MHA's Executive Briefing

Staffing Ratios the Mantra for Newly Formed NNU

It didn't take the newly formed National Nurses Union long to announce itself. On Tuesday, representatives from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association voted unanimously to merge and create what they say is the largest RN union in the nation's history. A few hours after the expected outcome, RNs from the newly empowered 150,000-member NNU formed a picket at the nearby headquarters of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, which has opposed organizing efforts in that state.

Read more here.

MedPAC may recommend no payment update for post-acute care providers

Inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home health providers would receive no Medicare payment update in 2011 under draft recommendations considered by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission last week. The draft recommendations also would rebase home health payment rates to reflect the average cost of providing care. The commission may revise the draft recommendations to Congress before it votes on them in January.

[ via AHA News Now ]

Running the OR Like a Business

Chances are that the surgical suite is the area of the hospital that brings in the most revenue, but it is also the source of a disproportionate share of overall operating costs. Managed well, the OR can be a cornerstone of a hospital's overall financial success. But in today's environment, it's easy for expenses or operational inefficiencies to get out of hand and cause major management headaches.

Learn more here.

MHA and careLearning Announce Addition of Leadership Courses to Course Catalog

The Mississippi Hospital Association and careLearning understand the importance of competent and effective leaders within your organization. Let us assist you in achieving, retaining, or enhancing leader competence with the following courses:

Time Management Skills. This course can assist with forming good time-management (and therefore life-management) habits through planning, eliminating time-wasters and being pro-active.

The Essence of Leadership. Leaders are made, not born. This course addresses key leadership qualities such as vision, courage, integrity, responsibility, foresight, cooperation, and commitment to winning.

Effective Problem-Solving. This course offers the tools to become an effective problem-solver including how to improve thinking, defining creativity as improvement, stimulating ideas, using a systematic method of problem-solving, mind and brain storming, and testing assumptions.

Leadership Wisdom for Lifelong Success. This course teaches cutting-edge strategies for real success in both business and in life.

For more information about the courses listed above, including a description, go to www.carelearning.com and click Course Catalog. Click Leadership/Management and scroll to the desired course. You may also contact Diane Clift at MHA at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3217 or dclift@mhanet.org for more information or a free 30-day trial!

Cost Information
The cost for each course listed is $20 per person and provides access for one full year from registration.

Author Information
The courses listed above are authored by Total Training Network (TTN). TTN provides full-motion video training programs from the world’s finest professional speakers, training producers, and educational consultants.

System Requirements
The courses include full-motion video. System Requirements include access to the Internet with a connection above 128K, an up-to-date web browser, a sound card with speakers or headphones, and Windows Media Player.  The faster your computer and Internet access, and the more current your browser, the more enjoyable and productive your learning experience will be.

Making the most of corporate social responsibility

For companies that see CSR as an opportunity to strengthen the business, the big challenge is execution. Smart partnering can provide a practical way forward.

Learn more here.

Who Really Rules?

Hospital chief executives are discovering that they're often not the most powerful players in the room. Some are paying for that knowledge with their jobs, as independent physicians revolt against steps to employ more of their brethren. Culture change is always a dicey proposition for CEOs who dare to try it—even for those who have built a legacy of trust over the course of a long-term appointment to a hospital or health system's top executive position.

Read more here.

CBO: Medical Malpractice Reform Could Save $54 Billion

The Congressional Budget Office has concluded, after evaluating tort reform research and meeting with healthcare experts, that "the weight of empirical evidence" currently demonstrates a link between tort reform and the use of healthcare services. The CBO response is to questions posed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) regarding medical malpractice.

Read more here.

Health Leaders Speak Out About MedPAC's Proposed Lower Payments for 2010

A draft recommendation to Congress released by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Dec. 10 has hospital officials concerned about payments for the year. The draft, which can still be revised before the full MedPAC panel votes on it in January, provides for a full "market basket" update for fiscal 2011 outpatient and inpatient hospital payments.

The data "reinforces our concerns about the Medicare buy in proposal that's currently part of the Senate health reform bill," said American Hospital Association President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock.

Read more here.

Physician Employment 2.0

Recent data and anecdotal evidence point to a comeback: Physician employment by hospitals is increasing. The American Medical Association reports that the total number of physicians employed in community hospitals increased 24 percent between 2003 and 2007, while the number of physicians nationally increased only 8 percent.

Learn more here.

Physician Snapshot

Physicians today are confronted with a new reality. Reimbursements are declining while administrative costs are escalating. The adoption of clinical information systems is transforming care delivery and the potential for health care reform brings uncertainty going forward. The future delivery system will be shaped, in part, by the supply of physicians.

Read more here.

Leadership Caffeine: A Mostly Thoughtful Guide to Surviving Bad Leadership Days

Even the most dedicated and experienced of leaders will admit that there are more than a few days when they wonder whether it might not be a lot less stressful to hang up their leadership cleats in favor of an individual contributor role.

Like marriage, not every day as a leader is filled with wine and roses.  There are many days when you will drive home from work wondering whether you truly accomplished anything, and others when you will feel like you just took a few steps in the wrong direction.

Consider these less than joyous leadership occasions.

AHA applauds proposed Medicare Advantage rule change

The American Hospital Association strongly supports the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposal to exempt hospitals and other health care entities that participate in the traditional Medicare program from separate compliance training requirements under the Medicare Advantage program, the association said in a comment letter on Dec. 8. “The AHA strongly supports and appreciates this proposed change to compliance training, which will help eliminate unnecessary burden and cost on hospitals,” the letter states.

Hospitals that participate in the traditional Medicare program are already certified as meeting the Medicare Advantage training and education requirements, the letter notes.