Read This Article In The May Edition Of Healthcare Global's Digital Magazine

This month in Healthcare Global we take a look inside the largest hospital in South Africa, the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. We considered the institutions quest for operational excellence, the importance of training and efficient people management and uncovered the challenges of working under extreme environmental conditions.

• Inside South Africa's Largest Hospital: The Chris Hani Baragwanath

Speaking of training, we also take a look at the world’s best medical schools in this edition of the magazine, after all, great healthcare provision starts with well-trained physicians and medical professionals.

• Top 10 Medical Schools In The World

Also in this issue we uncover how wireless technology is having an impact on the way hospital executives manage their supply chains. Mobile technology is big news in the healthcare industry at the moment, so healthcare executives need to sit up and listen.

• Mobile Technology Is Transforming Healthcare
• Wireless Technology In The Hospital Supply Chain
• How Does Medical Insurance Affect Patient Care?

Enjoy the issue!

Abigail Phillips

Editor, Healthcare Global

Written by Emily Couch

Read This Article In The May Edition Of Healthcare Global's Digital Magazine

The hospital supply chain has been trying to pull alongside its counterparts in the retail and manufacturing industries when it comes to the implementation of wireless technology in their facilities.  A hospitals supply chain is one of the most complex operations within the hospital. The adoption of wireless technology as a means to manage and lower the cost of hospital supplies and streamline the management of the supply chain is becoming a hot topic at the forefront of the healthcare industry. The goal of reducing cost while providing high-quality medical care is a top strategic objective.

When trying to lower annual cost and save money, one of the first steps any healthcare facilities should take is to look at all aspects of their supply chain. On average, one-third of their budget is allocated to supplies, which is only second to labor cost. Conventionally hospitals only used logistics software to track and manage high-cost elements; in today's economy it dictates that organizations should use software tools to identify any elements that could be causing them to lose money.

Putting The Emphasis On Software

It is critically important to rely on data collection tools. In the nations unpredictable economy it is imperative for hospitals to examine every part of their supply chain for any possible areas of cost savings.  All supply chain categories, including information technology, facilities and purchased services, should be accounted for. Cost savings can come from unlikely places and that’s why relying on supply software to analyze your supply chain is more effective and less subject to human error.

When hospitals widen their search for savings in the supply chain, they need to employ different tools and networks to do so effectively. For most organizations it is not cost efficient to have multiple employees with high levels of expertise on staff. The ideal situation would be having supply chain experts on staff to help their facilities to better manage their supply chain and inventory.  Instead, healthcare providers should consider using supply chain software and wireless technology that can aid in discovering any issues or potential cost saving shortcuts.

Read Related Articles In Healthcare Global

• Tips For Developing A Lean Procurement Function
• Cost Management Within Hospital Supply Chain
• Managing The Medical Supply Chain

Inventory Management

The main purpose of introducing wireless technology into a hospitals supply chain if for cost reduction through inventory management. Electronic medication administration and reporting systemsalong with automated drug dispensing systems can help manage the amount of drugs being dispensed and to whom. Having a more precise system of tracking drugs and where they are going leaves less room for human error.

Inventory management systems can adequately track all inventory in the hospital from surgical supplies to high end machinery. In the past hospitals did not pay as much attention to lower end inventory, but it came to light that savings on the lower end inventory can save hundreds of thousands in the annual budget.

Visibility Within The Supply Chain

The savings of time is at the helm of this issue. Generally speaking an individual lacks the visibility of their entire supply chain. With the implantation of mobile devices all aspects of the supply chain are right at their fingertips while they move about the hospital. Up-to-date inventory reporting, ordering and notifications are instantaneously. The user no longer has to go back to their desk to access and update valuable information, improving their work flow.

The value of implementing wireless technology to a hospitals supply chain can cut down on wasted time, money and resources. Ensuring the right people and wireless technology is employed to manage a supply chain is just as vital as the supply chain itself. Establishing a governing supply chain council will provide direction and help align supply chain strategies with the hospitals overall strategy. This governing council should be lead by the leader of the supply chain organization as well as corporate executives, business unit managers, and other influential company leaders.

Overall, a reduction in data inaccuracy, increased cycle times and decreased supply chain cost, can be the direct benefits of employing wireless technology into a hospitals supply chain. 

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

Last month, the FDA moved to block the manufacture and sale of generic versions of the original OxyContin, which has gone off patent but which is easier to abuse than the current version. A newer version of OxyContin, introduced by its maker, Purdue Pharma LP, in 2010, contains an infusion of polymer that makes the pill difficult to crush, meaning addicts can't get all of the extended-release ingredients at once to get high.

Similarly, this week the FDA is considering the effectiveness of another safeguarded, brand-name painkiller, Endo Pharmaceuticals Opana ER. If the FDA rules that Opana ER slows abuse, the agency can choose to shield Endo from the competition, because the generic options don’t have abuse-deterrents.

Such a decision would send a strong message to pharma manufacturers, that pain drugs with no safeguards are likely to be removed from the market—and that there are billions of dollars in potential revenue to be had from the sale of painkillers that are abuse proof.

Creating An Abuse Proof Painkiller

With such a ruling in the pipeline, companies such as Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson and Endo are trying to crack the potentially lucrative market.

• Pfizer wants to introduce Remoxy, a direct OxyContin competitor with abuse deterrents, and a morphine drug called Embeda.
• Johnson & Johnson is conducting tests to demonstrate abuse-deterrent properties of its opioid for moderate to severe pain.
• Purdue Pharma wants to adapt its abuse-deterrent technology for a hydrocodone product—a class of drugs currently dominated by low-cost generics that don't have abuse-proof formulations.

