// By Marcia Simon, APR // How can a health system make a difference in utilization, quality and outcomes, and cost — and improve engagement with underserved members of its community? This was the topic of a recent presentation at the 2023 SHSMD Connections Virtual Conference.
Getting access to care has been difficult in many parts of the country for years. Even in densely populated urban areas, a shortage of physicians and clinicians often made setting appointments for primary and specialty care a frustrating experience. And then 2020 hit. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the staffing shortage and further restricted access. Today, Read More
// By Alan Shoebridge // Getting access to care has been difficult in many parts of the country for years. Even in densely populated urban areas, a shortage of physicians and clinicians often made setting appointments for primary and specialty care a frustrating experience. And then 2020 hit. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the staffing shortage and further restricted access. Today, access to care remains constrained by that staffing shortage. Yet this is just one barrier to getting care. Systemic societal issues pose additional barriers for many communities.
Assuring timely access to care — an individual’s ability to obtain health care services — has always challenged payers, providers, and without doubt, consumers. The industry’s constant back-and-forth blame game over cost and access must end. Customers are listening, and so are competitors. Recent market moves are making care more widely available than ever before. Read More
// By Lindsay R. Resnick, MHA // Assuring timely access to care — an individual’s ability to obtain health care services — has always challenged payers, providers, and without doubt, consumers. The industry’s constant back-and-forth blame game over cost and access must end. Customers are listening, and so are competitors. Recent market moves are making care more widely available than ever before. Billions upon billions of dollars are being invested in products and services that promise expanded access. The combination of retail clinics, telemedicine, homecare, digital health, and public/private insurance options has opened the access floodgates for many Americans. But access continues to be problematic. The thinking is that if you build it, they will come. But can they?
Which is better — Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) or Medicare Advantage (MA)? Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO of SCAN Group & Health Plan, doesn’t think it’s the right question. “We all know we have a broken health care system, and we have to try in our own ways to make it better,” he says. Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Which is better — Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) or Medicare Advantage (MA)? Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO of SCAN Group & Health Plan, doesn’t think it’s the right question. “We all know we have a broken health care system, and we have to try in our own ways to make it better,” he says. Jain was joined by Cheryl Pegus, MD, MPH, executive vice president of Health & Wellness at Walmart, in a session at HLTH 2022 in November, “Removing the Filter from the Business of Healthcare.” The panel discussion was moderated by Matthew Holt, founder/author of The Health Care Blog.
Growing up, Lloyd Dean saw the impact of health disparities in his own community. His experiences motivated him to use his formidable leadership abilities to change things for the better. He will retire this summer after a long and impactful career. “Imagine 11 people in a house of three bedrooms and being on welfare when Read More
View from the C-Suite, with Lloyd Dean, President and CEO of CommonSpirit Health // By Jane Weber Brubaker // Growing up, Lloyd Dean saw the impact of health disparities in his own community. His experiences motivated him to use his formidable leadership abilities to change things for the better. He will retire this summer after Read More
// By Susan Dubuque // As payers shift to value-based reimbursement, paying attention to social determinants of health is no longer optional. When you think about supporting the health of your patients and building a healthier community, what comes to mind? A robust medical staff? Great technology? A beautiful new hospital facility? A wide range Read More
UCLA Health is emerging as a national leader in addressing racial inequities in health care and across society. In light of growing local and national awareness, the health system became one of the first health care organizations in the country to form an Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. “It’s perhaps the most visible Read More
// By Brian Griffin // A prominent West Coast health system is building a care environment, work culture, and community presence that takes health equity, diversity, and inclusion to the next level. UCLA Health is emerging as a national leader in addressing racial inequities in health care and across society. In light of growing local 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
Dr. Larry Moss, president and CEO of Nemours Children’s Health, shares a story about one of his patients as a way to explain the strategy behind the organization’s new brand, “Well Beyond Medicine,” launched in mid-September. Early in his career as a surgeon, Moss was called to the ED to evaluate a 10-year-old boy, Wendell, Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Dr. Larry Moss, president and CEO of Nemours Children’s Health, shares a story about one of his patients as a way to explain the strategy behind the organization’s new brand, “Well Beyond Medicine,” launched in mid-September. Early in his career as a surgeon, Moss was called to the ED Read More
An industry leader recently used a phrase we hadn’t heard before: “The NEXT Normal.” What has the pandemic taught us? How did it stretch us as an industry, and how can we use what we’ve learned to shape strategies in the future? We asked our editorial advisory board members to weigh in on one question: Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // An industry leader recently used a phrase we hadn’t heard before: “The NEXT Normal.” What has the pandemic taught us? How did it stretch us as an industry, and how can we use what we’ve learned to shape strategies in the future? In this article, our editorial advisory board 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
The status for diversity, inclusion, and health equity initiatives across America? It’s complicated. How do you train your staff about biases toward patients and colleagues when they don’t believe they have any? We all grow up with assumptions and stereotypical views of the world and the people in it. For the health care industry, fair 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
// By Marcia Simon, APR // Just the notion that groups of people are overlooked or marginalized means there’s much work to be done to level the playing field. The past year of glaring health disparities revealed that health care as an industry needs to step up and root out biases, even when unconscious, that Read More
View from the C-Suite: Toby Cosgrove, MD, Executive Advisor and Former CEO and President of Cleveland Clinic // By Jane Weber Brubaker // In an interview with StartUp Health co-founders, Dr. Toby Cosgrove shares his perspectives on what we’ve learned from the pandemic, how technology accelerated innovation, and how it will continue to open new Read More
The current pandemic is pushing the boundaries for parity when it comes to telemedicine reimbursement. How long will it be before the entire health care system repositions itself to provide hospital-level care for patients at home through ongoing remote monitoring? That’s what Tony Slonim has been working toward since he took the helm seven years Read More
View from the C-Suite: Anthony Slonim, MD, DrPH, President and CEO at Renown Health // By Marcia Simon, APR // Leading the charge toward home care reimbursement parity and population health involves huge challenges. “You have to have a vision, you have to execute the vision, and you have to tell your story,” says Renown Read More