From a story on Reuters, 19 Aug 2009:
Thomson Reuters Study Finds Impact of Recession Easing on U.S. Hospitals
Total Margins, Liquidity Increase Significantly From Third Quarter of 2008; 30 Percent of Hospitals Remain Unprofitable
Ann Arbor, MI - August 19, 2009 - The median profit margin of U.S. hospitals increased from 0.17 percent in the third quarter of 2008 to 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, according to an analysis of hospital finances published today by Thomson Reuters.
The recovery has been broad-based, with all classes of hospitals - small, medium and large community hospitals, teaching hospitals and major teaching hospitals - showing positive median margins.
The study tracks two dozen key financial indicators, using proprietary and public data to dissect the balance sheets of more than 400 hospitals nationwide. It evaluates trends in revenue and profit, employment levels, closures, inpatient volume, days cash on hand, and charity expenses to gauge the fiscal health of the nation's hospitals.
Following are the key findings of the analysis:
Total Margins Increase: Hospitals' median total margins were near zero the last time this analysis was conducted, which captured data through Q3 2008. In Q1 2009, all classes of hospitals had positive operating margins, reaching an average of 3.1 percent.
30 Percent of Hospitals Still in the Red: In Q1 2009, 30 percent of hospitals had negative profit margins. This is an improvement from Q3 2008, when 50 percent of hospitals were operating in the red.
Liquidity Holding Steady: Amidst fears of a hospital credit crunch, it appears that hospitals' "median days cash on hand" is holding steady. On average, hospitals had 90 days cash on hand in Q1 2009, a decline from the highs seen in early 2007, but an increase from Q3 2008.
Running at 90 Percent Capacity: In Q1 2009, more than 90 percent of licensed beds were in operation in a typical hospital. This number has held relatively steady since 2005.
Labor Costs Down: Hospitals have cut labor costs by approximately 3 percent year-over-year through Q1 2009, while non-labor-related expenses have decreased by approximately 2 percent year-over-year.
"The financial situation has improved dramatically for U.S. hospitals," said Gary Pickens, chief research officer for the Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters and lead author of the study. "When we published our first analysis of hospital economic health in the fall of 2008, hospitals were facing unprecedented economic stress and staring down a real crisis. Through a combination of aggressive cost controls and overall improvement in the economy, we're beginning to see a recovery, but it will be critical to watch these metrics to make sure that recovery is sustainable.
For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com
For Hospital Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-hospitals/
Showing posts with label Industry News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Industry News. Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
New Cardiology Business Website Features Equipment, Products & Services
Cardiology Business (http://www.cardiologybusiness.com/) is a new website that has been developed to assist cardiology administrators and cardiologists in creating state-of-the-art facilities for their cardiology department, cardiology clinic and/or cardiology office.
The site features extensive resources for cardiology equipment, cardiology software, cardiology products and cardiology services.
This cardiology website also features articles by cardiology consultants, such as well-known cardiology architect, William N. Bernstein, AIA, principal of the healthcare architecture firm of Bernstein and Associates, Architects.
For Cardiology Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-cardiology/
Additional topics on Cardiology Business include: Cardiology Planning and Facility Design Services, Facility Construction Services, Cardiology Project Management Services, Cardiology Products, Cardiology Equipment, Cardiology Suite Furniture, and Cardiology Software.
The site features extensive resources for cardiology equipment, cardiology software, cardiology products and cardiology services.
This cardiology website also features articles by cardiology consultants, such as well-known cardiology architect, William N. Bernstein, AIA, principal of the healthcare architecture firm of Bernstein and Associates, Architects.
For Cardiology Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-cardiology/
Cardiology Business
CardiologyBusiness.com
59 W 19, NY, NY 10011
P: 212.463.0800
F: 212.463.9898
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Pharmacy Design Website Established
For Immediate Release (08/01/09)
Pharmacy Design Website Features Latest Information for the Hospital Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy.
Looking to design a pharmacy, purchase pharmacy equipment, or hire a pharmacy architect? Then you may be interested in a new pharmacy website which focuses on the all of the components that go into designing, building and maintaining a state-of-the-art pharmacy.
An important component of today’s pharmacy is pharmacy automation. This is one area that Pharmacy Design (www.pharmacydesign.org) features, including the latest pharmacy equipment and pharmacy machines.
Another area of focus is trends in pharmacy architecture, pharmacy layout design, and pharmacy interior design. As an example, a recent article published on the site, written by well-known pharmacy designer William N. Bernstein, AIA --- of the prominent pharmacy design group Bernstein & Associates, Architects --- explores how design for pharmacy can contribute to the efficiency and success of the pharmacy operation.
An additional area of focus is USP 797 design.
