Volume 24| June 7, 2018
Insights-Trends-Opinions
National Accounts Execs: your meeting is being held in Chicago, Ill. July 16-18, 2018

Presented by the Association of National Accounts Executives

Register today, space is limited.

A few of the committed speakers:
  • John Horne, OSF Healthcare
  • George Hersch, Norton Healthcare
  • Tom Lubotsky, Advocate Healthcare
  • Gary Fennessy, Northwestern
  • Travis Heider, Pandion Optimization Alliance (formerly Seagate Alliance)


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UPS Makes Bold Move into Medical Device Distribution
Transport and logistics giant UPS Inc. said today it has introduced a field inventory tracking platform through a collaboration with technology providers WebOps LLC and Baxter Planning Systems that ensures that surgical kits and implantable medical devices arrive at the right location and time.

The cloud-based software is intended to help medical device manufacturers hone their supply chains to comply with strict patient safety standards,  Atlanta-based UPS said .

The solution relies on features from two technology partners, UPS said. Roswell, Ga.-based  WebOps , a medical device logistics and analytics provider, will enable tracking of surgery schedules, physician preferences, inventory availability, and the movement of surgical kits and implants.
HCA Upping its Texas Hospital Footprint to 53
“HCA Healthcare’s Gulf Coast Division is currently pursuing the potential acquisition of North Cypress Medical Center, an excellent medical facility with many respected physicians and services that would complement our presence on the northwest side of Greater Houston,” Debra Burbridge, assistant vice president of communications, community engagement and public relations for HCA Gulf Coast Division, told Community Impact Newspaper. “The transaction is expected to be completed this year.”

HCA Gulf Coast Division  acquired  two other Cy-Fair area hospitals—Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital and Houston Northwest Medical Center—in 2017.


Free Download of the Top 25 Physician Groups in the US
Definitive Healthcare has put together two lists of the Top 25 Physician Groups in the U.S:
  • Top 25 Physician Groups by number of Physicians
  • Top 25 Physician Groups by Medicare Charges

Here are some interesting facts about each list by the numbers.

Top 25 Physician Groups by number of Physicians
  • The top Group has 8,711 Physicians
  • The 25th Group has 2,042 Physicians
  • 9 of the Top 25 are part of an Academic system
  • 23 of the 25 are Internal Medicine or Family Practice Specialties

Top 25 Physician Groups by Medicare Charges
  • The top Group has $2,059,026,217 in Medicare Charges and 544 Physicians
  • The 25th Group has $637,628,999 in Medicare Charges and 2,656 Physicians
  • The 18th largest Group has 4,016 Physicians
  • The top 2 Groups are Oncology practices

VA to Launch National Registry for Medical Implant Devices
The Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest integrated healthcare delivery system in the United States, plans to launch a national registry for medical implant devices,   enabling the agency to monitor device safety, track quality metrics and ensure optimal care for its patients.

The VA, which is one of the largest purchasers of surgical implants, is hosting an all-day summit on Monday in Washington to kick-start the initiative in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Defense and the Food and Drug Administration.

Apple Takes Major Step Towards Health Record Capabilities
The API roll-out is an update to the  personal health record debut  Apple made in January. 
The company has quickly found partners for the initiative. In April, Apple said it partnered with  40 health systems  to contribute medical records to the Health Records feature, up from the initial 12 health systems the company announced in January. The PHR feature uses the FHIR data-sharing standard.

When consumers choose to share their health record data with trusted apps, the data flows directly from Apple's Health Kit to the third-party app and is not sent to Apple’s servers.
Still, despite all the hype, the question regarding PHRs remains: Will consumers use it?

Premier's Susan DeVore: Competition Solves the Drug Price Problem
Some quotes from her visit with Fox Business:

"We think that President Trump's blueprint is on the right track"

"If you can get 2 competitors to the market, prices go down 52%"

"You have to get more competition to the market...that is going to work better than government price negotiations"

John Bardis to Rejoin Jackson Healthcare Advisory Board
Jackson Healthcare, a leading provider of healthcare staffing services, announced that John A. Bardis, will rejoin the nearly $1 billion, Atlanta-based company's advisory board. Bardis, an esteemed healthcare executive with more than 30 years of experience, previously served on the board from 2015 to 2017.  

"John is one of the most well-respected healthcare entrepreneurs in the nation," said Richard L. Jackson, chairman and CEO of Jackson Healthcare. "He has a deep understanding of the national healthcare landscape, entrepreneurial growth, and efficiencies that improve medical care, even in the face of ever-changing regulations."

Bardis founded MedAssets, a healthcare performance improvement company, in 1999 and led the company to tremendous growth, leading up to and following MedAssets successful initial public offering in 2007. He served for 15 years as the MedAssets Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. From 2014 until his retirement in 2015, he served as chairman and chief executive officer. He was later named Assistant Secretary for Administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where he served from 2017 to 2018. Bardis is also the founder and chairman of Hire Heroes U.S.A. Hire Heroes has grown to be the largest and most successful non-profit veteran employment and training organization in the United States. 

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