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The Jackson & Coker Industry Report is a compendium of healthcare news,
commentary, and other important information for busy physicians and hospital /
practice administrators. The monthly newsletter incorporates original research
and studies supplied to Jackson & Coker by a nationally recognized research
firm.
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As physician residents anticipate launching their careers, what expectations do
they have concerning practice options, starting compensation and length of time
associated with their first place of employment? Jackson & Coker commissioned a
survey to determine answers to these, and other, critical questions related to
residents’ career plans.
Current residents can compare their employment
expectations and job-search parameters with those of their peers. Residency
program directors can incorporate the survey into their educational programs
focused on career planning. Hospital administrators can utilize the survey to
gauge interest and expectations of 2008-and-beyond residents when designing
appropriate recruitment strategies to attract the best candidates for permanent
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Gauging Readers’ Responses
In launching our first edition of the Jackson & Coker Industry Report, we were
anxious to receive reader feedback from providers as well as healthcare
administrators. By and large, the many e-mails and phone calls we received
applauded our efforts to offer something different and helpful from a physician
staffing firm. Generally speaking, positive reader feedback concerning the
newsletter centered on the following features and benefits:
• Variety of news content
• Completeness of the article summaries
• Graphic appeal and attractiveness of the publication
• Helpfulness of the industry survey for hospital recruiters.
We invited readers to select their favorite article categories. The top choice
was Staffing & Recruitment (44%), followed by Industry News (31%). Three
categories tied for third place (25%): Medical – Legal Matters, Payer &
Reimbursement Issues and “Other” specified topics. In future editions of the
Jackson & Coker Industry Report, we will gauge our article selections to
cumulative reader responses. Presenting the most informative and beneficial
content to our valued readers is our prime concern.
Cordially,
Calvin Bruce
Managing Editor
Prices Spike in 2007
Source: Modern Healthcare
Date: 01/21/2008
Looking back from the new year, many analysts are now confirming that 2007 was in fact a year characterized by above-average prices for a wide variety of healthcare services. When compared with economic indicators for non healthcare-related goods, in particular, it appears that consumers paid substantially more for medical care.
In relation to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), hospital prices increased by 8.3 percent from January to December 2007, compared with a CPI increase of 4.1 percent for non healthcare-related goods and services. Using the Producer Price Index (PPI) as an indicator, hospital prices rose 3.1 percent in the same time period.
For individual physicians’ offices, prices rose 4.2 percent using the PPI, up from a 1.1 percent increase in 2006. Using the CPI, prices rose 4.1 percent, over twice as high as the 2006 CPI increase of 1.7 percent. According to Joseph Kowal, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices were “high no matter how you look at it for physicians.” Over the past calendar year, internal medicine prices rose by 11.1 percent, general family practices prices rose by 6.4 percent, and multispecialty practice offices increased by 7.4 percent. Unaffected by price spikes were obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, and general surgery.
Given worries of an oncoming recession, analysts insist there is “no immediate cause for alarm,” as healthcare costs should stabilize over the next few years.
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The Profit Potential of Hospital Labs
Source: Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine
Date: 01/01/2008
Are hospital laboratories a “necessary evil” cost center for organizations, or do they hold the potential to actually increase hospital revenues and contribute greatly to the bottom line? An article in the January issue of HHN Magazine contends that the latter option is not only a possibility, but an easily attainable outcome.
The article proposes that—since a hospital lab structure is typically 50% fixed-cost and 50% variable cost—a doubling of the amount of tests run in a lab can result in a cost reduction of 25% on all tests run. This increased workload results in increased revenues for the hospital, a greater utilization of already purchased facilities and equipment, and an overall increase in capital. The authors put forth the main criteria necessary to turn hospital labs into revenue generators:
Control billing: Making sure the billing functions of the lab are up to date, efficient, and sufficiently supplied with capital to allow growth will ensure that the billing services department is fully capable of collecting fees from participating physicians as needed. Since the lab will be operating at a greater volume, leaving the increased billing needs up to the regular hospital billing department could introduce unneeded inefficiencies.
Maximize advantages: Laboratory outreach on the part of a hospital puts it in direct competition with commercial labs. Hospitals must maximize their organizational advantages—staff doctors, community standing, quicker response times—to ensure competitiveness.
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Medical Tourism Taking Flight?
Source: Human Resource Executive Online
Date: 01/24/2008
Despite the potential appeal of receiving medical care at significantly discounted rates, a recent study titled “Health Care Benefits: Eligibility, Coverage and Exclusions,” found that only 11 percent of organizations surveyed include medical tourism as a benefit. The study, conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, examined the benefits policies of a variety of US companies, industries, and regions.
According to one observer, the difference in prices for procedures in the United States versus offshore facilities with strong healthcare credentials can be more than 50 percent. However, a number of obstacles stand in the way of medical tourism’s widespread adoption, primarily including the unwillingness of patients to leave the comfort of friends and relatives to undergo major medical procedures.
