ViewPoints Blog

Your Voice, Louder. The NRHA's slogan rang loud and true last week at the 2014 CAH Conference in Kansas City. Given the mounting challenges in the rural health community, it was no surprise that the regulatory and industry updates delivered Maggie Elehwany, NRHA, and Priya Bathija, AHA, were the focal point for an anxious crowd.

In September, The Economist gathered an engaging and diverse array of leaders from provider, payor, consumer, academic, policy, and technology to explore the global state of flux in healthcare and their optimism for the future shined.

As the country's healthcare systems experience further declines in reimbursement and looming downgrades, the spotlight is increasingly turning to the financial losses coming from employed physicians.

Hospital pricing is back in the news. If you live in California, a new study has found that a simple blood test can run you anywhere from $10 to $10,000. Headlines like this are popping up in news feeds with regular frequency, and pretty soon consumer awareness will transform into action.

Do you know how much a gallon of milk costs? Sure, it's posted right under the product in any grocery store. Does the price change if you go to Kroger, Costco, or Wal-Mart? What if the price listed in the store wasn't actually the price you paid at checkout? And what if Wal-Mart wasn't allowed to know the price at Kroger? What if the price you paid wasn't listed anywhere and depended on some other factors like how many gallons you bought, what else was in your cart, how old you were, the day of the week you bought it, or how much milk your parents bought growing up?

When Paul O'Neill took over Alcoa in 1987, market share had been slipping, profits were down, and the stock price was falling. When he was introduced to the investment community, he was expected to deliver the typical new CEO speech about how he would turn the company around with a focus on increasing profits and reducing costs. Instead, Paul O'Neill announced that his goal was to make Alcoa the safest company in America.

Did you know that by reducing the anxiety your patients feel when they enter your facility helps in their perception of their visit? Reducing anxiety makes patients feel like they are being treated by people who truly care about them.

Community Hospitals "independent hospitals of ~300 beds and less have to tackle the same issues as their big-bed brothers or health system sisters. They must lower costs while improving quality, do more with fewer resources, and affiliate effectively with other providers. But they don't have the scale or corporate structure to help with research, data mining, standardization, group purchasing and the like to drive efficiencies.