Cutting Costs – Best Practices for Healthcare CEOs

• Date: April 06, 2010
• Source: Admin

 Mar 22, 2010 – Hollywood, FL - Interview with: Gerald Bowe, Chief Executive Officer, COHR Inc. (DBA Masterplan, ReMedPar and MESA)

Running a hospital requires clockwork precision and attention to detail. One problematic machine can delay patients and staff, disrupt the processes in place and potentially jeopardize patient safety. A mechanical hiccup also translates to a loss of revenue, says Gerald Bowe, Chief Executive Officer at Masterplan Inc. A solution provider at the marcus evans National Healthcare CXO Summit Spring 2010 taking place in Florida, April 25-27, 2010, Bowe considers cost reduction strategies that healthcare CEOs could implement to ensure a steady revenue stream.

What are the most prominent issues challenging healthcare CEOs at the moment, and what solutions would you recommend?

Gerald Bowe: Healthcare CEOs are facing incredible difficulties around physician relations, revenue capture, employee turnover, while also keeping their focus on hospital safety and running an efficient hospital. Keeping costs down is also a primary concern thus having hospital equipment operational is critical to their revenue stream. CT and MRI machines generate a large portion of their revenue, therefore when they are not working properly, there is patient disruption and additional costs, as well as a loss of revenue.

What cost reduction and efficiency strategies would you suggest? 

Gerald Bowe: The capital spending for hospital equipment has frozen in the US because of the economic crisis and the uncertainty around healthcare reform. But if hospitals are not getting new equipment then they have to start squeezing more out of their old equipment. That is where independent services organizations (ISOs) such as ours can help hospitals cut costs by keeping machines running at costs significantly below the OEM service programs.

How can healthcare CEOs prepare for any upcoming healthcare system changes?

Gerald Bowe: If getting the cost of providing care under control is a priority, then the hospital needs to be focusing on reducing their costs. This means that healthcare CEOs have only a few choices: take people out of their organization which I would not necessarily recommend as healthcare is a very people intensive business, or try to come up with ways to reduce the costs of what they are buying, including vendor contracts for services to keep all their equipment functioning. They also need to take a broader view of the components of their costs, work closely with their vendors and align the interests of the supplier with their objectives.

What long-term strategies would you recommend to healthcare CEOs? 

Gerald Bowe: Running a hospital is a very complex and demanding role; one of the toughest jobs that anyone could have. The only thing I would recommend would be to try to take some of the complexity out of the equation. The hospital CEOs need to work closely with the directors of the supply chain, facilities, radiology and purchasing and manage costs out of the system. Whether the hospital’s equipment is working or not should not be an issue for any hospital staff.  Leave that to us.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10587630-cutting-costs-best-practices-for-healthcare-ceos.html