Here's What's Coming in HealthLeaders Magazine for November

HealthLeaders Magazine today announced what's coming in its November issue.

Marblehead, MA (PRWeb) November 22, 2006 -- HealthLeaders Magazine today announced what's coming in its November issue.

Governance Revisited

The days of the rubber-stamp healthcare board are numbered. With increasing pressure on nonprofit boards to be more attentive, trustees must be engaged in far more than just financial matters. As a result, the trustee selection process and the board's relationship to the management team are shifting. Today's nonprofit chief executive officer must be an honest, willing partner who is not afraid to share the strategic burden. CEOs are not only drawing their boards deeper into the decision-making process, but also seeing trustees as a valuable ally in physician relations.

Private nonprofit community hospitals in 2006 number 2,966, representing 60 percent of all community hospitals and 78 percent of privately owned community hospitals, according to the American Hospital Association. Additionally, 213 nonprofit health plans provide coverage for roughly 95 million enrollees. In a competitive healthcare landscape, running a hospital or health plan grows more complex every year. "Competitive pressures, pricing policies and the impact of high numbers of uninsured have all made operating viable healthcare organizations more difficult," says William Kreykes, chairman of the board of Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health System and former CEO of Lifespan health system in Rhode Island.

The November issue of HealthLeaders magazine studies the dynamic changes facing hospital governance.

Also in the November issue of HealthLeaders:

Creative with Compensation

If paying physicians is expensive, replacing them can be downright exorbitant. That's why group practices are getting more sophisticated about designing physician compensation arrangements that not only set clear expectations, but also take into account physicians' contributions to the practice -- helping to ensure that their doctors will take the money and stay. The American Journal of Managed Care reports that physician turnover -- including recruiting and losses associated with bringing on a new family practice physician -- can run to $250,000 per new hire. Designing an effective physician compensation program that maximizes retention has less to do with the dollar amount of that compensation and more to do with how that compensation is earned. HealthLeaders considers all of the variables that lead to effective compensation arrangements.

The Patient Perspective

Healthcare providers traditionally have taken a Big Brother approach to their jobs: Clinicians do most of the talking, while healthcare is practiced upon passive patients. But partnering with patients and family members in a hospital's administrative workings can build more effective care systems that are responsive to patients. Despite the potential for improved outcomes -- along with the unique perspective patients bring to the table -- patient-centered care has been slow to catch on, says Lawrence Shulman, M.D., chief medical officer at Boston's Dana Farber Cancer Institute. HealthLeaders offers practical advice for engaging patients in their care.

Debunking EMR Myths

Only some 10 percent of physician practices have automated their clinical recordkeeping, according to most estimates. Hospitals, too, remain burdened under the heavy yoke of paper charts. Many run partially automated, hybrid electronic-paper environments. In HealthLeaders, providers share some lessons learned en route to clinical documentation automation.

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