Iowa news
UIHC’s Blum among 56 hospital and health system CMIOs and CNIOs to know
The physicians and nurses serving as chief medical officers and chief nursing officers are tasked with identifying new technologies, strategizing how best to integrate them into their organizations, and implementing them appropriately. Their work leads to more efficient health care delivery and ultimately improves the patient and provider experience. James Blum, M.D., was named CMIO of UI Health Care in December 2020. Dr. Blum is a computer scientist and licensed by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in clinical informatics. (Becker’s Health IT and CIO Report)
New report highlights continued maternal health care concerns in Iowa
The March of Dimes 2023 Report Card highlights a fourth straight increase in preterm birth rate in Iowa and continued disparities by race/ethnicity across poor birthing outcomes, all part of a maternal health care decline that has been decades in the making. Between January 2000 and December 2021, 41 of Iowa’s community-level hospitals closed their birthing units, with 33 of those in rural counties. According to the March of Dimes report, Iowa’s preterm birth rate was 10.2 in 2022, up from 10.0 a year prior, but the 2022 rate was much higher for American Indian/Alaska Native birthing people (15.7) and Black birthing people (12.4). (Business Record)
Three Iowa hospitals/health systems make Forbes’ best-in-state employer list
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Broadlawns Medical Center and UnityPoint Health are among a group of 29 employers in Iowa that received recognition as the state’s best employers. To compile the list, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey 70,000 full- or part-time employees across all 50 states and the District of Columbia who work at companies with more than 500 workers nationwide. (Forbes)
National news
Hospital performance in October reflects continued stabilization with volumes holding steady
Hospital performance in October reflected continued stabilization. Operating margins were elevated over pandemic levels and revenue continued to show improvement compared to the previous month. Emergency department visits declined compared to the previous month. This likely reflected the shift in patient behavior to outpatient care. Organizations need to continue to build strong provider and outpatient networks. (Kaufman Hall)
Hospital CEO turnover up 62% even with fall lull
U.S. hospitals have seen 126 CEO exits through October of this year, a 62% increase from the 78 reported in the same time period in 2022. The finding comes from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive coaching firm that analyzes CEO turnover in the U.S. monthly. October did bring a slowdown to CEO changes, with 105 CEOs leaving their posts in the month. That figure is down 34% from the 164 CEO changes announced in September. Hospitals recorded one CEO exit in October, according to the firm. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
Where C-suite leaders are increasing their IT investments
Health system executives are giving precedence to cybersecurity investments, aligning with the rising digital and IT budgets projected for their organizations in 2024. A report from Guidehouse contains findings from a survey of 144 provider executives, predominantly chief financial officers, conducted by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Between 2019 and 2023, executives observed an average 18.3% increase in digital and IT budgets, with 1 in 5 reporting increases exceeding 30%. More than 85% of health systems are augmenting their 2024 digital and IT budgets, with nearly half anticipating substantial increases. (Guidehouse)