By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System this Winter
    November 15, 2022
    back pain issues
    Ways to Treat Constant Back Pain
    August 21, 2023
    Latest News
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    More On Wellness Programs To Improve Health and Reduce Costs
    January 25, 2012
    Privatizing Social Security and Medicare: Who Can Defuse Political Dynamite?
    June 12, 2011
    Study: Risk of Death in Elderly Patients with Dementia Doubled with Some Antipsychotic Medications
    February 26, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Collaborative News
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Collaborative News
BusinessFinance

Collaborative News

Ken Cohn
Ken Cohn
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

I entitled this post “Collaborative News” because of two articles that caught my attention.

Contents
Collaborative News: How Not to Cut Health Care CostsCollaborative News: How Not to Cut Health Care CostsCollaborative News: Strategies for Physician Engagement and Alignment

Collaborative News: How Not to Cut Health Care Costs

This article by Harvard Business School faculty Robert S. Kaplan and Derek A. Haas (Harvard Business Review November 2014, Reprint R1411G) draws attention to missteps that add to the cost of treatment:

I entitled this post “Collaborative News” because of two articles that caught my attention.

Collaborative News: How Not to Cut Health Care Costs

This article by Harvard Business School faculty Robert S. Kaplan and Derek A. Haas (Harvard Business Review November 2014, Reprint R1411G) draws attention to missteps that add to the cost of treatment:

More Read

Walter Reed Army Hospital To Close Its Doors
You’re Not Going to Believe This
Apple’s HealthKit vs. Google Fit [INFOGRAPHIC]
Medical Billing – Do Your Communications Encourage Payment?
Employer-Sponsored Comprehensive Primary Care
  • collaborative health newsCutting back on support staff: specialists’ time averages 10 times the cost of their assistants’ time; effectively integrating assistants into patients’ care frees up senior clinicians to work at the top of their license, leading to higher quality care at a lower cost per patient
  • Underinvesting in space and equipment: increased spending on relatively inexpensive equipment is paid for by the savings from reducing the idle time of more expensive staff members and improving responsiveness to patients’ conditions
  • Focusing narrowly on procurement prices:focusing narrowly on negotiating price causes organizations to lose sight of how individual clinicians consume supplies and miss opportunities to lower spending even further
  • Maximizing patient throughput: measuring physicians’ productivity by patients seen rather than quality delivered causes them to skimp on items like counseling and expectation-setting; organizations in the lowest quartile of costs spent more time educating patients and families about discharge planning than those in the highest quartile
  • Failing to benchmark and standardize: actively engaging clinicians in cost-management allows them to learn the drivers of the entire cycle of care from diagnosis through treatment and recovery; sharing data between administrators and clinicians fosters innovations that simultaneously cut cost and improve quality

Collaborative News: Strategies for Physician Engagement and Alignment

This 26-page HFMA Value Project Report contains member surveys and suggestions to optimize engagement and alignment, for example, regarding physician employment (p.6) :

  • Employment does not equal alignment. Physician employment is not a shortcut around the hard work and investments of time and resources required of both health systems and their physicians to align themselves around common organizational goals.
  • Clear and consistent communication on expectations is critical. “It is extremely important to set expectations from the beginning and then follow up on a regular basis,” according to one respondent.
  • Know your organization’s needs and have a strategy in place before you start. “It is far better to determine needs, identify positive attributes, and recruit physicians than to simply employ any physician who shows up at your door,” a respondent says.
  • Consider employment needs beyond physicians. If acquiring a practice, consider who beyond the physicians has been important to the practice’s success: “It is a good idea to evaluate the staff to determine who else should be included in the employment,” according to a survey respondent.

Another example (p. 13) regarding key considerations for physician compensation plans recommends to:

  • Create mechanisms to engage and encourage physician leadership
  • Incorporate quality metrics
  • Build flexibility to allow for gradual increases in the amount of compensation tied to quality
  • Refocus incentives to include team goals
  • Understand the legal parameters of structuring these plans

I recommend that you read this article in its entirety.

As always, I welcome your input to improve healthcare collaboration where you work.  Please send me your comments and suggestions for improvement.

collaborative health / shutterstock

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025
a woman giving a key
How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
Health
July 16, 2025
a woman with kinesio tapes on her back arm
How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

Business

Health Care Buzz Today

August 1, 2011
risk adverse
Business

7 Healthcare Marketing Stumbles and Blunders

September 26, 2014
medicare prevention and quality of care
Health ReformHospital AdministrationPolicy & LawPublic HealthWellness

Medicare Needs to Emphasize Prevention and Quality of Care

July 7, 2013
Value Based Purchasing
BusinessFinanceHospital Administration

Eeny Meeny Miney Money: Understanding Fee-for-Service Alternatives

November 5, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?