“Over time, it should be a scientific race across the whole pharmaceutical industry to create a market where all opioids have abuse-deterrent properties,” said Gary L. Stiles, Senior Vice-President of Research and Development at the closely held Purdue Pharma.

Read Related Article In Healthcare Global

• FDA To Highlight mHealth Guidelines In 2013
• FDA Appeals Against Morning After Pill For All Ages
• FDA Regulates Facebook 'Likes'

The race could give a boost to an already lucrative market and raise the cost of pain treatment. A recent Cowen & Co. report predicts an increase in prescription pain drug sales of more than 15 percent by 2017, reaching $8.4 billion, thanks in part to the FDA ruling. It could also bring about a reshuffling of market share in the fast-growing $7.3 billion pain market, as companies such as Pfizer move with full force in the opioid painkiller market for the first time.

The FDA isn't directly requiring all painkillers to have safeguards. But should an effective abuse-deterrent drug be developed, the FDA said it has the power to remove on-the-market rival products, which don't.

With this in mind many of the world’s pharma giants are ramping up their R&D when it comes to finding and implementing effective abuse-deterrents. 

On Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration appealed a court order addressing the agency to make the “morning-after” pill available over-the-counter to women of all ages. According to court documents, lawyers with the Justice department filed the appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

Known as “Plan B”, the appeal is the latest incursion in the years-long legal battle over the drug, which has sparked outcry from both political and religious sects. The government is seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Edward Korman’s ruling from April 5th that requires the FDA to make the emergency contraception available within 30 days to all girls of reproductive age. 

According to FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson, the Justice Department has asked the district court to temporarily stop its order from taking effect while the appeal is pending.

The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed originally in 2005 by the Center for Reproductive Rights and other groups against age and access limits to the emergency contraception. The groups argue that there is no scientific proof that girls of reproductive age could not safely use the drug without supervision.

Read Related Articles On Healthcare Global

• Obama Compromises With Religious Leaders Over Contraception
• Number Of FDA Approvals Reached 15 Year High In 2012
• Regularly Taking Medication Can Help Lower Health Costs

The FDA has originally approved over-the-counter sales with no age limits but the order was reversed in a surprise December 2011 decision by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. President Barack Obama supported that restriction, barring girls from under 17 from buying the pills without a prescription.

In his ruling, Korman calls Sebelius’ decision “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.”

“The motivation for the secretary’s action was obviously political,” he wrote.

The agency confirms its decision to lower the age limit for Plan B One-Step was based on scientific data submitted by Teva that showed girls as young as 15 could safely use the drug without the intervention of a healthcare provider. In addition, cashiers will still have to  verify the customer’s age before selling it, the FDA said.

From devices to monitor patient health to apps for scheduling appointments, investors are pouring billions of dollars into new innovations to improve health care. As more and more hospitals start utilizing “big data” applications to identify patients with elevated risks of hospital re-admissions, new evidence suggests that helping patients take their medication more consistently can be influential in lowering health care costs, while also improving patient outcomes.

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

Recent studies (Roebuck et al., 2011, Stuart et al.,2011, and Choudhry et al., 2001) have identified direct associations between appropriate medication use and healthcare spending. Data collected from these studies have prompted the Congressional Budget Office to recently change its stance on medication adherence from a budgetary perspective. Previously, CBO did not believe the evidence of a direct connection between medication use and health care spending was sufficient to “score” a medical cost offset in its budgetary forecasts. Now, CBO believes medication adherence can lead to a reduction in doctor visits and hospitalizations, impacting the rise of health care costs.

The Congressional Budget Office now estimates that a 1 percent increase in the number of prescriptions filled would cause Medicare spending on medical services to fall by roughly one-fifth of 1 percent. While this may not seem like much, Medicare will spend more than $2 trillion on hospitalizations over the next ten years. These tiny reductions result in major savings and lower projected savings from the new healthcare provider payment models that are being tested under the Affordable Care Act.  

Read Related Articles In Healthcare Global

• The Benefits Of EHR & How To Overcome Potential Challenges
• The True Cost Of Healthcare
• Financial Software Delivers Excellent Healthcare

In addition, the CBO points out future programs or policies that achieve more targeted improvements in adherence for certain beneficiaries with particular diseases or on particular medication could lead to larger savings.  Cost offsets from medication adherence could also encourage members of Congress to consider additional polices to realize these cost savings.

Recently, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) announced it is analyzing the fiscal impact of adherence on Medicare. MedPAC, an independent Congressional agency that advises Congress on policies affecting Medicare, will have a big influence on how Congress thinks about future policies to promote devotion in the Medicare program. Additionally, private payers are seriously considering how lack of adherence affects medical spending.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken vital steps to promote medication use on a more consistent basis for certain chronic conditions. As part of its “Star Ratings” program, CMS now offers financial bonuses to health plans when they help eligible Medicare beneficiaries increase adherence to blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes medication. 

Overall, the payoff for health plans is huge. Along with the potential medical savings they can utilize when their members take chronic disease medications more consistently, health plans earning 4 or 5 “Stars” can earn an additional 4 to 5 percent in premium bonuses each year. These bonuses can be used to either enhance benefits or lower future plan premiums to attract new members. While we still need to find more effective ways to improving adherence for individual patients, a concerted to push to realize the opportunity along with new incentives and investments in health IT and data could exceptionally strengthen, and potentially improve patient health and lower costs.

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

While a majority of respondents (35 percent) placed meaningful use in the top spot, 19 percent of respondents identified the areas in which HIT will achieve the most significant improvements as health information exchange, clinical Integration and mobile health, respectively.

