In recent years, the hospital industry has been undergoing massive change and reorganization with technological innovations and the spread of managed care. As a result, the total number of hospitals countrywide has been declining, and a growing number of not-for-profit hospitals have converted to for-profit status. These changes raise two fundamental questions: What determines a hospital's choice of for-profit or not-for-profit organizational form? And how does that form affect patients and society? This timely volume provides a factual basis for discussing for-profit versus not-for-profit ownership of hospitals and gives a first look at the evidence about new and important issues in the hospital industry. The Changing Hospital Industry: Comparing Not-for-Profit and For-Profit Institutions will have significant implications for public-policy reforms in this vital industry and will be of great interest to scholars in the fields of health economics, public finance, hospital organization, and management; and to health services researchers.
Drawing on the work of the Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine, the 2007 IOM Annual Meeting assessed some of the rapidly occurring changes in health care related to new diagnostic and treatment tools, emerging genetic insights, the developments in information technology, and healthcare costs, and discussed the need for a stronger focus on evidence to ensure that the promise of scientific discovery and technological innovation is efficiently captured to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time. As new discoveries continue to expand the universe of medical interventions, treatments, and methods of care, the need for a more systematic approach to evidence development and application becomes increasingly critical. Without better information about the effectiveness of different treatment options, the resulting uncertainty can lead to the delivery of services that may be unnecessary, unproven, or even harmful. Improving the evidence-base for medicine holds great potential to increase the quality and efficiency of medical care. The Annual Meeting, held on October 8, 2007, brought together many of the nation's leading authorities on various aspects of the issues - both challenges and opportunities - to present their perspectives and engage in discussion with the IOM membership.
"[This book is] the most authoritative assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of recent trends toward the commercialization of health care," says Robert Pear of The New York Times. This major study by the Institute of Medicine examines virtually all aspects of for-profit health care in the United States, including the quality and availability of health care, the cost of medical care, access to financial capital, implications for education and research, and the fiduciary role of the physician. In addition to the report, the book contains 15 papers by experts in the field of for-profit health care covering a broad range of topicsâ€"from trends in the growth of major investor-owned hospital companies to the ethical issues in for-profit health care. "The report makes a lasting contribution to the health policy literature." â€"Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.
The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.
Explores the Rise of Managed Care An incisive and informative analysis of our rapidly changing health care system--the best of current books on the subject. --Arnold S. Relman, former editor-in-chief, New England Journal of Medicine Walter A. Zelman, a leading expert on health care research and policy, examines the key trAnds that are changing today's health care marketplace. He looks at the growth of managed care; the new and sometimes uneasy partnerships among physicians, hospitals, and health plans; and the trAnd toward integration between sectors. This important resource draws on the latest data and research, including more than fifty interviews with expert analysts and practitioners.
Implement change that fosters sustainable growth and better patient care Health care projects depend on astute management of change. But more than anything else, they depend on leaders who pay attention, who understand the importance of starting right, and who know how to launch projects that succeed. If leaders can increase the percentage of successful projects, patients, and practitioners everywhere will be better off and so will the organizations that depend on these projects for innovation. In Launching and Leading Change Initiatives in Health Care Organizations: Managing Successful Projects. Author David A. Shore of the Harvard School of Public Health speaks directly to the health care leaders and managers who see the need for change, but keep encountering nearly insurmountable challenges. Through his research, Shore discovered that most implementation failures occur because of a poor launch, and that strengthening processes and operations during the early weeks of a new project is a key to continued success. The book covers issues like: The preliminary groundwork that cultivates a stronger launch Systematic and selective project selection Building the team that accomplishes change Skill-building and record-keeping systems that foster sustainable growth Launching and Leading Change Initiatives in Health Care Organizations gives leaders and managers the practical, easy-to-implement ideas and methodologies to start and manage projects successfully.
This book focuses on how to lead transformative and strategic change in the healthcare industry in times of great uncertainty. Written for senior healthcare leaders, it will provide new tools, processes, examples and case studies offering an effective framework in which to transform healthcare systems. Specifically, leaders will be able to answer the following questions: • Why change? What has led us to today, and what is the current situation in healthcare? • What to change? What areas for change are most promising—areas with the greatest potential to yield significant benefits? • How to change? Will incremental changes meet the need, or are true transformations required? • When to change? Should changes start now, or should change wait for the stars to come into some special alignment? Healthcare is personal. Healthcare is local. And at the same time, healthcare is one of the greatest challenges faced by countries around the world. All major economies confront similar issues: “demand-side” growth in the care of aging populations in the face of “supply-side” resource constraints driven by ever-increasing costs of providing such care. While cultural, historical, and political differences among nations will yield different solutions, healthcare leaders across the globe must deal with ever-increasing uncertainty as to the scope and speed of their healthcare systems’ evolution. The magnitude of these challenges calls for fundamental change to address inherent problems in the healthcare system and ensure sustainable access to healthcare for generations to come. The problem is understanding where and how to change. Failures of strategy are often failures to anticipate a reality different than what organizations are prepared or willing to see. Both system-wide and organizational transformation means doing current activities more efficiently while layering on change. This book aims to provide leaders with the tools to help organizations and health care systems adapt and evolve to meet the new challenges of healthcare as it continues to evolve. Praise for Leading Strategic Change in an Era of Healthcare Transformation "The authors make the case for healthcare transformation, and more importantly outline the required steps from changing mindsets to opinions development...a useful guide for all future healthcare leaders."- John A. Quelch, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School "There are several lifetimes of knowledge in the book about leading strategic transformation in the healthcare sector... Strategic transformation requires 2 ingredients: expertise in the healthcare sector and knowledge about leading change. This volume accomplishes both."- Karen Hein, Former President of the William T. Grant Foundation, Adjunct Professor of Family & Community Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School and Visiting Fellow, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University "An essential guide for healthcare leaders seeking to transform their organization in these demanding times."- Dr. Mario Moussa, President, Moussa Consulting and co-author of The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas and Committed Teams: Three Steps to Inspiring Passion and Performance
