http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/ Knowledge@W. P. Carey is an online resource that offers the latest business insights, information, and research from a variety of sources. Content includes analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders and faculty, articles based on the most recent business research, book reviews, conference and seminar reports, and links to other websites. en-us Copyright (c) 2008 Arizona State University Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:12:19 EST http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/templates/images/cathdr_wpc.gif http://Knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/category.cfm?cid=6 125 45 Knowledge@W. P. Carey Health Management and Policy Research Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1742 When times are good, expansion plans, future investments and revenue growth are the focus points in most industries. But during down times, organizations scrutinize spending. The current economic crisis is hitting the health care sector as hard as other industries. The result: shuttered private practices, squeezed hospital operating margins and many non-clinical jobs getting the ax. So what does this mean for health care industry supply chain managers? In an attempt to usher in supply chain efficiencies and shape a healthier bottom line, clinicians, executives and others are now more ready than ever before to listen to their supply chain managers. A panel of industry leaders&nbsp;addressed the topic&nbsp;at the third annual Leadership Summit on Health Care Supply Chain Management hosted recently by the World Health Care Congress. Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:34:21 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1717 Regina Herzlinger has been dubbed &quot;the Godmother of Consumer-Driven Health Care,&quot; and without question she is a revolutionary in her field. It was Herzlinger who pulled back the curtain to reveal the unraveling of managed care, and who predicted the rise of consumer-driven health care and health care-focused factories. What would this forward-thinker have to say about alternatives to the current single-payer-by-employer health insurance system? Probably not replacing it with a similar single-payer-by-government health insurance system. Herzlinger recently delivered the Second Annual Health Economics and Policy Lecture at the W. P. Carey School. Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:27:51 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1716 The future of the pharmaceutical industry lies in its willingness to share scientific information, tailor drugs for individual patient groups and have the courage to walk away from some therapies in order to improve outcomes in other areas, says Eli Lilly and Company chairman of the board Sidney Taurel. Addressing the Economic Club of Phoenix recently, Taurel expressed excitement at the possibilities ahead for new ways of developing medicines that cut costs and more precisely target which patients will benefit. Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:27:51 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1692 The market for health insurance is different from other markets. Government is heavily involved and would become more so under reform plans now being debated. Information often is shielded from participants, whose behavior can be far from transparent. Experts agree that health insurance markets need to be closely watched, as health care reform assumes a place on the national agenda after a new President and Congress are elected in November. Part 4 of our series on health care issues in the presidential election examines this complex market. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:50:41 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1691 About 46 million Americans -- 15 percent of the population -- do not have health insurance, according to the latest U.S. Census data.&nbsp;Approximately $100 billion would be needed to provide them with coverage. Can we afford it? And where would the money come from? Experts discuss the issues in Part 5 of the <em>Knowledge@W. P. Carey</em> series on health care and the election. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:50:41 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1689 In the third and final presidential debate on October 15, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain spent some time discussing health care -- an issue which, in spite of increasingly dominant concerns about the economy -- still seems to matter a great deal to American voters. In Part 3 of a series on health care reform and the election, experts at the W. P. Carey School&nbsp;separate fact from politics in the issues surrounding employer mandates. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:50:41 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1681 There's no doubt about it: Americans want choices. In education. In mail services. And in health care, too -- even if the government is picking up the tab. In Part 2 of a series on health care reform and the election, experts at the W. P. Carey School and in the broader community discuss the issue of a single-payer health care system versus one that offers individuals the power to choose from a variety of insurers. Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:46:56 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1677 Forty-seven percent of registered voters say that health care is an extremely important consideration in their vote for president, according to a June CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Not surprisingly, then, both presidential candidates have outlined proposals to reform the nation's health care system. Central to each proposal is a plan to lower health care costs. In the first part of a series about health care issues and the election, experts say actually achieving lower health care costs (or even slower increases in costs) may be easier said than done. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:12:58 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1674 Last year, Dennis Quaid's anguished visage was splashed across the tabloids. Like many Hollywood stories, this one revolved around drugs. But it wasn't the usual A-list overdose or contraband possession. Instead, Quaid's newborn twins were mistakenly given two doses of Heparin rather than Hep-lock. The dosage was a thousand times stronger than it should have been, nearly killing the babies. For anyone who's ever had a doctor handwrite a prescription and marveled at its illegibility, the issues that Quaid faced and which Michael F. Furukawa, an assistant professor in the School of Health Management and Policy at the W. P. Carey School of Business, addresses seem self-evident. But the problem is not just a pharmacist dispensing an incorrect drug or a nurse administering too much of the right one. The health system abounds with medical mistakes. Some have minor effects; some are fatal. Together, they add up to a very real problem. Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:12:58 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1632 Ask U.S. consumers about their satisfaction with the existing health care system, and up to 80 percent say major fixes or even a complete overhaul are overdue. But they may not understand the complexities of health care reform, says Marjorie Baldwin, economist and director of the School of Health Management and Policy at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Baldwin is one of a growing number of well-regarded economists who say there is a vast gap between public perception and reality when it comes to what's wrong with health care -- and how to fix it. Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:12:31 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1630 Back pain is the most common and costly occupational disability in the United States; it is also among the most difficult conditions to diagnose. Using data compiled from five employers in 37 states, researchers at the W. P. Carey School of Business have been trying to unravel some of the mysteries of back pain and disability. One important conclusion: Overall health -- especially mental health -- appears to have a lot to do with how successful a worker is at resuming his or her job after a bout of back pain. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:59:37 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1585 Americans concerned with the growing proportion of GDP devoted to healthcare would do well to consider the industry's supply chain. Soon the cost of drugs and medical supplies will equal the cost of labor and benefits in the U.S. healthcare system, a situation that could derail reforms aimed at increasing access and coverage. Professor Eugene Schneller, who heads the W. P. Carey School's Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium, offers his top 10 list of challenges for health care supply chain managers. This is the first in an occasional &nbsp;series of opinion essays authored by experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:15:32 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1583 As hospitals and other health care providers strive to cut costs while still giving good patient care, they are hiring an increasing number of MBAs. &quot;There is a whole new set of roles in health care for MBAs, especially those with some clinical understanding,&quot; says Eugene Schneller, a professor in the W. P. Carey's School of Health Management and Policy. The morphing MBA job market was examined at a recent conference sponsored by the Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:40:44 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1582 A small but growing number of U.S. hospitals are using a version of quid pro quo to achieve two crucial goals: lock in the &quot;rainmaker&quot; physicians -- the ones who are at the top of their specializations -- and secure the best deal from suppliers. The most creative have found that this model produces stellar results when applied as a strategic tool, according to speakers at a recent conference presented by the Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium at the W. P. Carey School of Business. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:40:52 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1581 If, as healthcare experts say, supplies gobble up 30 percent of a typical American hospital's annual budget, then upgrading the medical supplies system is a sensible investment. At a recent conference sponsored by the Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium at the W. P. Carey School of Business, Sisters of Mercy Health System's vice president of performance consulting, Marita Parks, and Thomas Macy, CEO of Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital, described two different approaches to the supply chain challenge. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:40:33 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1555 Anyone who watches television in the United States might logically conclude that this is a nation plagued by allergies, depression and arthritis. Ads for medicines to address such conditions make it seem as though ailment sufferers outnumber the healthy. Can advertising increase patient demands, physician prescribing and overall costs? Professor Eugene Schneller and Research Analyst Natalia Wilson of the School of Health Management and Policy at W. P. Carey weigh in. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:59:31 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1540 A controversial regulation creates a &quot;safe harbor&quot; from antitrust laws&nbsp;for certain aspects of the relationship&nbsp;between suppliers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) in the healthcare industry. The scenario: Hospitals join the GPOs, which negotiate group contracts with manufacturers for supplies ranging from syringes to operating tables. The manufacturers pay &quot;administrative fees&quot; to the GPOs -- the very organizations responsible for evaluating and selecting products from competing manufacturers. Is it a kickback, or a discount rewarding the efficiency of group contracting? Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:53:45 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1531 <p class="MsoNormal">A groundbreaking study has finally put a dollar figure on a previously unanswered question: how much do physicians' practices, due to government regulation, pay to ensure their poorest patients get the right prescription drugs? Turns out the answer is $8.02 per prescription, on average, or $1,110 annually for high blood pressure and high cholesterol medications alone, according to research from Jonathan D. Ketcham, an assistant professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and Andrew J. Epstein, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:01:46 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1496 <p class="MsoNormal" >Supply expense is the second highest operational cost in hospitals, but traditional healthcare benchmarking doesn't pinpoint factors that contribute to supply-expense performance, nor does it enable hospital supply chain professionals to see how they stack up against similar organizations. To address these problems, the Association for Healthcare Resources &amp; Materials Management (AHRMM) and the W. P. Carey School of Business recently launched SCMetrix^TM, an online benchmarking tool. It aims to give hospital professionals a holistic view of supply chain performance and the factors contributing to it. Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:02:17 EST Health Management and Policy http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1479 <P class=MsoNormal >Much of the increase in the price of healthcare in the United States can be traced back to technology advances that improve patient outcomes, but are expensive to develop and implement. Offsetting some of that expense are the savings that result from drug therapies that <SPAN >&nbsp;have replaced other, more costly treatments. In a video interview conducted in collaboration with The Communications Institute, <I >Knowledge@W. P. Carey</I> asked health economist Marjorie Baldwin of the W. P. Carey School of Business to analyze some of the causes of rising healthcare costs. &nbsp;</SPAN></p> Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:23:06 EST