Opportunities and Threats Emerging From Heathcare Reform
November 20, 2009
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Healthcare Reform
Toomas H. Truumees
Over the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to discuss health care reform with a number of hospital executives. Change of this magnitude is always unsettling but these conversations revealed opportunities as well as challenges. Opportunities include those centered on managing populations, improving Medicaid payments to doctors, leveling the playing field for resources, and redesigning the care delivery model to focus on disease management. Conversely, a number of challenges were highlighted repeatedly, including the potential for reduced levels of funding for Medicaid and for medical schools, and a single-payer system that fails to recognize the uniqueness of children’s hospitals, to just name a few.
To sustain their ability to provide world-class care in such a rapidly changing and potentially unsettling environment, children’s hospitals will need to find innovative ways to benefit from the change and uncertainty healthcare reform might bring. As an indispensable tool in the strategy process, scenario planning can help by challenging CHCA executives to think beyond their immediate horizons to test long-held industry assumptions.
In upcoming posts, I shall share some of the key leading indicators and signposts for environmental change, no regret moves, fragile options to consider, and the big bets that may need to be made for continued success.
add a commentHow Do You Engage Younger Directors in Good Governance?
November 20, 2009
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Boards
What’s the youngest member of your hospital board? 25? 30? 35? After listening to your comments during the roundtables, I have to wonder how many of our Boards would really engage – culturally and intellectually – a Gen X (born 1965-1979) and Y (born 1980-2000) in good governance. It’s hard enough to manage your current group of board members, let alone put the extra time and muscle to moving younger members into active Governance. So what are your boards really doing about this goal of bringing the younger generation onto your boards? Are they giving it lip service or truly embracing it?
1 comment so far | add a commentPhilanthropy in a Flat World
November 20, 2009
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Philanthropy
You had to love Jon Duschinsky’s next generation thinking about philanthropy in a flat world. Even though we didn’t solve the world’s health problems, our small group was on to something when the session closed.
Let’s get together some of our best children’s hospital thinkers with Margaret McKenna’s team and Wal-Mart’s leading providers of toothpaste, floss, mouthwash and other dental products. Imagine how much closer we would be to solving the problem of proper dental care in under-served areas of our country by bringing these folks together. How far out of the box do we need to get to tackle the big changes coming our way? Post a comment about one thing you took home from Jon’s session that will make a difference in your children’s hospital. Better yet, in our flat world.
If you missed Jon’s presentation, listen to some highlights and be sure to see your Executive Dialogue email for more podcasts!
add a commentShould We Pay Some or All of Our Board Members?
November 20, 2009
Posted by chcablogadmin in : Boards
A couple of months ago I had a discussion with one of the leading strategy consultants who is a paid Board member at one of the major health systems. He doesn’t view serving on the Board as part of his community responsibility but believes the system gets huge value from his national exposure, and vice-versa. It brings into question whether Boards need to buy certain national figures or higher levels of expertise. It”s a debate we’ve had from time to time, but we can’t think of a single children’s hospital board with a paid board policy. What are your current thoughts, particularly after last week’s governance discussions?
1 comment so far | add a comment