“Those hospitals that can successfully achieve meaningful use implementation will benefit greatly from the resulting updated systems, enhanced processes and increased data security,” said Shane Pilcher, Vice President of Stoltenberg Consulting. He cautioned that “organizations still need to overcome the hurdles inherent in meeting meaningful use however, before they can reap the benefits of it.”

Survey respondents identified the three greatest challenges in fulfilling meaningful use requirements in their organizations as confusion and/or ambiguity about the regulation itself (29 precent); competing health IT projects (23 percent) and lack of resources such as funding, IT skill, talent and time (17 percent).

“While these challenges certainly impact hospitals of all sizes, they are particularly daunting for rural and community hospitals,” noted Pilcher. “To have the best chance of meeting meaningful use, smaller hospitals should develop an effective plan of action that unites IT, internal administration and clinical providers.”

Read Related Articles On Healthcare Global

• Health Execs Are Increasingly Relying On Technology
• Tips For Developing A Hospital mHealth Strategy
• Bridging The Healthcare IT Skills Gap

Emerging Health IT Trends

The Stoltenberg survey also uncovered the top three issues likely to dominate HIT dialogue for the remainder of 2013: Health Information Exchange (62 percent); Mobile Health (58 percent) and Clinical Analytics (54 percent).

Pilcher stated that “like meaningful use, Health Information Exchange, mobile health and clinical analytics can all ultimately have a positive impact on an organization's bottom line in addition to the ability to improve healthcare delivery, but they also require the type of extensive knowledge, expertise and experience in healthcare IT that might be best accessed through a qualified HIT services provider.”

In fact, according to the Stoltenberg survey, the issues or problems that HIT executives would most likely consult with a specialized IT consulting firm to resolve are: ICD-10 (25 percent); meaningful use (25 percent); clinical and business intelligence (23 percent); cloud computing (21 percent); and CPOE/clinical systems implementation (20 percent).

Survey respondents included HIT management, physicians and clinicians representing healthcare providers and payers, government agencies and HIT services vendors, among others.

About Stoltenberg Consulting

Founded in 1995, Pittsburgh-based Stoltenberg Consulting Inc. creates an environment for success by working with healthcare organizations to provide a variety of services including project management, implementation support and integration between systems. Members of the Stoltenberg Consulting team are consultants with extensive experience in both financial and clinical systems, averaging more than 15 years of direct on-site hospital experience. Stoltenberg Consulting has grown rapidly to serve a client base of more than 200 preeminent healthcare organizations throughout the United States providing services for Siemens (Approved Partner), Epic (Preferred Partner), Cerner, McKesson, Meditech, NextGen, Allscripts and Zynx customers. Stoltenberg was named #1 in the Staff Augmentation category by the 2012 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Services report. For more information call 1-888-724-1326 or visit www.stoltenberg.com.

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

The healthcare industry is constantly changing, and new technology is always entering the market place, however the question still remains if patients are ready to embrace PHRs.

Experts acknowledge that PHRs can be extremely beneficial for patients and the healthcare industry as a whole, however a recent study conducted in the US highlighted that only one in 10 American’s had a personal health record and only about 50 percent of those questioned even knew what a PHR was.

A number of reports in the last fortnight have also indicated that patients became far more involved, engaged, responsible and satisfied with their healthcare when they were granted access to their health records.

Healthcare Global looks into why are patients reluctant to embrace PHRs?

Technological issues include >>>

• Concerns about personal health record privacy
• The availability of personal health information in an emergency situation
• The notion that the health care industry's adoption of information technology lags far behind industries such as insurance and banking

Philosophical issues include >>>

• The process of gathering personal health records is a complicated and cumbersome one that could take years
• Healthy patients who infrequently visit a doctor have little ePHI to begin with and, so the argument goes, have no interest in managing ePHI
• Physicians are not promoting them

Many experts in the mHealth field believe that the real spur in adoption will have to come from physician engagement and encouragement. Many patients are reluctant of new technology, especially when it comes to their health records, so in order for the industry to see the benefits associated with PHR adoption, the driver is going to have to come from physicians and healthcare professionals.

Read Related Articles In Healthcare Global

• Benefits Of EHR & How To Overcome Potential Challenges
• Should Patients Have Access To Their EHRs?
• Use Of Mobile Healthcare Apps On The Rise

A recent study, released on Sunday 21st April reveals that two thirds of nurses polled believe patients in their own hospitals are at risk of neglect. The report also highlighted concerns that bosses put financial targets ahead of patient care, according to three quarters of nurses; while a third say staffing is dangerously low.

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

These findings come from a poll of 8,000 nurses conducted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in the United Kingdom. However, there is concern that this feeling could be mutual in other parts of the world. The report was conducted in the wake of one of the UKs hospital scandals – at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, up to 1,200 died from neglect between 2005 and 2009. The NHS Trust described how patients were subject to ‘inhumane’ treatment because bosses prioritised targets ahead of care.

Furthermore in March another NHS survey found that nearly 40 percent of doctors and nurses would not want family members treated in their own hospital. The RCN says understaffing often causes poor care, and it is particularly concerned about shortages on elderly wards where many patients have dementia and need help with basic tasks such as eating and washing.

In a separate poll, the RCN found that a third of 2,086 ward sisters and senior community nurses felt staffing levels were unsafe at least once a week. Three quarters said they were potentially dangerous at least once a month while one in ten said they were rarely ever safe.

Read Related Articles On Healthcare Global

• Maintaining Standards Of Emotional Patient Care
• Should Nurse Stations Be Moved To Wards?
• Alarm Fatigue Causing Deaths In Hospitals

The Cause Of The Problem

According to the latest official figures, the NHS lost 2,409 nurses last year, down from 372,277 to 369,868. However, the number of unqualified healthcare assistants rose by 2,691 over the same period. This statistic leaves some experts worrying that hospitals are replacing better paid senior nurses with inexperienced staff on similar wages to cleaners.

