Hospitals and health system innovations designed to increase efficiency, improve outcomes

News outlets report on how certain health care models are performing in these difficult economic times.

California Healthline: How Hospital Transformed Care Model in Tough Economy
Six years ago, disaster loomed for San Mateo Medical Center, as it did for most county hospitals in California. In 2005, California used a waiver granted by CMS to make sweeping changes to the process hospitals used to get reimbursed for treating beneficiaries of Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program. The new system shifted funding responsibilities for Medi-Cal inpatient hospital payments from the state general fund to the hospitals. ... For one of those hospitals, crafting success out of instability involved a huge cultural shift in the way health care was delivered, and that set the tone for creating a new financial growth model, according to Susan Ehrlich, CEO of the San Mateo Medical Center (Gorn, 2/24).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: WellStar Project Part Of Larger Push To More Integrated Patient Care
For Charles Sevier, a doctor visit used to mean dealing with the hassle of hospital parking and following a blue line on the floor through a maze of hallways. Even though it's a regular visit, "you're still going to a hospital, and that scares people," Sevier said. "It does me." The 59-year-old Marietta resident is one of 200,000 people WellStar Health System hopes to reach in metro Atlanta with an ambitious plan to create a convenient "one-stop shop" in Cobb County. The system will offer a host of services in one, roughly 250,000-square-foot facility. As health care costs continue to soar, medical providers such as WellStar are seeking ways to seamlessly deliver services to improve the quality of care while cutting costs (Williams, 2/25).