The Business of Surgery

3 Dangers of Expired Medical Devices

A recent survey conducted by Cardinal Health showed that 24% of hospital staff have seen or heard of an expired product being used on a patient during a procedure.  This comes as no surprise, as we have witnessed the usage of expired inventory at hospitals first-hand.  Without the proper processes and vigilance to prevent these […]

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The Cost of Hospital Waste

Each year, the US healthcare system wastes $765 billion according to a 2012 National Academy of Medicine study. According to the same study, that total eclipses the annual budget of the Defense Department and the amount could be used to cover the insurance coverage of 150 million American workers. While the numbers are staggering, there

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Using Surgeon Scorecards To Drive Down Costs In the OR

Recent studies have shown a strong link between sharing pricing data with physicians and a resulting drop in case costs.  The latest study to show this link was recently published in March 2017 in JAMA.  According to JAMA, the OR Surgical Cost Reduction (OR SCORE) project was conducted in a single health system with multiple

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How to Get More Value Out of Your EHR Implementation

Many US hospitals are now reaching the end of their electronic health records roll-outs.  Companies such as Epic and Cerner have reaped large windfalls from these implementations at most hospitals across the country.  While the software companies have benefited greatly from the implementations, many hospitals are left scratching their heads about how best to take

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Survey Reveals Top Priorities for Healthcare Supply Chain Leaders

Recently, Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) released its top priorities for healthcare supply chains in 2017.  The priorities were the result of a survey of 50 leading supply chain provider organizations.  At the top of the list was predictive analytics, with improved price accuracy between supplier and provider partners and standardized business processes/data across the organization

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Medical Device Makers to Partner With Hospitals to Achieve Triple Aim

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announce the expanded rollout of the bundled payment programs, including the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program, medical device makers are seeing an opportunity to expand their relationships with hospitals.  Johnson & Johnson, for example, recently announced its CareAdvantage program that aims to partner with

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Data and the Healthcare Triple Aim

More hospitals are using the Triple Aim framework as a systematic approach to thinking about value. The Triple Aim framework from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is designed to help hospitals optimize performance by focusing on three dimensions: Population Health, Experience of Care and Per Capita Cost. As hospitals dig deeper into the framework, they

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How Hospitals Can Drive More Value From Data Analytics

As adoption of EMRs at hospitals reaches saturation, hospitals and health systems are now trying to figure out how to make the most of the vast amounts of data being collected by their information systems. Focusing on data analytics in the perioperative setting can drive significant value for a hospital, given the large share of

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Opposition to Medicare Bundles is Growing

On December 20, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the roll out of the Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), the Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), and the Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) incentive payment models. With these programs scheduled to go live in July 2017, they will join expanded Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement

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How Hospitals Can Prepare For The Coming Wave Of Bundled Payments

In December 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized regulations regarding the Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) Incentive Payment Model. This new bundled payment program affects over 1,100 hospitals nationwide and how they are paid for their heart attack and bypass surgery cases. The goal of this program, which has joined the orthopedic bundling

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