The healthcare landscape continues to evolve, and many providers, organizations and companies are working diligently to develop long-term strategic plans that will encourage growth while maintaining the flexibility needed to adjust to new policies and procedures, which will make change a constant. At a national level, there has been a significant amount of discussion around…
Lean Six Sigma: A catalyst to improve healthcare strategic planning
The healthcare industry is in the throes of multi-dimensional change. Declining reimbursement, competitive forces, disruptive technology, accountability for high quality clinical outcomes and stakeholder satisfaction, along with funding formula change and innovative financial sources require effective strategies to deal with these variables. Pressures to do more with less, in the wake of limited resources…
Humana Foundation working to measurably boost health equity in Louisville
As Humana pursues its Bold Goal to improve the health of the communities we serve 20 percent by 2020, the Humana Foundation is also working to help make that happen in several communities throughout the Southeast, including Louisville. As Louisville is the home of Humana’s headquarters, we’re also in the midst of making a…
Increasing access to care through prescriber-driven pharmacist protocols
By: Cindy Stowe, PharmD, and Patricia Rippetoe Freeman, PharmD Standing orders and clinical protocols allow the delivery of prescribed care based on an agreed upon set of criteria. Pharmacists practicing in health system settings have had broad authority to provide protocol-driven care for many years. In contrast, community pharmacists’ authority to provide protocol-driven care has been limited to the provision of immunization services, and, more recently,…
American Cancer Society outlines legislative priorities
Expanding access to palliative care top goal. By: Lori Earnshaw, MD, Turner West and Kristy Young The need to improve serious illness care is particularly exigent in Kentucky because of our high prevalence of cancer and other serious illnesses and with the aging of the population. The Center to Advance Palliative Care defines palliative care as specialized care for people living with serious…
2017 Healthcare Leaders: Insights from the Physician Community
By Ben Keeton Each year, Medical News talks with healthcare leaders from across the Commonwealth to get their perspective on the changing landscape of healthcare. This year, we focused on leaders within the physician community to understand the opportunities and challenges that they face in improving healthcare across Kentucky. Leaders include: (click to view profile)…