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Wellmont Health System is quickly piecing together a regional system as it battles Mountain States Health Alliance in east Tennessee. Wellmont's latest acquisition takes it into Virginia. Insurers are mixed over whether the rivalry will drive down prices. "Having two systems...theoretically is good. It provides consumer choice just like in any other market-driven business," says John Sorrow, left.

Though various health organizations may define and approach quality differently, the common denominator is the patient's perspective, experience and outcome. Quality issues should be an important part of health system executives' agenda. Successful quality programs have a number of key ingredients, including decision-reporting tools and business analytics information--which depend on robust information reporting and a system-wide electronic medical record--as well as highly motivated employees and physicians. In this installment of Straight Talk, representatives from two health systems--Kaiser Permanente and Clarian Health Partners--discuss their quality initiatives.

Bon Secours Health System's South Division launched a multitude of performance-improvement projects in 2004 even though it boasted a 9% margin. Why? Officials at the Catholic healthcare system wanted to increase the amount of money available for its nation-wide charitable commitments as well as to invest in capital projects critical to its mission. In this installment of Straight Talk, we look at the performance-improvement initiatives of the South Division of Bon Secours Health System, Inc., which saved $8 million in just five months and expects to gain a total of $41 million after it completes all projects. Modern Healthcare and PricewaterhouseCoopers present Straight Talk. The session on performance improvement was held on March 22, 2005 at Modern Healthcare's Chicago headquarters. Fawn Lopez, publisher of Modern Healthcare, was the moderator.

Supply-chain management--the art of getting the most at the least cost from the products and services purchased by an organization--has transformed industries such as manufacturing and retailing, and can potentially do the same for healthcare. VHA is committed to keeping its members educated on current thinking and best practices in supply-chain management. In support of that mission, four supply chain experts gathered in Chicago recently at Modern Healthcare's offices to discuss the issues they face in their organizations and the strategies they've found most successful in addressing them.

Performance management is a topic thrown around a lot in executive suites, but its key tenets are sometimes misunderstood. To be successful, performance management involves setting strategy at the board and executive levels and making day-to-day decisions at the line-manager level. But the process won't work unless those line managers have clearly defined goals to achieve as well as relevant reliable and timely information to assist them in monitoring their performance and making operational decisions to improve outcomes. Modern Healthcare and Pricewaterhouse Coopers present Straight Talk in the tenth installment of Straight Talk we discuss the steps necessary to build a successful performance-management program. The session was held at Modern Healthcare's Chicago head-quarters on January 7, 2003. Charles S. Lauer, publisher of Modern Healthcare, was the moderator.