IDN Insights News of the Week; Read the March Issue of JHC; Cheshire Medical Center names new chief medical officer; plus Jobs!

March 22, 2024

Hello NAW Subscribers -

I hope you like this issue of National Accounts Weekly.

Sincerely,

John Pritchard

President of ANAE

Publisher of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting

IDN Insights News of the Week

In this week’s IDN Insights, IDN Directory publisher John Pritchard discusses the top news stories of the week regarding the IDN space such as the Medical Device Supply Chain Council agenda, and news from Henry Ford Health, Trinity Health System, and Steward Health. Watch at the link below!

Watch Here

Read the March issue of JHC

Read the March issue of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting to learn what it will take to have more a more secure, less disrupted healthcare supply chain.

In this issue, you will find stories like:

Assurance and Sustainability
Developing Partnerships Through Value Analysis
Atlas Healthcare Partners: Diving into the Vendor-Surgery Center Relationship
and more!

Cheshire Medical Center names new chief medical officer

Cheshire Medical Center, a Dartmouth Health member, has named pediatrician Gina L. O’Brien, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAP, as its new chief medical officer (CMO), effective mid January, 2024. She served as interim CMO since May 2023 and will continue to see patients in the pediatrics department.

O’Brien succeeds Cherie A. Holmes, MD, MSc, who stepped down as CMO to serve as the Designated Institutional Officer of Graduate Medical Education at Cheshire. She also sees patients in Cheshire’s Center for Pain and Spine.

O’Brien joined Cheshire Medical Center, serving initially as an associate CMO and a pediatrician, in June 2022. Prior to coming to Cheshire, she was most recently the senior medical director for population health at UMass Memorial Health in Worcester, MA.

In a healthcare career that spans more than two decades, O’Brien has held many roles, including chief of pediatrics at both Holyoke Medical Center in Holyoke, MA, and Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, MA. She also was founder and president of Sugarloaf Pediatrics in South Deerfield, MA.

Cardinal Health completes acquisition of Specialty Networks and its PPS analytics platform

Cardinal Health announced that it has completed its acquisition of Specialty Networks. Specialty Networks creates clinical and economic value for independent specialty providers and partners across multiple specialty GPOs: UroGPO, Gastrologix and GastroGPO, and United Rheumatology.

Specialty Networks’ PPS Analytics platform analyzes data from electronic medical records (EMR), practice management, imaging, and dispensing systems and transforms it into meaningful and actionable insights for providers and other stakeholders by using artificial intelligence and modern data analytics capabilities. The Specialty Networks team joins the Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment of Cardinal Health and Shailendra Sharma will continue to lead the business.

Intermountain Health hospitals named to Newsweek's 2024 World's Best Hospitals list

Nine Intermountain Health hospitals have been named to Newsweek’s 2024 rankings of the World’s Best Hospitals. The list aims to highlight the best facilities each year by using a mix of methodology that evaluates quality and safety measures meant to provide a guide for patients and families in choosing healthcare services in their communities.

Newsweek looked at data from 2,400 hospitals across 30 countries to compile their list. The final scores were based on surveys from medical experts, patient/doctor ratios, and patient satisfaction surveys, among other metrics.

Diving into the vendor-surgery center relationship

Businesses are built off relationships in every industry, but they are especially critical in healthcare. With all the challenges that healthcare organizations face with issues of compliance, it’s important to partner with someone you can trust to meet the needs of your business. But what does it take to maintain those relationships in an environment that’s constantly changing?

The Journal of Healthcare Contracting recently sat down with Marc Toth, Market President, Cardiovascular Services at Atlas Healthcare Partners; Kristen Richards, Regional VP of Cardiovascular Operations at Atlas Healthcare Partners; and Adam King, Senior Director Ambulatory Surgery Centers at Medtronic, to discuss the value that ambulatory surgery centers can provide for patients and providers, a new agreement for Atlas Healthcare Partners and Medtronic, as well as a close look at the relationship between vendors and surgery centers.

Ascension promotes two to the executive leadership team

Ascension announced that it has promoted Amber Sims and Michelle Kohler to its Ascension Leadership Team. Amber Sims, MBA, has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, effective March 1. In this new role, Sims will lead development and advancement of Ascension’s strategy as well as positioning for growth across the organization. This includes growth engine drivers such as service lines, business development, marketing, digital experience and positioning access channels across the portfolio for growth. She also leads Ascension’s market and enterprise-level strategy community as well as enterprise portfolio management.

Dr. Michelle H. Kohler will be promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, effective June 1, following the retirement of Ascension’s current Chief Human Resources Officer Herb Vallier. Kohler joined Ascension in 2018. Since October 2021, she has served as Senior Vice President, HR, leading the Organizational Capability Solutions team that provides contemporary and operationally aligned solutions to develop Ascension’s knowledge, skills, capabilities, culture and leadership practices.

Learn More

Bipartisan bill to expedite medical supplies headed to House floor

The bipartisan committee approval of H.R. 6140 has been announced, called Facilitate Access to Swiftly Transport Goods during a Publicly Announced State of Emergency Situation (FAST PASS) Act. The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee approved H.R. 6140 by a voice vote.

The bipartisan bill, introduced by Representatives Mike Ezell (R-MS) and John Garamendi (D-CA), directs the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a study to examine efforts to expedite the movement of critical cargo across all modes of transportation during emergencies.

Key provisions of H.R. 6140 include:

Evaluate practices for expediting cargo during a Federal Emergency
Examine processes to mitigate impact on the movement of other cargo that is not deemed critical during an emergency
Include recommendations for using data from commercial and government data tracking systems to determine which cargo is critical and when it needs to be expedited
Seek public comment so DOT can issue a report to Congress two years after enactment