Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1499620
21 21 HEALTHCARE NEWS Penn Medicine eliminates administrative jobs in cost-cutting move By Kelly Gooch P hiladelphia-based Penn Medicine is eliminating administrative positions as part of a reorganization plan to save the health system $40 million annually, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported March 13. Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, told Penn Medicine's 49,000 employees in early March that changes include the elimination of a "small number of administrative positions which no longer align with our key objectives," according to the publication. e memo did not indicate the exact number of positions that were eliminated. Mr. Mahoney did note, though, that "many" affected workers will move into other roles within Penn Medicine, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. He said others will be offered coaching and support to help them find jobs outside of the health system. Amid today's financial challenges, Penn Medicine is also taking steps to boost revenue, such as renegotiating vendor contracts, standardizing technologies, consolidating enterprisewide corporate services and eliminating duplicative administrative systems, Mr. Mahoney said, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. According to the publication, he wrote in his memo: "e nation's healthcare economy has been completely reshaped by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing monumental changes unlike anything we've seen in our lifetime. We have planned carefully to ensure that our organization can withstand these turbulent market forces, but we are not immune to their impact. "As a result of your continued dedication to our mission, we remain one of the few health systems in the region that continues to have a positive operating margin. We continue to reinvest that margin in our workforce, including a planned pay raise for UPHS employees later this spring. However, like health systems across the nation, inflation-related costs have contributed to expenses that outpace our earnings. Our leadership teams at both the system and entity level are working together, leveraging 'One Penn Medicine,' to ensure the stability of our organization to deliver world-class care far into the future." e changes come as Penn Medicine reported $118 million in net income for the six months ending Dec. 31 as revenues increased to almost $5 billion. Operating income for the 2022 period totaled $103.6 million compared to $152.5 million in the same period in 2021. Mr. Mahoney also recently said that the health system's expansion has been hampered by "huge macro headwinds." Penn Medicine's planned construction projects include a women's health pavilion, an ambulatory care center, a cancer center and more outpatient care centers. n 29 physician specialties ranked by happiness By Mackenzie Bean P hysicians' happiness varies greatly by specialty, with plastic surgeons reporting the most contentment outside of work, a Feb. 24 Medscape report found. The report is based on survey responses from 9,175 U.S. physicians polled between June 28 and Oct. 3, 2022. Here's how the specialties rank on happiness outside of work, according to Medscape: Plastic Surgery — 71 percent reported feeling happy or very happy outside of work Public health and preventive medicine — 69 percent Orthopedics — 65 percent Otolaryngology — 65 percent Urology — 63 percent Physical medicine and rehabilitation — 63 percent Ophthalmology — 62 percent Dermatology — 62 percent Pathology — 62 percent Gastroenterology — 62 percent Radiology — 61 percent Pediatrics — 60 percent General surgery — 59 percent Pulmonary medicine — 59 percent Nephrology — 58 percent Diabetes and endocrinology — 58 percent Psychiatry — 58 percent Anesthesiology — 58 percent Obstetrics/gynecology — 57 percent Internal medicine —57 percent Family medicine — 56 percent Cardiology — 56 percent Emergency medicine — 55 percent Critical care — 55 percent Allergy and immunology — 55 percent Neurology — 54 percent Oncology — 51 percent Rheumatology — 51 percent Infectious Disease — 47 percent n