For Pharmacy Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-pharmacy/
For further information about pharmacies design, visit the pharmacy design website:
Pharmacy Design at www.pharmacydesign.org.
Pharmacy Design Website Features Latest Information for the Hospital Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy.
Looking to design a pharmacy, purchase pharmacy equipment, or hire a pharmacy architect? Then you may be interested in a new pharmacy website which focuses on the all of the components that go into designing, building and maintaining a state-of-the-art pharmacy.
An important component of today’s pharmacy is pharmacy automation. This is one area that Pharmacy Design (www.pharmacydesign.org) features, including the latest pharmacy equipment and pharmacy machines.
Another area of focus is trends in pharmacy architecture, pharmacy layout design, and pharmacy interior design. As an example, a recent article published on the site, written by well-known pharmacy designer William N. Bernstein, AIA --- of the prominent pharmacy design group Bernstein & Associates, Architects --- explores how design for pharmacy can contribute to the efficiency and success of the pharmacy operation.
An additional area of focus is USP 797 design.
For Pharmacy Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-pharmacy/
For further information about pharmacies design, visit the pharmacy design website:
Pharmacy Design at www.pharmacydesign.org.
Monday, June 29, 2009
What to Do Today to Maximize Your ARRA Funding
What to Do Today to Maximize Your ARRA Funding
Ian Janer and William N. Bernstein, LEED®AP, AIA
June 25th, 2009
Overview of ARRA: Opportunities and Challenges
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has been instituted under President Obama to encourage economic stimulus. For healthcare providers, the bill seeks to encourage advancement and development by providing incentives for converting from paper records to EMRs (electronic medical records) and for better patient care through improvements in data infrastructure. In order for hospitals and other healthcare providers to maximize their ARRA funding and ultimately cut costs, it is essential that they begin the process of upgrading their systems now to reach the first deadline at the end of 2010.
Another important motivator in adapting these technologies is the nature of the diminishing incentive rates. Every year the incentives will decrease for those facilities still attempting to get up to par with their peers, and any facility that has not adapted EMR by 2015 will begin to see penalties taken out of their Medicare refunds. With the deadline approaching so soon, healthcare providers that haven’t already adopted EMR must act now to see the necessary improvements.
The Realities of Meaningful Use
The government has allotted $77B dollars for medical incentives, and the largest payments will be made to hospitals and practices that are up to the standards of “meaningful use” by the end of 2010. While the term “meaningful use” generally means clear improvements in workflow and patient care thanks to the adoption of EMR, the official definition is still being determined by the CCHIT (Certification Commission for HIT). However, there are a few digital technologies that are expected to be necessary to prove “meaningful use.” Among other systems, hospitals should have PACS (picture archiving and communication systems), CDSS (clinical decision support systems), and, most importantly, CPOE (computerized physician order entry) systems installed throughout their facilities. These electronic methods are essential to the type of patient care improvements that are expected to come out of the ARRA.
Gap Assessment
To be able to make the switch over to digital, medical professionals should go through their workflow and search for gaps: do nurses have to go back and forth between the patients’ rooms and nurses’ stations to enter data? One of the purposes of EMR is to minimize physical workflow constraints, so this would be one area to improve. Another area to investigate is whether the information technologies are available throughout the facility or just in one department: it’s essential that the entire facility be up to standards to receive ARRA funding. What if the IT system goes down? All healthcare providers should have system redundancies (backup computers, servers, workstations, etc.) in case something happens to part of the system – a hospital should never be in a situation where all of radiology is on a single server that could crash without having a backup. The last area to investigate before preparing for the transition is staff readiness: it is important that the doctors, nurses, administrators, and other staff members are behind the transition and prepared to proceed smoothly. The best way to ensure this is through offering monetary incentives and paid training.
Qualified EMR Systems
In order to reach the standards set by CCHIT, which will be announced in about 6 months, facilities should try to start work now, even before the final requirements have been laid out. The main goal should be to reach what is considered by Dr. Richard Howe, vice president of Healthcare Informatics Associates, to be the minimum required to see a large difference in patient care: fully-operational CPOE. Because this is what enables doctors to interact with patients’ files and records digitally, this is one of the most important aspects of a good EMR system. Without CPOE, it’s impossible for any hospital to advance to full digitization and difficult for any hospital to see any significant improvements in patient care.
Evaluating the IT Infrastructure
It’s important that hospitals looking to update to enable CPOE first evaluate their current systems to see if they will be able to support CPOE and other basic digital technologies. In some cases, facilities may need to go through the expensive, time-consuming, but ultimately rewarding process of replacing their old computer systems with modernized ones and starting from scratch. Another option, for hospitals that have EMR systems that are relatively up-to-date but not quite up to par, is to simply refurbish what they already have. This may not be possible or even preferable in many cases, however, because new technologies can mean large changes in workflow and user-interface that could be more easily negotiated with an entirely modern system.
