Hospitals Behind The Year 2000 Eight Ball
Hospitals have not yet resolved the myriad of issues involving Year 2000 communications problems, according to a new study by information technology firm Gordon & Glickson in Chicago.
The national survey found that more than 30% of hospitals have not developed a comprehensive strategy to address critical programming updates. And, more than 40% do not anticipate completing their Year 2000 corrections until after 1998, even though year 2000 dates will more than likely be entered in 1999.
Researchers recommend that providers move beyond the initial assessment phase and into year 2000 conversions immediately. "Otherwise they will face major shortages in qualified programmers, increased costs, failed systems and, ultimately, legal threats," says Diana J. P. McKenzie, a partner with Gordon & Glickson.
Other findings include:
- More than one-third of respondents do not obtain patient consent for data-mining activities.
- Outsourcing has reached a plateau, 26% of hospitals still do not outsource IT functions. (Gordon & Glickson, Diana McKenzie, 312/321-7671)
Prenatal Care Is Rising; Outcomes Are Mixed
The good news is that more women are getting prenatal care than in the past, a managed marketing care coup. But the downside is that there is still a higher incidence of premature and low-weight births, which raises questions about whether the right women are being reached.
According to a new study released by the Center for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics, which examined 54 million U.S. births from 1981 to 1995, rates of prenatal care rose for both high risk and low-risk expectant mothers. The findings, which indicate a need for more strategic targeting efforts, include:
- At-risk women expecting a multiple birth received better prenatal care - nearly one in four received intensive prenatal care in 1995, compared with fewer than one in 10 in 1981.
- However, intensive prenatal care was also more common among low-risk women, involving several doctor visits and high-tech procedures such as amniocentesis.
Researchers concluded that the industry's push for more aggressive prenatal care has some benefits but "the public health and clinical community may have oversold the idea of increasing prenatal care utilization as a way of decreasing low birth weight and pre-term delivery." (National Center for Health Statistics, 301/436-8500)
Conference Notes
The Third National Forum on Customer Based Marketing Strategies Conference, which took place on May 3-5 in Phoenix and attracted more than 300 attendees, is making available tapes from its six tracks on strategy and planning.
The tapes feature career-enhancing information on the latest marketing tecmiques and technologies. The tapes cost $15 each and can be ordered in various packages, starting at $60.
The tracks available, include:
- Market-Driven Strategy that highlights physician-driven strategies and the fundamentals of marketing.
- Getting and Keeping Customers that includes market-driven medicare techniques, prospecting customers and increasing member-retention.
- Marketing Technologies that includes case studies on Internet marketing, integrated marketing and achieving an effective media mix.
- Smart Segmentation that features information on consumer attitudes, positioning women's service lines and senior-driven marketing strategies.
- Branding Healthcare that includes strategies for leveraging brand value and balancing physician anpatient communication.
- Partnerships that highlights physician-based collaborations amd partnership scorecards. (Forum for Healthcare Strategists, 1-888-869-8482)