Other figures compiled by the RCN show NHS nurses spend 2.5million hours a week on needless paperwork. More than half of the 6,387 who took part in the poll said the amount pointless admin had soared in recent months.

The network giant is encouraging innovators, entrepreneurs, academics and other individuals to enter the contest and compete for a $10 million prize.

READ THE APRIL EDITION OF HEALTHCARE GLOBAL HERE

Entries must use Verizon networks and technology, such as wireless, cloud and broadband, to help deliver solutions that ‘address societal challenges, deliver social benefit and grow markets.’

Winners will be chosen in each category, with the top prize being $1 million and additional prizes of $850,000, $700,000, $500,000 and $285,000.

“The world’s biggest challenges need big solutions, and that’s why Verizon Wireless is seeking out the best and brightest ideas from innovators, entrepreneurs, academics and other individuals,” said Krista Bourne, President of the Verizon Wireless Houston-Gulf Coast region.

“We’ve long been a company dedicated to innovation and addressing critical needs via communication solutions and that’s exactly what we’re looking to do via the Powerful Answers Award.”

Ideas will be accepted now through June 30, 2013. From there, entrants will be selected to submit full proposals of their ideas to address the social challenges no later than July 15.

Full details and submission information can be found at www.powerfulanswersaward.com.

Read Related Articles On Healthcare Global

• Robotics & Healthcare
• Top 10 Telecom Giants In The mHealth Market
• Top 10 Technologies Changing Healthcare

Healthcare cannot be likened to a factory, however there is one similarity insofar as delays in the billing chain can still hold up the process of turning patient care into revenue. Within any industry, the flow of cash is extremely important and healthcare is no different.

Read Related Articles On Healthcare Global

• Tips For Developing A Lean Procurement Function
• Cost Management Within Hospital Supply Chain
• Managing The Medical Supply Chain

Healthcare Global discovers four ways hospital executives can improve cash flow through lean efforts >>>

#1. Identify The Key Players In The Team

Before you implement any changes it is important to listen to what your people on the ground are saying. Before you embark on a lean journey coordinate a week when members from every step of the billing workflow, including nurses and hospital executives, met for five eight-hour days to brainstorm, goal set and devise a plan of attack. Sharingtheir interaction in the billing process will give needed insight to help find where waste occurs and where and how it can be feasibly prevented.

It is understandable that many healthcare executives may be afraid of taking employees off the ward for such a long period of time, however frontloading the planning accomplishes 40 to 50 hours of planning in one week that could otherwise take a year of hour-long weekly meetings. This not only keeps all parties on the same page when changes are launched, but it allows for better accountability and easier on-the-spot adjustments while plans are implemented.

#2. Share Ideas & Prioritize Solutions

During the planning week, have attendees make diagrams of the billing workflow using Post-Its describing each step of the process and each department's role in advancing claims. This is called Value Stream Mapping and helps everybody identify where problems are occurring.

Once the process has been identified, attendees can brainstorm possible solutions and improvements to the current system, then prioritized those solutions into four groups based on how cost and time effective each would be. This will help the team see multiple ways to confront the problem at the lowest cost and with the greatest chance of successful follow-through.

#3. Implementation

Now you have a plan in place, it is vital to implement it effectively. This will take commitment from the whole planning team and involves a lot of checking to ensure processes are being followed correctly. Once the process is up and running it is also useful to make changes where necessary. Training is a big part of this, as well as streamlining processes.

#4. Accountability

Ensure accountability for those responsible for implementing the changes. It is essential to realise the importance of accountability and to ensure there are checks in place to make sure the new processes are being adhered to.

Empowering staff members to identify and address waste at the ground level helps to maintain those efficiency improvements organically without the need to devote an entire week to planning sessions. The solution is to educate more people and get more looking for waste in their area.
 

In this issue we also take a look at the latest social media channel developed specifically for business executives, Businessfriend. The newly launched social network could help open up the lines of communication between hospital executives and facilitate information sharing more readily, allowing for cost saving and efficiencies down the line.

Finally we take a look at ERP solutions and financial planning software solutions.

Read The Articles On Healthcare Global Today

• Top 10 Mobile Tablets For Healthcare Professionals
• Financial Software Delivers Excellent Healthcare
• ERP Technology For Healthcare
• Tip For Delivering A Lean & Efficient Procurement Function
• Businessfriend Gives Social Media A Boost In Healthcare

I hope you enjoy the issue!

Abigail Phillips

Group Editorial Director 

Read This Article In the April Edition Of Healthcare Global

The advent of social media has been compared to the popularization of the printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg more than 500 years ago. Both have forever changed the way we communicate, learn, educate, inform and interact with one another on a global scale, paradigm-shifting the processing of knowledge. Both revolutionary in their impact at the time, the printing press could only disperse information while social media supports and relies upon human interaction. Personally and professionally, social media allows humans to affect the database of knowledge: to challenge it, contribute to it, question it, popularize it and connect with it, building relationships through it.

The just-launched social and professional site Businessfriend is focused on our role as communicators – striving to enhance how we work and live today. Businessfriend is a fluid, all-inclusive channel that provides individuals with the tools to interact with people across the full spectrum of relationships – personal, professional and in between.

Healthcare & Businessfriend

Businessfriend connects professionals to their contacts via tools that centralize information. A side drawer on the website stores each tool, including the Bf Inbox (which can link to personal and professional e-mail accounts), Bf Cloud (a doc manager supporting more than 100 file types), Bf Calendar (to correlate business and personal appointments), a Digidex of contacts, note-taking application and video-conference ability.

