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In today’s medical practice, medical technology abounds. State-of-the-art diagnostic imaging and even surgery take place each day in many physician offices. And yet, the simple act of scheduling and the typical patient encounter remain decidedly low-tech. It is high time that changed.

In addition to my own personal bias, which I will cover here, many sources could be cited to support this idea. I’ll choose only one, published recently by TheBostonChannel.com. In the article, Overbooked ...

Leading health care economist Uwe E. Reinhardt, PhD treated conference attendees to an easily understandable discussion on the current economic state of health care. Although the affordable care act and recent legislation may seem daunting to you or me, Reinhardt masterfully crafted a discussion around the many benefits and challenges the bill brings to health care.

Reinhardt admitted it is difficult to predict the true impact on the bottom-line yet shared several projections on national ...

A creative new means of assessing a health care organization's position in the marketplace was explored this morning at Press Ganey's National Client Conference in Orlando, Fla. University of Notre Dame Professor Joe Urbany, MS, PhD, walked attendees through his 3-Circle Growth framework, a new way to think about competitive strategy by breaking down the value that a health care organization and its market competitors create for their customers.

The model has been used by ...

Attendees at Press Ganey’s National Client Conference this afternoon heard detailed presentations from three esteemed health care leaders on overcoming one of the more difficult challenges in health care performance improvement – winning the buy-in of physicians.



First, chief medical officer Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, shared OhioHealth’s journey to building a strong partnership with their physicians. For the past two years, OhioHealth has been in the top percentiles for physician satisfaction scores, but this was not ...

Hi again from Orlando. At Press Ganey’s annual Awards Luncheon today, held during our National Client Conference here, more than 1,800 health care leaders helped pay tribute to the winners of our Partner of Choice, Summit, Success Story, Top Improver, Best Place to Practice and Distinctive Workplace awards. “The stories of the challenges faced by our award winners and the processes and programs that helped them overcome these obstacles have served as best practices and ...

Press Ganey CEO Rick Siegrist and Vice President of Product Analytics Susan Madden told attendees at the National Client Conference in Orlando this morning about their work in the area of sentiment analysis – the science of analyzing and categorizing patients' written and spoken comments about their care experiences.

Siegrist said that using natural language software to categorize and assess the emotions found in patient comments is “the secret sauce to really moving the needle ...

With his vast experience as a heart and lung transplant surgeon, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, MD offered attendees an unprecedented discussion on the Affordable Care Act's impact on health care decision-making. Frist used realism to connect with the audience, explaining how rising unemployment rates and increased Medicare costs are fueling an increased federal deficit. Applause broke out as Frist expressed his belief that our rising national debt is being driven by ...

Attendees of the Executive Leadership Conference were treated to a first-hand discussion by forward-thinking health care executives from across the country. Our panelists came from a range of backgrounds including CEO, President and CMO, two of whom are physicians. The group discussed the current state of hospital-physician relations, guided by findings from a recent Modern Healthcare reader survey.

In partnership with Press Ganey, Modern Healthcare conducted a study of the delicate hospital-physician relationship. Respondents of ...

Energized by the introduction of the new Press Ganey and excitement surrounding the new Clinical Performer tool, conference attendees were in a state of awe as Chesley B. Sullenberger III delivered the opening keynote in Orlando. The famed pilot – a beloved hero more affectionately known as “Sully” – shared a rarely seen video produced by the National Transportation Safety Board and audio communications of incidents on US Airways Flight 1549.

Sullenberger delicately described ...

Good morning. We’re here in Orlando, Fla., through Wednesday live-blogging the 2010 Press Ganey National Client Conference.

More than 1,800 health care executives have gathered at the Marriott World Center Resort to hear presentations on the full array of health care quality and operational performance improvement issues and to network with colleagues from across the U.S.

Keynote speakers will include famed pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who will show how airline safety practices should be ...