• Hope is not a plan; but, you can plan to hope.

    But, you can plan to hope. Toward the end of the calendar or fiscal year, the phrase “hope is not a plan” echoes through conference rooms, hallways, offices, and performance review sessions.  In a world of data, analytics, predictive models, strategic plans, and business plans, there is an overwhelming (and endless) pool of data elements. …

  • I dont know….I always felt reponsible?

    It has exceptionally rare to meet a healthcare professional who didn’t feel responsible – or accountable, for their patient.  Passage of the healthcare reform act has moved the phrase “accountability” to the forefront; the Accountable Care Act final regulations from CMS has exacerbated this discourse and elevated confusion between accountable care and an accountable care…

  • Dear Che. Your death at fourteen carries with it no rationale explanation.

    Dear Che, Your death at fourteen carries with it no rationale explanation.  The journey you have been on the last few years with cancer prematurely moved the boy into a man; making decisions decision that belies the burgeoning physical change to adulthood.  The parents left to mourn and imagine what could have been,  The friends…

  • Innovation. Convergence. Data Transparency.

    Innovation.   Convergence.  Data Transparency. Two articles caught my eye in the last couple of days.  One from the Washington Postand the other from a blog posting.  The first dealt with the need for data transparency and the second with convergence.  Healthcare may be the one venue in which the combination of data transparency and convergence…

  • The Death of a Hospital and Its Survivors

    Winona Memorial Hospital.  1956 – 2012. Winona Memorial Hospital died on 10 October as demolition began.  Vacant for seven years, the deceased was a short-term care facility with 317 licensed beds.  The cause of death was reported in a statement released 2 September 2004 by board chair Robert  E. Mehl, MD, was lack of operating…

  • One Week. Fifty Years. It could be coincidence; but, I think not.

    It could be a coincidence.  It could be Karma.  It could be in the stars.  Seven days, fifty years — the first week of October saw the collision of vision, leadership, magic, and events that have shaped the world.  1 October 1971.  Disney World opens to the public.  For years, my family would sit together…

  • Transformational Strategic Planning: Using Business Analytic Technology

    Increasing the number of consumers accessing a clinical service, program, health plan, or healthcare service is growth.  Profitable growth is derived from understanding the market – key drivers, trends, future forecasts, and revenue stream.  Resource allocation is guided by the industry and organizational financial model.  The unique challenge for leadership and governance’s to secure strategic…

  • Stop the Internet…I want to get off

    I have an android cell phone, two laptops in my office, connectivity to a host of online news sources, daily news alerts, and cable television in almost every room of my home.  Compound this with satellite radio in the car, plasma screens in the gym, and constant electronic messaging and access anywhere I walk, drive,…

  • Better Access, Less Demand, Unimproving Care Delivery System – A Paradox

    The proportion of Americans reporting unmet needs declines by 1.3-percentage points between 2007 and 2010…Accounting for the increase in population, this means that about 4-million fewer people went without needed care in2010 than would be the case if there has been no change in the rate of unmet need.[1] A reality faced by healthcare leaders,…

  • Eulogy for Fee-For-Service: Part One

    The Center for Health System Change released an Issue Brief recently dealing with the increasing number of physicians aligned with hospitals; specifically employment models.[1]  The authors conclude their research of several regularly reviewed communities in the U.S. by stating:  While the potential of hospital-employed physicians to improve quality and efficiency has received attention, the potential…