Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/772284
7 Publisher's Letter: 2017 Healthcare System Strategy – Welch's Law; The Reevaluation of the ACA and More It has been a fascinating year and we are looking forward to 2017. A few of the fascinating issues are as follows: 1. Welch's Law - Dominant or Market Essential, Lean or Special - Hospitals, Health Systems, Physician Practices and Surgery Centers. ere is a "law" that I will call "Welch's Law." Jack Welch famously said of GE — we need to be first or second in a market or not compete in that market. While this concept may have been waterdowned over the years, recognition of its importance seems to be making a dramatic comeback. In technology, in phone systems, in electronic retail and e-commerce, it has never been more true than today that being first or second gives you a dramatic advantage in profit- ability and revenues. In healthcare, this rings quite true. In my own view, you ultimately have three core choices to be successful in business, whether as a healthcare system, practice or surgery center. First, a system or practice or company should aim to be "dominant" and/or needed in your market. Anti-trust lawyers have moved this concept of "dominant" to the word choice "market essential." Whatever you want to call it, for offer- ing services to patients, payers or recruiting talent, it seems to pay to be dominant. roughout the country, we see scattered chains that don't do very well. In contrast, those same chains in markets where they are "market essential" earn disproportion- ate profits compared to their other markets. Second, you can be super lean. is has oen been the recipe for business in its later days where it is trying to reap cash or for a practice that is trying to hold on through retirement and so forth. It has also been a long term method of profitability for some practices, surgery centers and hospitals. At the same time, given the cost of operations today, it has become more difficult to be "so lean" that this itself can be a business strategy. Further, the market doesn't seem to pay you for being so lean. Lean is important. However, as an absolute core market strategy, we think it is secondary to being dominant or market essential. ird — and this is very difficult — a system, surgery center or practice can be so uniquely excellent in something that it has a special market position and can continue to make money off of that type of position. However, as information and best practices become shared so quickly, it is harder to have such a unique ad- vantage of being so great in something that there is no one else to visit for it. It also takes great resources and discipline to maintain and improve this position. us, you end up much more in a sit- uation where you aim to be dominant and rationally lean. Sell Your Surplus Surgical Inventory to eSutures.com Contact us today to get started! 888-416-2409 • bids@eSutures.com In only a few days, you can turn excess inven- tory into usable capital with our streamlined and simple process. For more information, or to begin the bid process, please call 888-416-2409 or email bids@eSutures.com. Don't let your extra product inventory go to waste! eSutures.com is interested in purchasing your in-date, short-dated and expired products in full selling units, open boxes and even individual, loose units. WE CAN PURCHASE: • Ethicon Suture • Ethicon Endosurgery • Covidien Suture • Covidien Endosurgery • Synthes • Arthrex • Bard • Gore • Masimo • Applied Medical and more!