7/28/2019 16944918

1/3

HEALTHCARE Hudson Valley BUSINESS JOURN AL, Mav 2, 2005

.what the benefits would be, if any, to theindividual institutions as well as to thehospital system as a whole. If core func-tions are consolidated at the corporatelevel, will they bring true savings, ormerely reallocate costs, possibly burden-ing individual hospitals with additionaloverhead?The case for maintaining billing at thelocal level is pretty straight forward: cashis king. It is obvious that a hospital needsto have control of, and timely access to,billing and revenue collection, especiallyin light of the cutbacks that have accom-panied the migration to managed care.When the billing/receivables function iscentralized, follow-up and other collec-tions activities may take longer, star\'inginstitutions of the cash they need to stayalloat while burdening them with addi-tional overhead costs. To speed theprocess, hospitals m ay wish to' considerstandardizing policies and procedures for(he svstem as a whole, while

stress in theand elsewhereMUELLER, IH,I),force or strain to be measured, for

^irtli dwe llers our ixxJies Docto r Bonesstrain, tension or pressure. L'nder

certainly interesting lo stu ds. thetlie useful meth-

o rin stress research

10 thrive tinder stress and al le\ eK IIKII

bo a gixxJ or |iu siii \e sire.ssor Idi anoih-

d or bad .-

li\e men. Studies conducted by ProfessorShelley E. Taylor ai UCLA suggest thatsiressed-out women are more likely to seekihe s(x:ial support of ottiei>i than ;ire stressed-uut men w hen it comes lo dealing witli stress.It appears that most men haveyei to "see Ihe light" on thisissue luid continue lo indulgein typical "Tighi-or-night'"behavior when confronledwith stress. It is the .'\mericanphysiologist Walter BradfordCannon "(1871-1 945) who iscredited wilh the idea of the"tight or night"' response.

Stress can be $tre$$

maintaining implementation andaccountability at the local level.The case for maintaining IT functions atthe local level may appear to be less con-vincing, especially in today's networkedenvironment. But in fact it's not so sim-ple. If all of local IT systems were com-pletely integrated, then it might makesen.se to centralize the function.Similarly, while efficiencies may berealized by centralizing an IT system. Butin most cases, it should be noted that eachhospital has might have its own uniquelegacy system. Attempting to use softwareand other "patches" to mold disparate sys-tems into one holistic network may actu-ally result in greater inefficiency, sinceprecious labor hours are u.sed up trying tolink them together. Instead, a uniformstandard should be established and imple-mented across the system.Some areas, however, do lend them-selves to con.solidation. While some of thebenefits of consolidation such as a reduc-tion in redundant tasks are obvious, otherexamples of significant savings may not

be quite as obvious.Leveraging costs by centralizing theinternal atidit function, for example, mayhelp to attract lop talent, and bring valueto local institutions.However, there are additional chal-lenges to achieving true post-merger inte-gration value. The failures usually fallinio one of the following four areas:People - Often, administrative and otherappoinlmenis are intluenced by politicsinsiead of bringing in a qualified outsiderto run a large ci)mple\ centralized serviceI'unction. a "connected"" individual whomav not have ihe needed skills is instead

Employers are becomingpainfully aware of the many ways in whichiiH) much negative su-ess or "StreSS" in theworkplace is becoming more and more cost-ly ($S) to business: S-accidents, $-absen-leeism, S-employee tumover, S-reduced pro-ductivity, .S-medical insurance costs, $-legalbills, .S-workers'compensation.Stress management in the workplace notonly makes good sense from a health per-s(x;clive il makes good business Sensel

Managing or coping with negative stressIX.niling wiih stress is clearly a [Tersonalissue Ixnh in tlie lype of sire.ss and the level ofstress. For example, a negalive siressor forone |x."rson may be a posiiive siressor foranother person. Levels of stress tlial wouldove nvh elm one |X"rson may in fact Ix.* quiteuilenible for another |vr.son. .Although u ecaniioi eliminate ne gative stress from our lifewe cenainlv c;ui find useful ways of manag-ing il lo acceptable levels. What works forone person may or may lml work for another|x.'rson. Hxercise - is a trieil and irtie w ay lo getiicgaiive or "bad"' stress under control.Build up your body, not your fiiisiraiions.Keep a regular schedule of exercise so thaiii is somelhing thai \ou can coiini on as wellas look forward to. Nothing complicaledhero. You don'l need to join a heallh club

selected.Process - To achieve merger-rcost reductions and process imments, the post-merger integration focus on the detailed processes of thtralization. It may also be importensure that people with expertiprocess mapping and reengineerinavailable. However, in many healtbusiness combinations, these skills aresident.

Technology - Moving to a cohardware and software platform is tial tp maximizing the value of funcintegration. Such a strategy faciprocess change and increases theutilization of staff.Measurement and Goal Setting -when effective centralized decisiomade in the "people, process and teogy"' segments, accountability muestablished between the local buowners and the corporate administrEstablishing appropriate goals orice line agreements, measuring athose goals, and rewarding accorcan achieve this..As hospital administrations aresured to improve iheir financial retuis imporlanl to consider all the issuramifications of a particular approahelp ensure that any gains realized "corporate level will not come expense of individual insiiiutions.Lawrence P. Ccifasso is SeniorPresident and Chief Operating OffiCatskill Regional Medical Center anmer Senior Partner in Charg.Assurance Business Development LMorthcdsi Health Care an d P ublic Practice. KPMGL LC

A N Th e a l t h a n d h o u s i n g s o l u t i

Providing a full range of services for older adults andchronically ill people of all ages throughout the Hudson 'Valley.

Nursing HomesShort-term Rehabilitation Services Adult Day Services Adult Homes Assistive Living Retirement Community Living AlTordable Housing At-Hom c Serv ices

"Thanks to Elant. m v wife and I can ,i,v)

7/28/2019 16944918

2/3

Hiuhon Vcillcv BUSINESS JOURNAL. Mav2.20

LY PlanmrDriving Course7

- The six-hour dclcnsivca lO'ion ihcir auto insurance liahilli> imJfor 36 nu)nlh> ami alsoup to 4 points from drivint: recortlshe offered at Orange Counts Comnnmit>

at themain campus in MiddleiovMi9 a.m. to 3:.1O p.m. in ihe Bio-Tech

For more information ovTo register in person:on the third floor of theat the Middletown campus

LS South Street, or call 845-.341-4892.

7are offeringon from 10 a.m. to 2

in Vassar 's Cardiac Catheterizationto the public, the screenings are torand BloodFor more informationschedule an appointment, call 483-644 L

areaLso welcome.10

can learn how toa coinpany's organizational costs whileThe seminar.

beheld from 9:.30-l l;30 a.m. and1-3 p.m. at ALOS headquarters inFor more infortnation call Joeat 800-431-710.-i X664 or emailat dwsetiiinars

7/28/2019 16944918

3/3