Measuring the Investment
Healthcare providers should make sure not to see this transition as an obligatory inconvenience, but as a way to both improve patient care and cut costs. EMR significantly increases accountability and reduces error, which can save lives and eliminate mistakes that cost money. The investment in a good EMR network is well worth it. To put together a more specific cost-benefit analysis, there are calculators online that hospitals and practices can use to approximate their ARRA stimulus packages, which can be found at the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) or HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) websites. Healthcare providers must then estimate how far they are from their goal and how large the investment to reach that goal will be, and they must not forget to include the significant operational cost of training in that estimate.
Action Steps to Take Today
Although the task of switching to digital records may be daunting, there is no time like the present to get started. The first thing that providers seeking to get ARRA checks by the end of 2010 should do is set their “meaningful use” goals: see what systems (PACS, CPOE, CDSS, etc.) can be installed now, and what can follow immediately after. Next, facilities should check on their existing IT infrastructures to see if they can carry the transition and whether they have redundancies or, on the negative side, disparate systems/networks. Hospitals and practices should also immediately eliminate any non-standard procedures, including shortcuts taken by staff to save time. Any procedures that aren’t industry best practices can lead to inconsistencies, which will interfere with the switch to digital. Basically, facilities should be filling in the gaps now to prepare for the transition.
For Healthcare Design News see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-news/
For further information on ARRA, contact healthcare and hospital architecture firm:
William N. Bernstein, LEED®AP, AIA
Principal
Bernstein & Assoc. Architects - PLLC
59 West 19th Street - 6A, New York, NY 10011
T: 212.463.8200
C: 917.747.2924
F: 212.463.9898
E: wb@bernarch.com
W: www.bernarch.com
NEW YORK - HARTFORD - PRINCETON
Ian Janer and William N. Bernstein, LEED®AP, AIA
June 25th, 2009
Overview of ARRA: Opportunities and Challenges
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has been instituted under President Obama to encourage economic stimulus. For healthcare providers, the bill seeks to encourage advancement and development by providing incentives for converting from paper records to EMRs (electronic medical records) and for better patient care through improvements in data infrastructure. In order for hospitals and other healthcare providers to maximize their ARRA funding and ultimately cut costs, it is essential that they begin the process of upgrading their systems now to reach the first deadline at the end of 2010.
Another important motivator in adapting these technologies is the nature of the diminishing incentive rates. Every year the incentives will decrease for those facilities still attempting to get up to par with their peers, and any facility that has not adapted EMR by 2015 will begin to see penalties taken out of their Medicare refunds. With the deadline approaching so soon, healthcare providers that haven’t already adopted EMR must act now to see the necessary improvements.
The Realities of Meaningful Use
The government has allotted $77B dollars for medical incentives, and the largest payments will be made to hospitals and practices that are up to the standards of “meaningful use” by the end of 2010. While the term “meaningful use” generally means clear improvements in workflow and patient care thanks to the adoption of EMR, the official definition is still being determined by the CCHIT (Certification Commission for HIT). However, there are a few digital technologies that are expected to be necessary to prove “meaningful use.” Among other systems, hospitals should have PACS (picture archiving and communication systems), CDSS (clinical decision support systems), and, most importantly, CPOE (computerized physician order entry) systems installed throughout their facilities. These electronic methods are essential to the type of patient care improvements that are expected to come out of the ARRA.
Gap Assessment
To be able to make the switch over to digital, medical professionals should go through their workflow and search for gaps: do nurses have to go back and forth between the patients’ rooms and nurses’ stations to enter data? One of the purposes of EMR is to minimize physical workflow constraints, so this would be one area to improve. Another area to investigate is whether the information technologies are available throughout the facility or just in one department: it’s essential that the entire facility be up to standards to receive ARRA funding. What if the IT system goes down? All healthcare providers should have system redundancies (backup computers, servers, workstations, etc.) in case something happens to part of the system – a hospital should never be in a situation where all of radiology is on a single server that could crash without having a backup. The last area to investigate before preparing for the transition is staff readiness: it is important that the doctors, nurses, administrators, and other staff members are behind the transition and prepared to proceed smoothly. The best way to ensure this is through offering monetary incentives and paid training.
Qualified EMR Systems
In order to reach the standards set by CCHIT, which will be announced in about 6 months, facilities should try to start work now, even before the final requirements have been laid out. The main goal should be to reach what is considered by Dr. Richard Howe, vice president of Healthcare Informatics Associates, to be the minimum required to see a large difference in patient care: fully-operational CPOE. Because this is what enables doctors to interact with patients’ files and records digitally, this is one of the most important aspects of a good EMR system. Without CPOE, it’s impossible for any hospital to advance to full digitization and difficult for any hospital to see any significant improvements in patient care.
