9-11 Tribute in Light
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Philosophy of Management
This note sums up the underlying philosophy of management and leadership. The key however is to know, how to earn these things. That, according to me, is the #1 challenge of leadership today.
Debunking 8 Common Myths About Trust
How Visually Intelligent Are You? Take Amy Herman’s Perception Test
Cartoon – You’re too old to blame everything on your parents
Cartoon – Home care isn’t an Option
Cartoon – European vs. American Style Healthcare
How a bite from a stray dog shows the sick state of U.S. healthcare
Jan Kern was bitten by a stray dog while traveling abroad and ended up with a jaw-dropping illustration of why the U.S. healthcare industry is completely sick.
That’s because she underwent a series of rabies shots in three countries at four medical facilities. What that revealed, and which will surprise no one, is that Americans pay way more for the exact same treatment than people in other nations.
Moreover, her experience highlights the lack of uniformity for drug prices, including commonly used medications. One facility might charge a few bucks for the same drug that costs thousands of dollars at a U.S. hospital.
“There’s no rhyme or reason to our medical system,” said Rick Kern, 61, who contacted me about his 62-year-old wife’s global healthcare adventure after reading my recent column on drug prices.
What’s great about his story as well is that, after I shared it with about a dozen healthcare experts, the consistent reaction was one of utter disbelief. We’re accustomed to shaking our heads at U.S. healthcare costs. Things become significantly more absurd when a couple of overseas medical facilities are stirred into the mix.
“It’s obvious that our system is unlike any other health system,” said Uwe Reinhardt, a healthcare economist at Princeton University. “Other systems were set up to care for patients. Ours was set up by the providers — the hospitals and drug companies — for their own benefit.”
Surge in hospital-owned physician practices poised to increase healthcare costs
- Independent physicians and physician-owned practices could soon become a rare breed, suggests a new analysis by Avalere Health and the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI) released Wednesday.
- The study found the percentage of physicians employed by hospitals or health systems rose 86% from 2012 to 2015, from 95,000 to more than 140,000.
- As of mid-2015, 38% of all U.S. physicians were employed by hospitals and health systems, findings show.
- Also from 2012 through 2015, hospitals acquired 31,000 physician practices, resulting in one in four medical practices being hospital-owned.
How some providers are stoking entrepreneurial fires to ensure healthy financials
In an era of falling inpatient rates and value-based reimbursement, hospitals and health systems are seeking new ways to grow their revenue streams. For some, that has meant wearing an entrepreneurial hat and marketing home-grown solutions.
One example is the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which two years ago created UPMC Enterprises to develop and commercialize novel technologies.