For healthcare professionals, Businessfriend is an important tool that helps connect and centralize the often-blended personal and professional moving pieces in their lives. Utilizing inner and outer “circles,” the site allows sharing in a controlled environment. Users can share more personal posts with an inner circle of friends, or share more professional information with a larger group of contacts.

“Those in the healthcare industry can connect with vendors, patients and peers to utilize the tools, save information for both patient and doctor, and keep communication open with partners and suppliers in a one-stop shop,” says Businessfriend Marketing Manager Philip Diehl.

In a patient-professional relationship, of course, privacy is paramount in the healthcare sector. Businessfriend doesn’t strive to replace confidential Electronic Medical Records or release private information, but the site can help with scheduling, reminders, questions and general information.

Additionally, the spirit of Businessfriend focuses on connecting the work and social life of each individual – to the extent that they choose. Through Businessfriend, a healthcare facility’s employees can connect with colleagues, people within their fields and even clients in a controlled environment. This personalization and humanization of the professional online presence leads to the overall humanization of an employee’s workplace.

For healthcare facility executives, Businessfriend organizes events, meetings, shared information and articles, and encourages collaboration between intra- and inter-office colleagues. Additionally, healthcare supply chain executives are able to utilize the website’s calendar, doc sharing and more to set up vendor relationships, explore new products through company profiles and keep up with trends at similar facilities globally.

Taking Care Of BUSI

“Businessfriend allows you to engage with other platforms at the same time you engage with ours,” says Businessfriend Communications Director Rhonda Marable. “We aren’t asking users to ‘switch’ to Businessfriend and abandon other networks, but to acknowledge its value. It’s unique in its functionality, with its unique utility drawers and multitasking in a way that no other site does.”

Marable says, “productivity is the focus.” The site has adopted the term BUSI to describe its functionality as Business Utility/Social Identity. Users and companies who want to expand their presence and connectivity on Businessfriend can purchase customized tools that facilitate marketing, hiring and more.

Currently, Businessfriend is working on building its reach through professional events and partnering with foreign businesses to expand its global presence. For the healthcare field, a global business utility means professionals can network with their suppliers, vendors, customers, partners and more through one site, anywhere in the world, all from one location.

The Network Of Social Networks

Businessfriend is building a correlative and complementary relationship with social media behemoths LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, says Marable.

“Every platform and certainly a business’ own website can provide value,” she says. “We are looking to enhance each social and professional opportunity for individuals to engage them and encourage them to engage with one another.”

The diversity and infinite idea of the Internet as a tool is a mind-boggling concept, and this new site is looking to help each person create a unique, personalized presence with the ability to connect, to change, to inspire and create with others in Businessfriend’s space. As described by Mashable Founder Pete Cashmore, connecting on our increasingly global, fast-paced world as a professional is a must.

“Those who insert themselves into as many channels as possible look set to capture the most value,” Cashmore says. “They’ll be the richest, the most successful, the most connected, capable and influential among us. We’re all publishers now, and the more we publish, the more valuable connections we’ll make.”

Novartis argued that it needed a new patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec, while activists said the company was trying to use loopholes to make more money out of a drug that’s patent had expired. Many big pharma companies agreed with Novartis, stating that patents for improved drugs should be granted to facilitate further research and development.

The decision has global implications, since India's $26 billion generic drug industry supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the developing world.

The ruling has set a precedent that will prevent international pharmaceutical companies from obtaining fresh patents in India on updated versions of existing drugs. The landmark court ruling states that patents can only be given to new drugs.

Novartis has not yet made a comment regarding the outcome of the trial. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 for a fresh patent for its leukemia drug Gleevec, known in India and Europe as Glivec.

India's patent office had rejected the company's patent application because it was not a new medicine but an amended version of its earlier product. The patent authority cited a legal provision in India's 2005 patent law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents for making only minor changes to existing medicines, a practice known in the industry as “evergreening”.

Novartis appealed, arguing Glivec was a newer, more easily absorbed version of the drug and qualified for a fresh patent.

Aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, have opposed Novartis' case, fearing that a victory for the Swiss drugmaker would limit access to important medicines for millions of poor people around the world.

Gleevec, used in treating chronic myeloid leukemia and some other cancers, costs about $2,600 a month. Its generic version was available in India for around $175 per month.

“Big Pharma is nervous because nothing has gone in their favour in the recent past,” Ajay Kumar Sharma, Associate Director of the Pharmaceutical and Biotech Practice at business consultancy Frost & Sullivan says.“With this verdict, at least, things will get clearer about what is the definition of patented medicines.”

Novartis has been fighting since 2006 to win a patent for Glivec, which many oncologists view as a major advance in treating chronic myeloid leukaemia, which kills 80-90 percent of sufferers, and some gastrointestinal cancers.

India has refused protection for Glivec on the grounds that it is not a new medicine but an amended version of a known compound - a decision consistent with domestic patent law, which sets tight restrictions on multiple patents for a drug.

By contrast, in the United States, amended versions can be patented.

Novartis is seeking to overturn a clause in Indian Patents Law that restricts patent protection for newer forms of existing molecules, and next week's ruling could set a precedent for how other similar patent claims are treated.

Ranjit Shahani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Novartis India Limited, said cheap generics had an important role to play once drug patents expired, but the company was concerned about the non-recognition of patents that were ultimately needed to sustain drug research.

What do you think? We are keen to hear your thoughts on our Businessfriend page.

 

The social media concept can trip even the most professional people up if they do not know how to engage with it properly – take the instance in the news recently of Dr Amy Dunbar, an ob-gyn working at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. Dunbar posted a comment to Facebook about a patient who was continually late for her scheduled appointments. Dunbar wrote:

“So I have a patient who has chosen to either no-show or be late (sometimes hours) for all of her prenatal visits, ultrasounds and NSTs. She is now 3 hours late for her induction. May I show up late to her delivery?”