Evaluating the IT Infrastructure
It’s important that hospitals looking to update to enable CPOE first evaluate their current systems to see if they will be able to support CPOE and other basic digital technologies. In some cases, facilities may need to go through the expensive, time-consuming, but ultimately rewarding process of replacing their old computer systems with modernized ones and starting from scratch. Another option, for hospitals that have EMR systems that are relatively up-to-date but not quite up to par, is to simply refurbish what they already have. This may not be possible or even preferable in many cases, however, because new technologies can mean large changes in workflow and user-interface that could be more easily negotiated with an entirely modern system.
Measuring the Investment
Healthcare providers should make sure not to see this transition as an obligatory inconvenience, but as a way to both improve patient care and cut costs. EMR significantly increases accountability and reduces error, which can save lives and eliminate mistakes that cost money. The investment in a good EMR network is well worth it. To put together a more specific cost-benefit analysis, there are calculators online that hospitals and practices can use to approximate their ARRA stimulus packages, which can be found at the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) or HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) websites. Healthcare providers must then estimate how far they are from their goal and how large the investment to reach that goal will be, and they must not forget to include the significant operational cost of training in that estimate.
Action Steps to Take Today
Although the task of switching to digital records may be daunting, there is no time like the present to get started. The first thing that providers seeking to get ARRA checks by the end of 2010 should do is set their “meaningful use” goals: see what systems (PACS, CPOE, CDSS, etc.) can be installed now, and what can follow immediately after. Next, facilities should check on their existing IT infrastructures to see if they can carry the transition and whether they have redundancies or, on the negative side, disparate systems/networks. Hospitals and practices should also immediately eliminate any non-standard procedures, including shortcuts taken by staff to save time. Any procedures that aren’t industry best practices can lead to inconsistencies, which will interfere with the switch to digital. Basically, facilities should be filling in the gaps now to prepare for the transition.
For Healthcare Design News see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-news/
For further information on ARRA, contact healthcare and hospital architecture firm:
William N. Bernstein, LEED®AP, AIA
Principal
Bernstein & Assoc. Architects - PLLC
59 West 19th Street - 6A, New York, NY 10011
T: 212.463.8200
C: 917.747.2924
F: 212.463.9898
E: wb@bernarch.com
W: www.bernarch.com
NEW YORK - HARTFORD - PRINCETON
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Cardiac Hypothermia Requirement Impacts NYC ER's
According to a story in the New York Times, dated 12/04/08, starting on Jan. 1, New York City ambulances will take many cardiac arrest patients only to hospitals that use a delicate cooling therapy believed to reduce the chances of brain damage and increase the chances of survival, even if it means bypassing closer emergency rooms.
The move was made by the city’s Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service.
The move reflects an emerging view within that agency that the the type of treatment that cardiac arrest patients receive may be more important than how quickly they arrive and are treated at the ER.
According to the Times, since the Fire Department sent letters to hospital chief executives this week informing them of the impending change, about 20 of the 59 hospitals with emergency rooms have said they will have cooling operations ready by the Jan. 1 deadline.
Other cities with similiar policies to New York include: Seattle, Boston, Miami, Vienna and London.
According to the Times article, "the city has set no requirements for the kind of cooling techniques hospitals must use — some may start with inexpensive saline solutions and plastic bags filled with ice, while others employ sophisticated equipment manufactured and aggressively promoted by companies like Alsius, Innercool Therapies and Medivance."
Hospitals cited in the Times article that are currently practice therapeutic hypothermia include: NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, Bellevue Hospital Center and St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn and Staten Island University Hospital.
For Cardiology Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-cardiology/
For more information, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/nyregion/04cool.html?_r=1&hp
The move was made by the city’s Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service.
The move reflects an emerging view within that agency that the the type of treatment that cardiac arrest patients receive may be more important than how quickly they arrive and are treated at the ER.
According to the Times, since the Fire Department sent letters to hospital chief executives this week informing them of the impending change, about 20 of the 59 hospitals with emergency rooms have said they will have cooling operations ready by the Jan. 1 deadline.
Other cities with similiar policies to New York include: Seattle, Boston, Miami, Vienna and London.
According to the Times article, "the city has set no requirements for the kind of cooling techniques hospitals must use — some may start with inexpensive saline solutions and plastic bags filled with ice, while others employ sophisticated equipment manufactured and aggressively promoted by companies like Alsius, Innercool Therapies and Medivance."
Hospitals cited in the Times article that are currently practice therapeutic hypothermia include: NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, Bellevue Hospital Center and St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn and Staten Island University Hospital.
For Cardiology Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-cardiology/
For more information, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/nyregion/04cool.html?_r=1&hp
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