Category: Health

Hamilton Jordan pleads case for cancer research funding

An “ironic blessing and sense of purpose” steers Hamilton Jordan’s life these days. Once President Jimmy Carter’s chief of staff, Jordan now defines himself as a four-time cancer survivor dedicated to spreading hard-won knowledge about the health-care system to a public which may not fully realize the prevalence of cancer, and the scarcity of research dollars. Jordan shared his story with an audience at the Stuart A. Wesbury, Jr. Awards luncheon sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business. Jordan’s message was simple: Early detection saves lives. Researchers urgently need more funding.

Health care industry: Reform or face consumer backlash ‘tsunami’

Salaries and wages are flat due to the increasing costs of medical insurance … Some companies have done away with paying for health benefits altogether … Soon health insurance as part of retirement plans may become just a memory. These are just some of the conditions in the medical world today leading to an inevitable revolution in the U.S. health-care industry, according to Dr. Jerome Grossman, director of the health-care delivery policy program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Grossman discussed his ideas while visiting the W. P. Carey School as a featured speaker in the "Transforming American Healthcare" lecture series.

The nation’s health care supply chain: A holistic perspective

If there is one area of discourse within supply chain dynamics that has been ignored or underplayed, it is the complexity of the health-care supply chain. This lack of evidence-based inquiry has hampered the field, which has lacked a comprehensive, research-substantiated offering. A new book, "Strategic Management of the Health Care Supply Chain," by Eugene Schneller, professor of health management and policy in the W. P. Carey School of Business, and the late Larry Smeltzer, begins to fill the gap. The authors define the key themes and issues in the health-care supply chain, offering solutions that acknowledge its burgeoning influence and its impact on the economy.

Health care industry seeks ‘green’ alternatives to curtail its substantial waste stream

The health-care industry is beginning to adopt the principles of sustainable procurement — a "green" approach to purchasing which takes into account the efficient use of nonrenewable resources and the potential for recycling. Research Professor Helen Walker, an international expert visiting ASU from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, recently focused attention on the trend during a speech sponsored by the W. P. Carey School’s Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium. A number of the consortium’s corporate members, including Premier, Novation and Amerinet, are actively involved in advancing sustainable purchasing.

Saving the children: Nearly a third of Arizona’s child fatalities are preventable

In 2004, Arizona reported the deaths of 1,048 children under 18. Nearly a third of them didn’t have to die, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Child Fatality Review Team. In its 12th annual report, the team it reviewed 98 percent, or 1,031, of last year’s reported deaths, and found that 309 were preventable. "Every year we are struck by the number of deaths that are preventable," said Dr. Mary Rimsza, research professor at the W. P. Carey School’s Center for Health Information and Research and chairman of the review team.

 

Gainsharing in health care: Cost-saving kick start … or kickback?

As the price of health care continues to rise, hospitals around the country have turned to a 70-year-old economic model — gainsharing — to try to bring down costs. In its simplest form, gainsharing involves monetary rewards for workers’ innovative cost-cutting ideas. Over the years, gainsharing has evolved into many forms and in many industries, eventually making its way into health care where it is generating controversy today. The health-care field brings its unique issues to the table: Not only are there difficulties in measuring the financial aspects of outcomes, there are ethical issues involved. But, some researchers note, as gainsharing models evolve in health care, they may prove beneficial for patients as well as physicians and hospitals.