biological and chemical weapons. Discusses
why health care organizations should plan, what they
should prepare for, and what JCAHO is looking for.
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Mobilizing America's Health Care Reservoir
By: Joint Commission Perspectives, December 2001
http://www.jcrinc.com/subscribers/perspectives.asp?durki=1002&site=10&return=1627
In January of 2001 JCAHO introduced new emergency
standards. This article addresses the application
of these standards in the wake of the September 11
attacks. It includes many "Special Issue" reports,
addressing the following issues: The need for a national
bioterrorism response; developing emergency education
programs; using the new JCAHO standards to prepare
for an emergency; what the new standards expect from
your organization; analyzing your vulnerability to
hazards; preparing for a mass casualty event; lessons
learned from the terrorist attacks; and preparing
for a crisis.
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Hospital Readiness, Response, and Recovery Resources
By: The American Hospital Association
http://www.hospitalconnect.com/aha/key_issues/disaster_readiness/resources/HospitalReady.html
This AHA website includes links to a variety of different
disaster scenerios as well as suggested responses
and checklists to help hositals and health care organizations
become prepared for disasters.
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Health Care Governance
One of the responsibilities of boards of trustees is
to make decisions about the financial assets (investments)
and liabilities (debt) of their organizations. The implications
of those decisions can be significant for the mission
of the organization. While many trustees are familiar
with investments and debt based on their business or
personal experience, there are challenges in applying
that knowledge to nonprofit health care organizations
in the current financial market.
The tumultuous financial markets of the last few years
have increased these challenges for nonprofit health
care organizations and their trustees. According to
the report, boards of trustees for nonprofit health
care organizations will need to refocus on the tradeoffs
between capital growth and capital preservation. They
will need to go beyond a risk assessment for their investment
portfolios and look at the risks in both assets and
liabilities. CFOs and their Finance Committees will
need to take the lead in educating the executive team
and trustees about the basic strategic concepts in financial
management. This paper provides an overview of financial
markets as they impact health care organizations to
assist in the education process for trustees and non-financial
executives.
Health care organizations do not currently provide
a positive outlook for investors. The 1997 Balanced
Budget Act that resulted in a $118 billion reduction
in Medicare payments to hospitals between 1998 and 2004
clearly had an impact on hospitals' financial situations.
However, the financial downturn experienced in the health
care industry is caused by more than price pressures.
The author argues that hospitals must recognize much
more than Medicare reimbursement has changed in the
health care industry; hospitals have crossed from a
"public, mission-driven operating model to an operating
model that closely resembles that of corporate America."
In response to this change, hospital management should
look to success models utilized by public companies
that survive and thrive in this competitive environment.
The predominant management style for successful organizations
in the free market is information-driven by corporate
finance techniques. The author suggests eight "practical"
applications of corporate finance for senior management
and trustees, including:
In response to concerns expressed by hospital and health
system trustees about performance expectations, board
self-evaluation, the need for streamlined governance,
and how to enhance skills and knowledge, Witt/Keiffer
created this brief report with a list of eight key steps
to achieve successful health care governance. The eight
keys are followed by a brief explanation of each of
the concepts: 1) measure performance with a multitude
of yardsticks; 2) shrink board size/expand influence
and decision-making; 3) cultivate strong ties with physicians;
4) self-assess for success; 5) boost the "big-three"
traits: vision, integrity and strategy; 6) recharge
your powerhouse skills; 7) commit to formal continuing
education; and 8) prime the succession pipeline.
