Becker's Hospital Review

Sign up for the COMPLIMENTARY Becker's Hospital Review CEO Report & CFO Report E-Weeklies at www.BeckersHospitalReview.com or call (800) 417-2035 Notes project, which included 24 primary care physicians and 8,700 patients at Geisinger, along with additional patients and physicians from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The pilot found roughly 82 percent of patients opened at least one note in their EMR and felt more engaged when they did so. Furthermore, the project found patients enthusiastically supported seeing their medical notes, and no physicians said they wanted to opt out of the note-sharing routine by the end of the pilot. Other EMR platforms such as MyChart are revolutionizing data-sharing between physicians and patients. In June, Cleveland Clinic adopted a new version of MyChart to give patients "nearly complete" access to pathology records, X-rays, physician notes and a listing of their current health issues. This will take effect by next year. Currently, any Cleveland Clinic patient can access hard copies of their complete medical record, as well as reports associated with medical images including MRI, CT, ultrasounds and mammograms. 10. They launch residency programs. The shortage of physicians in the U.S. is only expected to worsen, due to aging baby boomers and millions of newly insured Americans under the PPACA. The shortage lies not in how many men and women are pursuing medical degrees — enrollment at medical schools has actually increased. Rather, a large part of the problem is the shortage of medical residencies at hospitals. The number of residency positions has not responded to medical schools' increased enrollments, leaving newly minted physicians no place to train. The majority of medical residencies are funded by Medicare's graduate 11 medical education payments, and Medicare-funded residency positions have been frozen since 1997. States like Florida and Texas are especially hard-pressed for residencies. Those states have developed four new medical schools combined in the past 10 years but have added few residencies for those physicians-in-training. Some hospitals are launching residency programs to help reverse this phenomenon. These developments are an indication of hospitals' commitment to medical education and access to care. Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Memorial Health System will launch a residency program with the Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, Fla., effective 2014. Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando also announced plans to launch and receive accreditation for a pediatric residency program, which will accept its first class of residents in 2014. Conclusion Hospitals can adopt untapped strategies to either to address challenges or proactively reinforce their values, and those organizations will make waves in healthcare. Declining reimbursement, a transition from the traditional fee-for-service and inpatient model, a physician shortage, a wave of newly insured patients under the PPACA — these are just a few of the pressures hospitals face today. The circumstances are great enough to demand new schools of thought and untapped strategies. Of the three types of organizations — the retrograde, the stationary and the progressive — the healthcare industry will be well-served if it keeps a close eye on the last grouping, the movers and shakers that buck the status quo. n Principle Becker Ad 7x5 April Final_Layout 1 3/8/13 8:20 AM Page 1 It is a matter for Principle. Healthcare and Seniors Housing Valuations Real Estate Owners and lenders across the country confidently trust Principle Valuation for valuation and advisory services. Our experienced Equipment professionals provide services for all healthcare entities, from valuations of physician practices to allocation of purchase price rise for hospital systems. We invite you to contact us, and to Enterp Business learn why your valuation and advisory needs are truly a matter for Principle. 230 West Monroe • Suite 2540 • Chicago, IL 60606 312.422.1010 • info@principlevaluation.com www.principlevaluation.com

• Cover