Why the free market won’t make healthcare affordable
We're exploring the intersection of Lean, healthcare data, and the transition to value. Most people agree: the American economy works. GDP keeps growing. Our standards of living keep getting higher. Economists will tell you it's the profit motive that makes...
Standard Work – The Lean tool most in need of a marketing refresh
We're publishing 20 videos in 10 weeks, trying to learn as much as we can at the intersection of healthcare data, the transition to value, and the continuous improvement toolkit in Lean. In this video, we explore Standardized Work. You can watch this on YouTube or...
Data Science Staffing Models — a summary
This is adapted from 'Models for integrating data science teams within organizations -- a comparative analysis' by Pardis Noorzad. I wanted my own summary for quick reference. I hope you get value from it, too.The Think Tank (Center of Excellence) Model What it looks...
AI Content Marketing — What could it look like for healthcare?
I trust Gary Vaynerchuk on all things marketing. So when he says AI and machine learning will eventually let marketers target individuals instead of cohorts, I believe him. And that made me wonder: if we can use AI-generated content to nudge people toward spending...
You can have a job or you can create a job. Which do you think is better?
I have an acquaintance who went to Stanford. He was there in 2005-06, right when Facebook was taking over college campuses. My acquaintance worked. All his friends worked. His friends mostly worked in restaurants and retail -- minimum wage jobs. His friends could...
Assigning ACOs to peer groups using k-means clustering
CMS has decreed that Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) need to be on track to assume risk. According to the old rules, an ACO could stay in the one-sided risk model as long as they wanted. Upside only? Most ACOs took that deal. Of the 125 ACOs that renewed in...
Genus Connect and the nine Michigan hospitals leaving $1 million+ on the table in readmissions and patient experience
You can find hundreds of companies looking to "disrupt" the healthcare industry with "game changing" technology. Most of those companies are heavy on tech and light on empathy. Enter Genus Connect Genus Connect has plenty of technical chops, but what impressed me when...
What great managers do to deepen their bench
I think most managers would agree: When a new project comes in, there are only a select few people you'd trust to run with it: your top performers. If you're like many managers, that's where your thought process stops. Once you've figured out who you trust to deliver...
What does Patient-Level Profitability look like at the patient level?
When a surgeon is operating on a patient’s carpal tunnel, the last thing they are thinking about is money. OK, we hope money is the last thing they are thinking about.
Hospital leaders, on the other hand, are probably thinking about money the entire time the patient is sedated, recovering, and even back home watching TV.
Payers are pushing to move services from inpatient to outpatient settings. Patients demand minimally-invasive procedures with fast recovery times. We want these things for ourselves and our family members, but they’re not easy for hospitals to deliver.
If you think of patient profitability reporting as a ‘finance tool’, you are missing the point
This is the third post in a series where I'll be documenting an achievement from my time at Munson Healthcare. Our team created a system-wide patient-level profitability model that leveled up our understanding of the business in a big way. First post: How we built a...