Nontraditional partnerships provide unique opportunities for hospitals and health systems to enhance consumer experiences, expand service offerings, and address emerging health care needs. 2024 is a year of hope and new possibilities for health system leaders who look to do more, with fewer resources, than ever before. Amid uncertain financial forecasts, leaders increasingly look to Read More
Health systems throughout the country explore nontraditional partnerships and find success as they seek to transform their consumer experiences. In our 2024 forecast, you’ll hear from leading innovators about exciting new partnerships with health systems in retail care, hospital at home, and other areas where they see future opportunities to better serve consumers. // By Read More
More than 20 years ago, Brenda Reiss-Brennan, PhD, APRN, recalls being invited by Intermountain Healthcare (IH) primary care doctors to help improve the quality of mental health care for their patients and families. She recalls the doctors’ challenge: “Our biggest burden is stress, substance use, domestic violence, and depression our families are coming in with,” Read More
// By Cheryl L. Serra // Fragmentation and lack of coordination in health care are still rampant. Intermountain Healthcare has proven that a team-based, holistic approach to mental health, rooted in primary care and enabled through technology, improves outcomes and reduces cost. More than 20 years ago, Brenda Reiss-Brennan, PhD, APRN, recalls being invited by Read More
“For two years, marketing and communication professionals have faced the excruciating crisis of a pandemic nothing fully prepared us for,” says Rhoda Weiss, president of the Rhoda Weiss Consulting Group. “We’re changing how and from where we work, balancing dichotomies of layoffs and staff shortages, experiencing colleague and personal burnout, dealing with new and conflicting Read More
// By Rhoda Weiss, Ph.D. // As we approach the two-year mark of the pandemic, it’s clear that the crisis has forged strong alliances across the industry. Leaders have come together to share best practices and help one another address challenges common to all. For two years, marketing and communication professionals have faced the excruciating Read More
COVID testing. Vaccines. Health equity. Do they fall under public health or clinical care? In most cases, it’s both, or should be. The gap between hospital-based clinical care and public health is shrinking, as community health initiatives increasingly focus on wellness and prevention. Health systems typically function as separate entities. Nationwide, the drive for revenues and Read More
// By Marcia Simon, APR // “Medicine and public health share a common mission … however, important differences have prevented their integration and effective working collaboration,” says the author of a 2020 NIH publication: Covid-19: An Imperative to Bridge the Gap Between Medicine and Public Health. The work of the King County Hospitals for a Read More
Telehealth usage has skyrocketed across the country. In the past year of the pandemic, the weekly number of behavioral health visits increased 25 percent on average compared with before COVID-19. This is due to expanded use of audio and video technology. But a study of insured patients published in Health Affairs found that in poorer Read More
COVID forced organizations to adapt quickly. Communicators’ skills were essential in navigating the crisis, and marketing led the way, meeting the extraordinary demand for information. Over the past year-plus, health system marketing departments radically shifted their priorities. The question is: Which COVID-era changes actually moved the industry forward and should remain? Which strategic initiatives have Read More
// By Althea Fung // A safety net hospital in Des Moines, Iowa found a way to connect patients with needed behavioral health services using telehealth kiosks, leveraging community resources to provide broadband connectivity, private spaces, and support staff. Telehealth usage has skyrocketed across the country. In the past year of the pandemic, the weekly Read More
// By Marlene Kurban // Top health system marketing executives weigh in on how COVID forced organizations to adapt quickly. Communicators’ skills were essential in navigating the crisis, and marketing led the way, meeting the extraordinary demand for information. Were greater flexibility and agility unexpected byproducts of a challenging year? Will they propel health care Read More
“For the first time, many patients are experiencing what it’s like to be a rural patient where care feels out of reach,” says Blake Marggraff, CEO of CareSignal. “Patients who were once accustomed to frequent health touchpoints now feel the pressure to make do on their own — as providers experience staffing reductions and patients Read More
// By Blake Marggraff // If there’s one thing the pandemic has shown us, it’s that not everyone has access to the internet or Wi-Fi. But most people these days do have cell phones, and remote patient monitoring via text messaging and IVR phone calls is one way to keep the lines of communication open Read More
Suicide rates in the United States have increased substantially over the past two decades, according to the American Psychological Association. Since 1999, the rate has jumped 35 percent. For teens, the suicide rate is also on the rise. The rate of suicide rose 50 percent between 2000 and 2016 for women and girls, and 21 Read More
// By Althea Fung // Suicide rates in the United States have increased substantially over the past two decades, according to the American Psychological Association. Since 1999, the rate has jumped 35 percent. For teens, the suicide rate is also on the rise. The rate of suicide rose 50 percent between 2000 and 2016 for Read More
// By Peter Hochstein // Whether it’s a national news network on the phone, or a triple-header of a tornado, some of the biggest PR opportunities are unplanned. Even Lindsey Meyers, vice president of public relations and communications for Avera Health, sounds just a tad surprised that there’s such sophisticated medical research going on in Read More
“In ordinary times, we are a nation of people with high levels of anxiety,” says Howard Gershon, a founding principal of New Heights Group and a member of the SHCM Editorial Advisory Board. But “[i]n times of a pandemic such as we are experiencing now with the ongoing fear of the deadly coronavirus, anxiety and Read More
// By Howard Gershon, LFACHE // In ordinary times, we are a nation of people with high levels of anxiety. According to statistics reported by Mental Health America, during usual times, the combination of general anxiety disorders, phobias, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and related issues are reported to affect more than 21 Read More
With the shift toward value-based care and the assumption of risk, many health care organizations are beginning to understand that they must address behavioral health in conjunction with physical care for patients. In our new story, Howard Gershon, a founding principal of New Heights Group, discusses the business case. Here’s an excerpt. Behavioral health issues Read More
// By Howard Gershon, LFACHE // With the shift toward value-based care and the assumption of risk, many health care organizations are beginning to understand that they must address behavioral health in conjunction with physical care for patients. Behavioral health issues are in the news every day, whether it’s a national sports figure who has Read More
There are many reasons to write a book, but Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, identifies the need for an objective look at health care that takes positive achievements into account as well as challenges as his reason for co-authoring Health Care Reboot: Megatrends Energizing American Medicine. “I was growing increasingly frustrated Read More
// By Sheryl S. Jackson // In “View from the C-Suite” we share the insights of health care leaders from across the leadership spectrum — CEOs to CFOs to CMOs and more. This month, we hear from a health system CEO who co-authored a book that provides a different perspective on health care in the Read More
“There are about 2.5 million people addicted to opioids, but only 10 to 20 percent of them get help,” says Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, chief medical officer at Solera Health (and former CMO of Medicaid). Solera Health is an “integrated health network” that “connects patients, providers, and physicians to a network of partners who are preventing Read More
// By Sheryl S. Jackson // Editor’s Note: In our “View from the C-Suite” series, our goal is to share the insights of health care leaders from across the leadership spectrum — CEOs to CFOs to CMOs and more. In this article, the CMO we’re referring to is the chief medical officer. This story profiles Read More