When asked in the comments why she didn’t cancel the procedure or transfer the woman to another doctor, Dunbar publically announced that the patient in question had endured a stillbirth in the past. The post was visible not only to Dunbar’s 470 friends, but also to the wider Facebook community.

Dunbar’s posting angered and upset one reader, Amanda Johnson, who took a screenshot of the status update and posted it to a Facebook group run by Dunbar’s hospital – Mercy Moms To Be.

“When did it become okay for a doctor to ridicule and demean their patients?” Johnson, who works in the healthcare field, told Mashable in a Facebook message. “Even in my nursing home contract it very plainly states that we may not speak in any way of our clients, even if their names are not used.”

The Mercy Moms To Be Facebook page was frantic with comments for and against the post; many believed her comments were unprofessional and breached patient confidentiality, but some supported Dunbar and suggested that patient was at fault. Some also noted that Dunbar had never used the patient’s name.

After an investigation the hospital found that Dunbar had not in fact broken any patient privacy laws, nor were any of the hospitals management laws breached.

“Mercy values the dignity and privacy of all our patients and we are very sorry that this incident occurred. While our privacy compliance staff has confirmed that this physician’s comments did not represent a breach of privacy laws, they were inappropriate and not in line with our values of respect and dignity. Mercy holds its physicians and other co-workers to high standards in ensuring the protection of patient information. We cannot comment on specific disciplinary actions, but we will use this as an opportunity to reinforce our standards through additional education of our physicians and co-workers, including appropriate use of social media.”

And therein lies the problem. Many physicians and other medical employees are not given strict rules of engagement for social media networks. It is no wonder that mistakes are made if hospitals are providing their staff with guidelines that can be interpreted in more ways than one. Hospital executives need to be giving their employees strict rules and regulations about how to use social media sites to help them avoid any mistakes. It may take time to implement, but it could save an expensive and damaging PR campaign to rectify the damage caused in the long run.

The FDA testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, where it was asked how it plans to ensure mHealth apps are useful, standardized and accurate. The Committee also questioned how the FDA would regulate apps utilised by physicians and those, which integrated into electronic health records.

The FDA issued a draft in 2011, however it is yet to finalize its rulemaking. Furthermore, the firm is still making decisions about the tax status of mobile devices and health apps. The Committee cited tax as one of its major concerns; under the Affordable Care Act, regulated medical devices are subject to a 2.3 percent excise tax. If the FDA determines that mHealth apps, tablets and smartphones fall under that category, they could be forced to pay the additional amount, which is enough that some industry experts believe it could stifle mHealth innovation and development.   

“Revenues [from mHealth development] are ploughed back into the company for growth, therefore the 2.3 percent tax on startup companies increases the amount that must be invested before companies become cash-flow positive,” said Dr T Forcht Dagi, Partner at HLM Venture Partners.

App developers have been eagerly awaiting a set of guidelines from the FDA regarding mHealth regulation

However, Christy Foreman, Director of the Office of Device Evaluation at the FDA, said there was little cause for alarm. The agency will not label all smartphones or tablets that could possibly run a medical app as medical devices, nor does the FDA have any wish to limit innovation by imposing undue burdens.

“FDA believes it is important to adopt a balanced approach to mobile medical apps that supports continued innovation, assuring appropriate patient protections,” she said.

Read Related Content On Healthcare Global

• Physicians & Healthcare Execs Support mHealth Apps
• Happtique Announces Medical App Certification
• mHealth App Market To Be Worth $26bn By 2017
• Tips For Developing A Hospital mHealth Strategy

The FDA emphasised that calorie counters and fitness trackers posed little threat to patients, however apps that carried the same risk to patients as hospital-grade medical devices, such as those used to operate CT scanners from an iPad or program infusion pumps, should be regulated just as much as the equipment they link to. 

“[The FDA has been] regulating medical device software for decades and medical device software on mobile platforms for more than ten years,” Foreman told the Committee. She continued, saying that adding certain mHealth apps to that catalogue of responsibilities would bring little detrimental change to the industry.

It’s the two-year delay in rulemaking that’s causing problems, argue many developers who have been waiting since July 21, 2011 to hear the fate of their business. Ben Chodor, CEO of Happtique, testified that some developers are stalling on potential products due to the uncertainty surrounding the FDA’s plans. Committee members speculated that taxes on medical apps might push programmers away from the next greatest health innovation and towards a more lucrative area, such as smartphone games or office software.

Foreman assured the committee that final guidance would be issued by the end of fiscal year 2013, bringing an end to the long wait, if not total satisfaction to those frustrated by government involvement in the first place. “We believe that focusing oversight on a narrow subset of mobile apps will encourage the development of new products while providing appropriate patient protections,” she concluded.

With all the conversation, debate and noise around Obamacare and what it means or doesn’t mean for the healthcare industry – many in the industry are making the grave mistaking of cutting back or making anemic investment in their level of customer service.   This is the wrong direction – you are cutting pennies while dollars are flying over your head. Delivering a world-class customer service experience will have patients running to you (providing they are not coming to get a broken leg fixed). On the other hand being known for a poor customer experience will have patients running from your business with the dollars in hand.

The number one reason most companies fail, and that includes those in the healthcare industry, is that they provide a poor and anemic customer service experience. My advice runs counter to the adage that you should always put the customer first.  You should put the frontline employee first and the customer/patient second and, in return, the employees will treat your customers better. You end up getting customers for life and great employee retention. They are the people on the frontline who must translate all your good work to the customer/patient, so it behooves us not to put them second. Make sure they understand the level of service and experience you are trying to give and convey to the customer.

