// 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.
“When it comes to women’s health, there’s a lack of attention, funding, research, and education,” writes Wendy Margolin in a recent article. “From the moment we start menstruating, it’s a secret. Girls are often embarrassed to tell their mothers, which is partly what makes Judy Blume’s book and recent movie, Are You There, God, It’s Read More
// By Wendy Margolin // The U.S. is the only high-resource country in the world with a rising maternal mortality rate. As shameful as that is, it gets worse. One group of women — Black women — are 2.6 times more likely to die from pregnancy than White women, according to CDC. In a 2017 study, Black women were five times more likely to die from postpartum cardiomyopathy, preeclampsia, and eclampsia than white women.
// By Wendy Margolin // When it comes to women’s health, there’s a lack of attention, funding, research, and education. From the moment we start menstruating, it’s a secret. Girls are often embarrassed to tell their mothers, which is partly what makes Judy Blume’s book and recent movie, Are You There, God, It’s Me Margaret, so charming.
Being in the middle of the western half of the United States — between well-known East and West Coast medical facilities — presented Children’s Hospital Colorado with a marketing challenge. In addition to making potential patients and their loved ones aware of its existence, the hospital wanted to demonstrate the individualized, innovative, and often complex Read More
DEI is about more than representation. It’s all about creating an environment where everyone feels heard, respected, and empowered. No other industry has more of an imperative to embrace DEI than health care as the path to a healthier future for everyone. At this year’s Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (HMPS23) in Austin, Texas, Read More
// By Cheryl L. Serra // Being in the middle of the western half of the United States — between well-known East and West Coast medical facilities — presented Children’s Hospital Colorado with a marketing challenge. In addition to making potential patients and their loved ones aware of its existence, the hospital wanted to demonstrate the individualized, innovative, and often complex medical procedures it offers. Its “Miraculous Everyday” campaign seeks to do just that.
// By Susan Dubuque // Executives from Connecticut Children’s, UNC Health, and Stanford Health Care share how they integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into the organizational culture. Read on for important lessons on advancing and operationalizing DEI efforts in your own organization.
U.S. hospitals are seeing a dramatic rise in workplace violence. While some organizations are taking active steps to address the issue — including developing internal and external campaigns — more is needed: Only 43 percent of workers believe their organization’s policies against workplace violence are effective. In most hospitals today, electronic medical records and patient Read More
// By John Marzano // U.S. hospitals are seeing a dramatic rise in workplace violence. While some organizations are taking active steps to address the issue — including developing internal and external campaigns — more is needed: Only 43 percent of workers believe their organization’s policies against workplace violence are effective.
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
The Healthcare Equality Index defines industry best practices for LGBTQ inclusion and recognizes progress achieved by health care organizations to reach their health equity goals. How does your health system measure up? Health care is a necessity. But not everyone has equal access to medical services, which can negatively impact a person’s long-term health outcomes. 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.
Acute care telehealth expands access to care by connecting community hospitals with specialized experts, which helps to close gaps in knowledge and keep care local. When patients in a rural community get sick and need access to intensive care or specialized care, the typical small community hospital — if there is one — doesn’t have Read More
// By Cheryl L. Serra // Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada is a 650-bed facility and the region’s only Level II Trauma Center. Renown serves over a million people across 100,000 square miles, much of it in remote, rural communities. Like most health systems, Renown is facing greater demand for health care services while being squeezed by provider shortages.
// By Althea Fung // Health care is a necessity. But not everyone has equal access to medical services, which can negatively impact a person’s long-term health outcomes. In the U.S., racial and ethnic minorities, people of lower socioeconomic status, people who live in rural communities, and sexual and gender minorities often experience disparities in the health care they receive, according to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
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 Jane Weber Brubaker // When patients in a rural community get sick and need access to intensive care or specialized care, the typical small community hospital — if there is one — doesn’t have experts on-site to manage their care needs — and transferring them to a large tertiary care center may not be an option if no beds are available. In these instances, acute care telehealth is helping patients receive the right care without having to leave their local community, a benefit to the patient, their family, the local hospital, and the tertiary care center.
// 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?
Virtual care visits have become a new normal for many health care patients and providers in the aftermath of the pandemic. But for some patients, adapting to the technological advancements is not so simple. Technology is great — unless it’s a barrier. We don’t have to look back very far for a good example. When Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // Technology is great — unless it’s a barrier. We don’t have to look back very far for a good example. When COVID vaccines became available in December 2020, older adults were first in line to receive the jab. But the process of scheduling an appointment online was so complicated that many people needed help from a tech-savvier relative or friend. Video visits are another example. When COVID was raging and vaccines weren’t available yet, older adults — the most vulnerable age group — shifted to virtual visits whenever possible. Today, virtual visits have remained popular with all patients. But age is a factor.
When WebMD announced its acquisition of Mercury Healthcare in June 2022, the press release focused on patient engagement solutions. The headline reads “WebMD Health Corp. Acquires Mercury Healthcare, Building on Leadership in Patient Engagement Solutions.” But we learned that WebMD’s strategic vision is broader, also encompassing provider engagement. In a video explaining the vision, Ann Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // When WebMD announced its acquisition of Mercury Healthcare in June 2022, the press release focused on patient engagement solutions. The headline reads “WebMD Health Corp. Acquires Mercury Healthcare, Building on Leadership in Patient Engagement Solutions.” But we learned that WebMD’s strategic vision is broader, also encompassing provider engagement. In a video explaining the vision, Ann Bilyew, general manager and senior vice president of WebMD Provider Services, states that physician referral management “is similar to the patient journey in that it is about understanding each individual physician’s unique preferences and learning how to reach them in the key moments of care.”
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.