Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Johnsson.
Not all hospital trustees realize the vital leadership role they must play as their hospitals move toward the future, say CEOs. As a result, executives understand that they have a major educative role to play in bringing their boards up to speed on health care reform issues--quickly.
Despite persistent rumors of a "credit crunch," tax-exempt financing remains a viable source of capital for many hospitals that can't obtain investment-grade ratings. In fact, say experts, there's still strong investor interest in debt issued by lower-credit quality hospitals.
With operating costs ever rising and reimbursements ever tightening, hospitals are looking for ways to cut costs at every turn. The good news is that there are a lot of innovative, imaginative approaches being tried in every area of hospital operations--approaches that don't require massive financial investment, organizational restructuring, or teams of outside consultants. The examples we've found through talking with hospitals across the country are a fair sample of the types of opportunities out there. They range across the entire hospital, from the laboratory to the pharmacy to nursing to waste management to the medical staff to the operating suite. In other words, something for everyone.
Low interest rates proved to be a mixed blessing for hospitals in 1991, as many capitalized on plummeting interest rates by refinancing existing debt. And though lower rates caused investment income to shrink, one CEO notes that, because most hospitals have higher debt loads than investment income, the situation has proven to be a net positive for that majority.
Over 60 percent of CEOs surveyed say their hospital will belong to a regional, integrated health system by 1995. The question, they say, is not whether integration will happen, but how.
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As states struggle to forge health care reform plans that meet the opposing objectives of cutting costs and improving access, one thing is certain: Their initiatives will create profound changes to health care and to hospital operations. In fact, five factors emerging from the state reform debate could drastically transform hospitals: reregulation, explosive managed care growth, uncertain state funding mechanisms, new insurance measures, and greater hospital accountability for cost and quality. "This is a wake-up call for hospitals to get very realistic about the cost concerns that are out there," says one hospital executive. Especially since these state efforts are a precursor to national reform.
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A majority of hospital CEOs believe physician trustees on their boards tend to represent their medical staffs. But experts warn that CEOs must make certain that their physician trustees represent the community as a whole.
Many CEOs say public relations is vital to their hospital's success, but don't give their PR officers a strategic role, a recent survey shows. CEOs with narrow views are "losing a great opportunity," says Richard Norling, president and CEO of Fairview Hospital and Healthcare Services, Minneapolis.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.