So I realize things are tight as a bandage applied with duct tape, so I am proposing a winning solution to world-class customer service that cost less than an apple a day. No an apple a day won’t keep the doctors away it will keep the frontline motivated, empowered, and equipped to keep customers knocking the door down for preventative, emergency and post services. This is what we want right, more patients who leave us less sick than when they came and taking preventative measures to not end up in the emergency room. This is ideally what we want, but many in the health care industry are making customer sicker with their ill fated, band aid “customer service” that has patients rushing to the competition for a true healing customer experience. One of sure-fire ways to ensure a negative experience is broadcasted is to agitate someone who is already sick or has something potentially wrong with their health – for anyone who has ever been ill you know what I am talking about. An increasingly number of patients are selecting healthcare facilities based on their level of customer service and feedback from other patients. Have you checked your social feedback lately?

Read Related Articles In Healthcare Global

• mHealth: Changing Doctor / Patient Care
• Mobile Technology Restrengthens The Health Industry
• The Healthcare Industry Is Going Social

Customers are becoming more demanding in this economic tsunami, because they want the most for their money and they want an experience that doesn’t make them “sicker.” That means more pressure on the frontline, who will determine whether the customer feels welcomed and cared for. 

Fresh Customer Service demystifies the process of attracting loyal, happy customers who return again and again and recommend your business to their friends and families. This type of customer reaction, what some may consider as a minor detail, can actually tip the scales and prove the difference between a prosperous organization and a bankrupt organization. So what’s the secret? The Frontline Employee aka your First “Patient”

Throughout your organization’s entire process of selling, serving, marketing, cleaning, you name it, the only way you can hope to deliver a world-class customer service experience is by listening to, equipping, empowering, involving, and valuing the feedback and expertise your frontline employees can offer.  

How exactly do you implement and execute Fresh Customer Service?

The First Steps: Fresh Treatment & Understanding

Fresh Treatment

Getting your staff members to treat patients better may require that you first treat your frontline better. Customer service is one of the most important issues for the healthcare industry because it creates the repeat business that drives the brand and your bottom line. Many in the industry forget that the frontline staff are the vessels that takes care of the customer service and experience aspects of the business. Without incorporating their specialized knowledge and experience into the company’s business plan, they fail to meet the expectations and needs of the customer/patient and helping attract and retain current and future customers. You can start improving your service and team cohesiveness with a basic principle I call “gratitude to growth.” Recognition is the building block for motivating employees and business. Doctors receive feedback from grateful patients, so why shouldn’t surgeons give positive feedback to the frontline staff, which is a vital asset of the organization? Gratitude, a simple, but overlooked act, inspires employees to work to their full potential that will reach the customer/patient. The staff members are in daily contact with customers/patients and understand how company policy affects their experience.

Read more Fresh Steps about how your organization can improve employee and customer service >>>

Fresh Steps That Will Deliver World Class Patient Care

The award is based on Care2Learn’s online courses and industry-leading Learning & Performance Engine (LMS). Judges looked at how Care2Learn’s site and other digital communications compared with other competitive solutions. They also reviewed entries based on a proprietary multi-point standard of Internet excellence.

"In spite of the unsettled healthcare environment, organizations have accelerated their investment in digital communications," says Mark Gothberg, eHealthcare Leadership Awards Chairman. "Organizations have made major improvements in their websites, increased involvement in social media, more fully integrated newer media outlets with traditional marketing, and expanded mobile efforts to better serve current and future customers."

The Care2Learn Learning & Performance Engine (LMS) organizes education into one central location, is easy to use, delivers individualized training tailored to specific job roles, simplifies CE completion for licensed staff, and offers administrators robust tools for tracking, managing and reporting on training and education activities.

"We are very proud to have won an award in the eHealthcare Leadership Awards for three years in a row," said Scott Roan, Care2Learn Vice President of Information Technology. “Care2Learn continues to grow our LMS and introduce new features and innovation such as the recent launch of our mobile apps for the iPad and iPhone phone or tablet. This continual evolution keeps us - and our customers - on the cutting edge of technology.”

This month in Healthcare Global we take a look at the pros and cons of adopting EHR. Electronic Health Records have been outlined as the most dominant technology issue facing healthcare executives in 2013, so we discuss the benefits of the new software and give tips on how to overcome any potential challenges.

• The Benefits Of EHR And How To Overcome Potential Challenges

Also in this issue, we think about customer service in a hospital environment. HCG spoke to Fresh Customer Service about ways healthcare executives can build and maintain a positive environment for both patients and professionals. Interestingly, by approaching patient care with customer service in mind, there is proof that medical care is also improved.

• Fresh Steps That Will Deliver World Class Patient Care

The issue of healthcare provision around the world is a very prevalent concern at the moment. So this month, we take a look at the different health services across the globe and assess their relative merits. We also consider the true cost of healthcare to both hospitals and patients.

• Trends In Global Healthcare Provision Around The World
• The True Cost Of Healthcare

I hope you enjoy the issue. If you would like to provide us with any feedback, join the discussion on Businessfriend.

Abigail Phillips

Healthcare Global Editor

Written by Michael D. Brown

You likely recently heard the horrific story of a nurse who was “following company policy” to not offer medical attention to a dying women at a California retirement home.  Policy it might be - but certainly worth a swift and through review by Glenwood Gardens and should serve as a wake up call for the industry. We need sensible policies in place that protects the health and welfare of the patients and prevents them from dying. We also need to empower and equip our frontline (nurses, janitors, aides, etc.) with the processes and procedures to deliver a world-class patient experience. I am sure we will discover that not been able to deliver CPR is the tip of the nightmare - as the frontline hands are likely tied and are prevented from delivering in other areas that could benefit the patient.

