First Objective Tool Measuring Capabilities of Hospitalist Programs Unveiled by Industry Experts

Greeno-Hawley Hospital Medicine Index to Help Hospitalist Programs Achieve Optimal Performance

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cogent HMG, a national leader in the field of hospital medicine and critical care medicine, announced today the development and launch of the Greeno-Hawley Hospital Medicine Index, the first objective tool designed to measure the capabilities of a hospitalist program.

The Index, developed over the past five years by an innovation team at Cogent HMG, leverages the best demonstrated practices of hundreds of Hospital Medicine programs reviewed by Ron Greeno M.D., M.H.M., and Beth Hawley, F.A.C.H.E., two of the industry’s most recognized experts.

“The Index is designed to help hospitals identify strengths and weaknesses of their Hospital Medicine program, as benchmarked against the best designed programs across the nation,” said Greeno. “Cogent HMG will be making the Index available to all hospitals free of charge, in an effort to advance the Hospitalist specialty and to hopefully start to create some necessary standardization across the industry.”

Hospital Medicine has experienced extraordinary growth and is known as the fastest growing medical specialty in the history of medicine. According to the Society for Hospital Medicine, there are currently more than 34,000 hospitalists practicing in more than 3,300 U.S. hospitals, and in 80% of hospitals with over 200 beds.

“Still relatively new in the healthcare industry, Hospital Medicine has grown and evolved quickly,” said Hawley. “The Index is designed with an eye towards serving and advancing the Hospitalist specialty by helping hospital leaders gain a pure understanding of how their programs can be structured to better serve patients and meet key organizational and financial goals. High performing Hospital Medicine programs have significant impact on improving clinical, quality and safety, cost efficiency, patient satisfaction and avoidable readmissions.”

A critical factor in the advancement of Hospital Medicine as a specialty was the development by the Society of Hospital Medicine of the Core Competencies for an individual hospitalist physician. The Greeno-Hawley Hospital Medicine Index further advances the field by establishing the Core Capabilities for a Hospital Medicine Program. This is an important advancement for a field that relies on the performance of teams of providers as opposed to an individual physician’s clinical skills. In the integrated healthcare system of the future, hospitals will be relying on more complex and team-based programs such as these for their successful operation.

“Now is a critical time in the history of our nation’s healthcare system,” said Greeno. “As hospitals, physicians and other providers try to respond to the mandate of the Triple Aim of healthcare reform, they will increasingly rely on hospitalists, and other site-based specialists to help them manage costs, increase quality, and transition to a more integrated industry.”

How it Works

The Index uses an assessment comprised of questions in five categories that are essential to any high performing Hospital Medicine program, including:

1. Alignment
2. Performance Management
3. Infrastructure
4. Operational Processes
5. Leadership & People

Once the assessment has been completed, a quantitative score is provided along with an illustrative interpretation of the program’s current state. This allows hospitalist program managers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their current Hospital Medicine program and assess what capabilities they need to create to start to move towards an optimally functioning program.

“In today’s uncertain environment, one thing is known for sure: our future will consist of less reimbursement in general, sprinkled with financial rewards for outcomes, efficiency, quality, and standardization around best practices,” said Mike Finley, M.D., Regional Chief Medical Officer, CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System in Texarkana, Tex. and 7-year client of Cogent HMG. “Based on years of experience, Dr. Greeno and Ms. Hawley have developed a simple, objective method to evaluate hospital medicine capabilities. This tool will be especially helpful in developing reliable return on investment projections for hospitals and is an exciting addition for the hospital industry.”

The tool will be available online in May 2012, to any organization wishing to undertake a self-assessment of their program. Dr. Greeno and Ms. Hawley will conduct a full demonstration of the Index on April 30, 2012, at American College of Physician Executives Conference in San Francisco. Learn more at www.hmindex.net.

About Cogent HMG

Cogent HMG is the nation’s largest private hospitalist company, partnering with more than 100 hospitals across the country to build and manage high-performing hospitalist and intensivist programs. Through our management and consulting services, Cogent HMG focuses on relentlessly improving efficiency and quality of inpatient care, by supporting hospitalists and intensivists with technology and operational infrastructure, a coordinated clinical care team, data-driven processes, rigorous ongoing training and experienced leadership. Founded by physicians who were pioneers of the hospital medicine industry, the company is dedicated to the advancement of the field by setting best practices and through its established national mentoring program, Cogent HMG Academy™. For more information, visit www.cogenthmg.com.



CONTACT:

Cogent HMG
Anne Hancock Toomey, 615-254-0575

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Tennessee

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Health  Hospitals

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