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NEW ALLIANCE broadens Bader & Associates' services in governance, strategic planning, hospital-physician relationships and strategic financial analysis. For details go to http://www.greatboards.org/consulting/partners.asp.
FALL ISSUE OF GREAT BOARDS will feature articles on best practices for public hospital governance, strategic planning, and the value of local hospital boards in a health system. Look for in September.
SUMMER ISSUE OF GREAT BOARDS features an interview with Jim Conway, MD of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on engaging boards in improving quality and patient safety, plus articles on aligning hospitals and physicians and "red rules" for board conduct. See it now at www.GreatBoards.org.
IRS releases redesigned Form 990
The long awaited new 990 forms deliver on IRS' promise to enhance transparency, "providing the IRS and its stakeholders with a realistic picture of the (tax-exempt) organization and its operations, along with the basis for comparing the organization to similar organizations." The 10-page form has 15 separate schedules, including a new hospitals' form asking about community benefits and charity care, billing and collection practices, and management companies and joint ventures. Other new forms beef up compensation reporting with more detail on deferred compensation, retirement supplements, perks (such as golf club dues), and questions about trustees' potential conflicts of interest. For more information go to http://www.irs.gov/charities/ See an analysis from McDermott Will & Emery at http://www.mwe.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/publications.nldetail/object_id/0130ff97-aed5-4bc2-90a9-74981e90cbcc.cfm.
JCAHO revises leadership standards
New chapter is effective January 1, 2009 and adds or strengthens leadership expectations for creating a culture of safety, managing conflict, improving performance and emphasizing the ultimate accountability of governance. See the new chapter at http://www.jointcommission.org/NR/rdonlyres/0376B4EC-0F1A-42E0-AD23-7D7D1680E3C3/0/09_ld_hap_prepubstds.pdf.
Payment system undermines business case for quality
Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) in Seattle, an integrated hospital-physician delivery system, agreed with Aetna and four major employers--Costco, Starbucks, King County and Nordstrom -- to work jointly to improve care for four common conditions: uncomplicated lower back pain; gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); migraine headaches; and cardiac arrhythmias. By applying the Toyota production system, VMMC provided episodes of care more efficiently, but a case study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) found that for three of the four conditions, VMMC will likely experience reductions in revenue and net margin -- unless other payers agree to change their reimbursement practices as Aetna's done. See the study at http://hschange.org/CONTENT/937/.
New websites increase transparency
California's largest private physician practice has posted prices for 58 common medical procedures plus information on accepted health plans and hospital partners at http://www.healthcarepartners.com/.
California has also released its first performance data for cardiac surgeons. Read the San Diego Union's story and the complete reports at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070712-9999-1n12cardiac.html.
Proceduralists growing
"Procedural medicine" is growing as physicians look to highly trained colleagues to perform risky procedures they rarely do, such as lumbar punctures and spinal taps, central and arterial line insertions, and some fluid removals, according to a July 11 story in the Wall Street Journal. Demand for 24 procedures at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles is so high the hospital will open a new facility to double its capacity and add a fifth proceduralist. See the story at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118410727844462566-search.html?KEYWORDS=proceduralist&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month (subscription may be required).
Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act analyzed
Attorneys at McDermott Will & Emery explain the details of this bill, one of several being discussed in the earliest ever Presidential primary season. See it at http://www.mwe.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/publications.nldetail/object_id/b0f3fa41-63e0-40ee-b6f2-9dcd0bc98c59.cfm.
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Barry S. Bader, Bader & Associates
12225 Seline Way, Potomac MD 20854, 301-340-0903
www.GreatBoards.org *** bbader@GreatBoards.org