Biomedical subjects

D Vavala

Publications and source records attributed to D Vavala.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

The new academic health center hybrids: part business, part academic.

Academic health centers have flourished since the 1960s and even managed to survive the shift toward prospective payment. But in their current quest to expand the number of managed care patients and compete with the private sector, they often must price services below cost and reduce the number of faculty members and other personnel. Unless their prices are competitive, managed care companies will not do business with them. AHCs that cannot compete find they are overbedded, underused, and in turmoil. This article explores what successful AHCs are doing to stay healthy in the managed care era.

Academic Medical Centers↗

PubMed1995

Fighting fire with fire: physicians blazing new paths to autonomy.

Thousands of physicians around the country have stopped complaining about being burned by the system and have started reengineering their destinies. They're building super IPAs, forming and operating HMOs, and joining unions to represent their rights in a growing grassroots physician effort to regain control. These physicians have thumbed their noses at managed care companies they say have drastically cut reimbursements, arbitrarily dropped them from panels, dictated utilization, and cost them patients. They're tired of working harder and earning less and frustrated by sacrificing quality in the name of cost reduction. And they have learned that there are ways to prevail.

Health Maintenance Organizations↗

PubMed1995

Herding stats: the quality measurement dilemma.

All over the country, millions of research dollars are being spent to devise an effective way of measuring quality that could be standardized in health care, and hospitals and managed care companies are experimenting with a variety of quality tools, trying to document what they now can only perceive as improvement. Experts are divided on what works best, but all applaud and embrace the efforts. In this special report, several of them discuss their views on what works, and what doesn't work, in the exploding field of health care quality measurement.

Data Collection↗

PubMed1995

Lonely at the top and loving it: physicians as CEOs.

As little as five years ago, most hospital board members scoffed at the idea of hiring physicians as chief executive officers or chief operating officers. Physicians, they maintained, belonged at the bedside, not in the board room. For the most part, physicians didn't take issue with this thinking. Profit and loss statements, strategic planning, and other CEO duties were alien. Besides, being a "suit" was unconscionable, a total fall from the true grace of medicine: patient care. Dramatic changes in health care have wrought dramatic changes in the mindsets of both board members and physicians. Today, both sides have developed a new perspective on physicians in top hospital administrative positions. In this article, the author reports on the experiences of physician executives who have made the trip to the top.

Career Mobility↗

PubMed1995

In-house recruiters: on the inside looking out.

Few smaller hospitals or managed care companies have in-house physician recruiting departments. Their low hiring volume simply doesn't support such an operation. But most health systems and large managed care organizations say they literally couldn't afford to be without an internal system for the recruitment of physician executives and other health care professionals. They also claim they can find a better candidate faster than their counterparts on the outside. A number of them explain why.

Consultants↗

PubMed1994

Demand rising for medicine's rarest birds.

The prognosis from most quarters is that the U.S. health care delivery system is moving inexorably toward managed care. The final form that managed care takes under whatever health reform measure finally takes shape in Washington is still in doubt, but it is clear that care will be managed in the future. It also seems increasingly clear that the system evolving will require more primary care providers, and that they will occupy some very key decision-making roles in the clinical firmament. In this article, staff writer Donna Vavala brings together the thoughts and predictions of several health care leaders on this critical topic in medical management.

Forecasting↗

PubMed1994

Strategic alliances. Partnerships with a purpose.

During the past few years, health care providers, managed care companies, and insurers around the country have formed a variety of strategic alliances aimed at stemming runaway costs, broadening referral bases, and generally preparing for the formal arrival of health care reform and the mandates it may carry. The list of such ventures is long and creative, and it grows as major changes in the health care delivery and financing system become more imminent. In interviews with physician executives and others whose organizations have undertaken integration efforts, the author explores some of the arrangements that are already in place or under development.

Group Practice↗

PubMed1994

Physician executives: managers first, clinicians second.

The literature is replete, many would say depressingly so, with accounts of the changes that are rocking the health care delivery system. The demands on the system's leadership increases with every change. And the future holds even more changes, with a level of uncertainty that will makes today's demands seem childplay. Physicians, especially physician executives, will surely be key factors in helping the system maintain its fundamental charge of high-quality patient care provided at reasonable cost, but what exactly is expected of them? One point is clear: While their clinical backgrounds will continue to arm them well for reaching the executive suites of health care organizations, physicians who hope to fully succeed in management will have to acquire and master a widening range of management skills. An indication of just how demanding the health care management job will be is provided in this report, based on interviews with physician executives and the people who seek and sell their services.

Career Mobility↗

PubMed1994

A matter of degree: the trend toward physician executives' pursuing master's degrees.

As the health care delivery system continues to change, there is certain to be an increasing demand for the services of physician executives. For the moment, potential employers seem to be seeking managers with solid physician credentials and proven management experience. But will the criteria remain at this level, or will employers demand more formal management credentials? And if the latter is likely, what credentials will best serve the physician executive in the employment marketplace? Those and other questions are explored in the following article through interviews with physician executives and recruiters.

Education, Graduate↗

PubMed1994

Health reform bridging gaps between physician executives and CEOs.

Recently, Hospitals & Health Networks reported the results of a study it conducted, in conjunction with Premier Health Alliance, Inc., and among hospital CEOs and COOs to gauge their preparedness and level of concern about various health care reform issues. Because administrators and physician executives are not always in agreement, we wondered how physician executives would rate the same issues. To find out, the American College of Physician Executives polled some members and posed the original survey questions. The results and subsequent interviews revealed that health care reform appears to be a catalyst in bringing the two factions closer in their thinking.

American Hospital Association↗

PubMed1994

Capital views: highlights of perspectives in medical management 1994.

Washington, D.C., where health policy is currently being debated, served as an appropriate backdrop May 4-7 for the College's annual "Perspectives in Medical Management" conference. Some of its federal buildings served as classrooms for those interested in learning the legislative process through participation in the "Health Policy Institute," which was held simultaneously. Although it is impossible to report on all that transpired during the four-day conference, this article will briefly describe the comments of a few of the speakers.

Comprehensive Health Care↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Managing diversity in the workplace.

Recognizing and dealing with cultural diversity has become a critical issue in health care because of the growing numbers of women, minorities and foreign-born physicians and patients. To avoid a culture clash, physician executives have become more aware of the differences and are working to find ways to help the staff interact more effectively with each other and with patients.

Cultural Characteristics↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Medical practices: hot properties of the '90s.

The buying and selling of medical practices is big business around the country. Fueled by fears of where health reform is headed, frustrated by reduced reimbursements and mountainous paperwork, physicians are bailing out of solo practices, and small group practices are approaching large groups looking for safety in numbers. The large groups are aligning themselves with hospitals, and hospitals are luring large groups by offering to build them clinics. Clearly, this is a trend that will be heightened by anticipated structural reform of the health care system, but it is not without its dangers for all those who participate in the process.

Decision Making↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The continuing quest for excellence in health care delivery.

At the recent Perspectives in Medical Management conference in New Orleans, more than a dozen sessions focused on issues of medical quality management. Speakers discussed total quality management, explaining its features and how physician executives can implement strategies in their organizations. Others talked abut the benefits and applications of clinical benchmarking and clinical guidelines, while still others described how their organizations custom-tailored quality programs to meet their needs. Some of the highlights of the meeting are summarized on the following pages.

Delivery of Health Care↗