MHA's Society for Human Resources Administration

Commentary: 8 Healthcare HR Forecasts Reviewed for Accuracy

Journalists love closure. I started the year with eight predictions for healthcare HR in 2010. So, I thought I'd end the year with a look back to see how well—or poorly—I did as a prognosticator.

Read more here.

10 Steps to Improve Employee Engagement and Drive Results

Bob Kelleher, CEO and founder of the Employee Engagement Group and author of Louder Than Words: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results, says employee engagement is intricately linked to organizational success, but that it shouldn't be mistaken for employee satisfaction.

"Employee satisfaction might be a byproduct of engagement, but engagement is more about employees working toward an organization's goals and the company's overall well being, which is critical to an organization's performance," he says.

Engagement is particularly important in a hospital, where employee performance largely drives overall performance on various indicators — such as quality and satisfaction. In order to improve engagement, Mr. Kelleher offers 10 steps — which are discussed in more detail in his book — for hospitals and other organizations,

AHA granted amicus status in Florida Hospital TRICARE case

The American Hospital Association has been granted permission from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board to participate as amicus curiae in support of Florida Hospital as it objects to an administrative law judge's previous decision, which found the hospital is a federal "subcontractor" because it is an in-network provider in the military's TRICARE insurance program.

"We are pleased that our motion to participate as amicus was granted," said AHA Assistant General Counsel Lawrence Hughes. "The AHA's participation will enable the board to hear the perspective of the largest organization representing the nation's hospitals on an issue of substantial significance to them."

Approximately 500,000 health care providers nationwide, including a significant number of hospitals, have agreements either with TRICARE or a TRICARE regional administrator, which under the ALJ's decision could render them federal "subcontractors" subject to substantial compliance obligations and paperwork burdens enforced by the DOL's Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs. The board also granted a motion for amicus participation on behalf of Florida Hospital by the current TRICARE Managed Care Support contractors for each region - Humana Military Health Services Inc., Health Net Federal Services L.L.C., and TriWest Healthcare Alliance.

Briefs from the AHA and the other amici are due by Dec. 30.