‘Fresh Customer Service’ Offers Healthcare Global Readers With 6.5 Fresh Steps that Will Deliver A World-Class Patient Experience >>>

Read This Article In Our Digital Reader

Fresh Step 1: Side-by-Side Walking

This involves walking a mile in the shoes of employees to understand what they do, how they do it, and how they experience their jobs. Side-by-Side Walking will help give you a real-world understanding of the environment your frontline employees operate in, and separate perceptions from actual activities and true problems. Side-by-Side Walking is the foundation for understanding where your organization is at the moment, the gaps that exist, what is working and what needs improvement.

Best of all, Side-by-Side Walking only requires you, the corporate manager or executive, to take one day of your schedule and devote it to going through all the activities your frontline employees go through, from pre-shift preparation to post-shift cleanup and closeout. Far more than a site visit, it's a true immersion into your frontline employees' daily lives and routines.

Fresh Step 2: Smart Tasking

This clearly defines the critical tasks and processes that support the customer service offering and the deadlines by which they must be completed. The most important factor is completing the necessary tasks and processes without impeding the delivery of a world-class customer service experience to the patient. Smart Tasking creates a harmonized balance between completing the tasks/processes and delivering a world-class patient experience.

It is important to get the processes of delivery right, allowing your employees to be more efficient

Fresh Step 3: Make-It-Right Power

This instills both the responsibility and the authority to resolve patient complaints and issues (in this recent case- a dying women needing to breath) in the frontline employees who are most able to satisfy the customer at any point in time.

Make-It-Right Power puts the ability to deliver a world-class patient experience in the hands of the people who are best able to deliver it: The employees who interact with the patients. It's about empowering and positioning employees to be able to instantly solve patient problems and view them as opportunities to Make-It-Right now for the patient.

Make-It-Right Power delivers both the responsibility and the prescribed authority to the employees to transform a patient's bad experience into a positive one, or in the best case scenario, one that can proactively hedge off the situation as a result of prescribed Make-It-Right Power before it even festers into a bad experience.

Fresh Step 4: The What-If Arsenal

This is a set of processes and tools in place to handle scenarios when the patient is in need. It builds on organizational experiences and reduces the need to reinvent the wheel while creating a depository for frontline employees to make fresh deposits of "what-if solutions," and helps give Make-It-Right Power to the frontline employee to instantly serve and satisfy the patient.

When fastballs of everyday life are thrown at you and your organization, you need to have a strategy for hitting home runs in unstable conditions. A What-If Arsenal should be at an employee's fingertips or stored in his head for instant retrieval when the manager is present and when he's away.

But here's a tip: We need to be careful not to dictate the contents of the What-If Arsenal toolbox. Filling it with techniques that we think are appropriate for the frontline employee while sidelining what the frontline employee believes is right will not work.

Instead, we should give frontline employees the opportunity to brainstorm their own ideas for filling the toolbox. The litmus test should be whether the employees' suggestions are ethical. If they are, they should be implemented. It all comes down to one element: a world-class patient experience that will grow and sustain your business.

The Fifth Fresh Step

Bubble-Up Innovation. This will show you how to appreciate and utilize the current ideas frontline employees possess to improve the whole organization. They, not managers or CEOs, are privy to why patients want later dinner hours, or why the chairs in the movie room keeps them from enjoying the show.  Therefore it is a winning practice to listen to the comments and suggestions frontline employees may have to make your organization better.

When you want to encourage innovation and gain solutions to problems facing the business, schedule a "Bubble-Up Innovation Fun Day." Create an off-site environment that promotes innovation, represents the brand and desired customer experience, and, above all, is comfortable and stimulating for the frontline employee.

Fresh Step 6: Relentless Focus

This is the continual and consistent emphasis on the frontline employee delivering a world-class customer patient experience and embedding this into the core business model, as opposed to customer service "programs-of-the-month."

Many organizations are good at "kick-off celebrations." Most customer service programs start off with a bang, with everyone being committed and poised to make them happen. But as the strategies start changing, new leaders come in, employees become disinterested and the focus shifts to something else, the initial great customer service program is tossed aside like a child's old favorite toy.

Relentless Focus forces the organization to make an ongoing investment in providing a world-class patient experience by embedding it into the core business model. Every program, strategy, and initiative has an automatic space carved out for providing a world-class customer patient experience. Not providing this focus destroys the foundation of the operation and the goal of providing a great customer experience.

Because Relentless Focus is essentially a mindset, it is also essentially cost-free. It requires each employee to constantly keep customer service in mind, whether they are a top-level executive designing a core business strategy or an entry-level frontline associate implementing that same strategy.

Fresh Step 6.5: Now Just Make It Happen

This is a half-step simply meant to remind you that the first six steps do you no good unless you actively put them into practice today and then constantly follow up to ensure they remain in practice throughout your organization. It's one thing to "commit" to Fresh Customer Service, it's another thing to roll up your sleeves and make it happen.

The cost? Whatever the market rate for elbow grease and determination is these days. Like so many of the most valuable things in life, there is no financial value you can put on them, but they're worth more than anything you can put a price sticker on.

So that's the 6.5 steps to Fresh Customer Service that will deliver a world-class patient experience. Easy to follow and cost-efficient. All they require is commitment and effort. And if you can't afford to expend some commitment and effort to guarantee a world-class customer experience to every patient who comes through your door, you'll soon have much bigger things to worry about - perhaps even be out of business.

Brown is a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator and has worked with a number of Fortune 100 companies, independent businesses, non-profits, and entrepreneurs improve their mission, service, and growth concurrently. Visit Fresh Customer Service for more information.