5 pillars of clinical integration

Implementing an effective clinical integration program requires deliberate investment of time and resources in five key areas: Physician leadership, Physician-led care management, Quality monitoring, Patient information and data sharing, Payer engagement.     

Pioneers for Profit: St. Petersburg Entrepreneurs in Services

Russian private entrepreneurs in services are truly pioneering,because many services— especially trade, financial services,and most business and consumer services—are poorly developed.This article uses 1992 and 1993 survey data from St. Petersburgto assess the characteristics of these entrepreneurs, theirfirms, and the markets in which they deal. Evaluation of thefirms' performance establishes how well they are doing and providesinsight into the determinants of success. Their performancewas surprisingly good and can be attributed to several factors,including the existence of a substantial gap between the desiredand the actual levels of many services and the high level ofeducation and motivation of the entrepreneurs themselves. Policypriorities are to achieve macroeconomic stability, a transparentlegal framework and simplified regulations, a well-designedtax code, further privatization of real estate, and better accessto finance. Direct assistance programs would be useful in providinginformation, counseling, and financing to small and medium-sizefirms.     

Time-driven activity-based costing for health care provider supply chains

ABSTRACT

Health care providers currently operate in an environment of complex supply chains and increasing costs where approximately one third of hospital operating expenses are related to supplies. It is pertinent that health care providers have a clear understanding of their supply chain process costs. Knowing how these costs are driven and where opportunities for cost reduction exist can support health care provider supply chain (HPSC) efficiency. In this article, we present a time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) supply chain cost methodology for health care providers. A TDABC management system can provide health care providers with valuable product and process supply chain cost information by investigating logistics activities, resource consumption, and time drivers. Our HPSC TDABC methodology is demonstrated in a case study conducted for the supply chain department of a 200-bed, not-for-profit hospital.     

QUALITATIVE AND MIXED‐METHODS RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS: SURPRISING GROWTH,PROMISING FUTURE

Qualitative research in economics has traditionally been unimportant compared to quantitative work. Yet there has been a small explosion in use of quantitative approaches in the past 10–15 years, including ‘mixed‐methods’ projects which use qualitative and quantitative methods in combination. This paper surveys the growing use of qualitative methods in economics and closely related fields, aiming to provide economists with a useful roadmap through major sets of qualitative methods and how and why they are used. We review the growing body of economic research using qualitative approaches, emphasizing the gains from using qualitative‐ or mixed‐methods over traditional ‘closed‐ended’ approaches. It is argued that, although qualitative methods are often portrayed as less reliable, less accurate, less powerful and/or less credible than quantitative methods, in fact, the two sets of methods have their own strengths, and how much can be learned from one type of method or the other depends on specific issues that arise in studying the topic of interest. The central message of the paper is that well‐done qualitative work can provide scientifically valuable and intellectually helpful ways of adding to the stock of economic knowledge, especially when applied to research questions for which they are well suited.     

New development: Importance of accounts receivable in Colombian state entities and their impact on the preparation of financial information

ABSTRACT

The article shows the importance of accounts receivable in the financial structure of state entities (purely government entities and state companies), and the challenge of standardizing accounting policies in order to prepare a national consolidated balance sheet. The focus is on Colombia. The research is qualitative, based on an analytical link between the nature of state entities, liquidity management and measurement in the preparation of financial information. Evidence is provided about the opportunities and limitations of the accounting regulation frameworks established for the public sector in Colombia. The author identifies future fields of research on public sector accounting and its role in accountability.