Another potentially significant obstacle concerns insurance carriers. Current healthcare networks are unlikely ready to accommodate offshore medical care, and insurers are reluctant to be the first to move forward on this issue. Nevertheless, the study concludes that medical tourism as a healthcare benefit has strong potential in promoting the highest quality care at the best price, once “real and psychological” hurdles are cleared.
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HHS’ New Year’s Resolutions
Source: Modern Healthcare
Date: 01/21/2008
Coming into the final year of the Bush Presidency, there are many issues of concern to healthcare professionals in the following months. Topping the list of concerns is a comment by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt that suggests the Medicare Advantage program, a proposal to increase Medicare payments to physicians, will most likely not come to fruition.
President Bush promised that he would not levy a tobacco tax to pay for the Medicare Advantage program, and many are left wondering how Medicare physicians will be paid. “It’s really unlikely the Hill is going to accept the president’s budget if there’s deep cuts to hospitals,” argues Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, but economic indicators suggest that there could be a growing gap for hospital funding in the near future.
Should HHS not find a suitable arrangement in the next few months, Medicare physicians could feel the full brunt of a 10 percent reduction in physician funding that is scheduled for July 1 of this year, with the additional 5 percent cut taking place on January 1, 2009.
The physician funding problem will not be easily fixed, and the Congressional Budget Office argues that a full overhaul of the existing scheme will cost the federal government upwards of $262 billion over the next 10 years, in addition to the $70 billion in higher costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
All eyes are fixed on Congress’ actions over the next year, and healthcare professionals are awaiting the release of President Bush’s fiscal 2009 budget request for HHS, expected to come in early February.
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Med Schools Adjusting to Millennial Students
Source: American Medical News
Date: 01/01/2008
A new generation of medical students is making its way into American medical schools and changing the status quo as they come. A recent article on the American Medical Association’s news page, amednews.com, explores the impact of the so-called “millennial generation”—young Americans born between the early 80s and the early 2000s—on medical education in this country.
The primary effect of the Millennials has been a shift toward collaborative learning in medical education. Millennials are a tech-savvy and group-oriented generation and are more likely to embrace team-based learning. Consequently, schools are developing more collaboration-intensive structures for instruction. Students now frequently collaborate with older students and students from nursing and physical therapy fields. The result is a more interconnected generation of future doctors who are almost certain to have a transformative effect on American medicine in the years to come.
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Quick Clinics and Health Kiosks Are Taking Off at Airports
Source: American Medical News
Date: 02/11/2008
Onsite medical clinics have recently been appearing in airports across the country in hopes of drawing travelers to receive small-scale medical care while waiting for their flights. Originally initiated to address medical issues of airport and airline employees, clinics and medical kiosks have recently been drawing in broader crowds of passengers and are providing them with flu shots, diagnostic testing, and medical identification.
The University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center has been conducting clinics at O’Hare International Airport since 1995. The clinics began issuing flu shots at a single kiosk and provided the majority of their services to busy airport and airline personnel. Recently, the medical kiosks have been utilized more readily by traveling passengers and have been placed throughout four terminals in the airport; the kiosks are now in the process of expanding their services year-round.
Future airport clinics are set to include diagnostic blood testing services where patients can receive their test results once arriving at their destination via a secure website. The clinics are also aiming to provide patients with a health identification card listing the important details of their medical history.
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Are You Recruiting a Disruptive Doc?
Source: The Journal of the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters
Date: 10/01/2007
Over the past few years, statistics have shown a stark increase in diagnoses of mental health problems among physicians, including psychopathology, personality disorders, and behavioral abnormalities. Since medical recruitment potentially samples a number of physicians suffering from mental illness, it is important to be able to distinguish traits in a physician’s behavior as potential disruptions to medical practice. In order to aid in trait identification, one psychologist who specializes in organizational behavior and healthcare consultation offers recruiters some warning signs to watch for when screening potential candidates for medical positions:
Inappropriate Anger
-How does the candidate speak to others?
-Does he use intimidation or unnecessary sarcasm when conversing?
-Does he criticize or scorn authority to whom he should be showing respect?
Inappropriate Words/Actions
-Does he use untoward racial, economic or socioeconomic comments?
-Does he make sexual comments/innuendos or portray seductive or aggressive behavior?
Inappropriate Response to Patient Needs and Staff Requests
-Does the candidate respond to pages with respect and concern or with impatience and rigidity?
-How does the candidate respond to changes in his schedule?
-Is he able to readily adapt or does he show irritability when things do not go according to his plan?
Overall Measure of Candidate’s Behavior
-Pathological – Has the behavior surpassed the boundary of “normal”?
-Persistent – Is there evidence that this behavior has happened frequently elsewhere?
-Pervasive – Does the behavior carry across settings and with various types of people?
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