News 3/28/17

Top News

Physicians in Wisconsin will join their peers in 30 other states April 1 when legislation kicks in requiring them to check the state’s PDMP database before issuing prescriptions for controlled substances. Pharmacies and other dispensaries have reported such prescriptions since the program launched in 2013. A special effort is being made to educate PCPs on the appropriate use of opioids and alternative medications. UW Health Pain Management Clinic Director Alaa Abd-Elsayed, MD will use a CDC grant to launch the awareness initiative.

Webinars

March 29 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “Improving patient outcomes with smartphones: UW Medicine Valley Medical Center’s story.” Sponsored by Voalte. Presenters: James Jones, MBA, MSN, VP of patient care services and nursing operations, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center; Wayne Manuel, MBA, SVP of strategic services, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center. UW Medicine Valley Medical Center dramatically improved patient outcomes after moving to a smartphone-based platform for clinical communication and alarm and alert notification. Before-and-after analysis shows a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and skin integrity events, fall and slip events, and medication errors. By limiting overhead paging, the medical center also created a calmer, quieter environment and improved engagement among nursing and hospitalists. Hospital executives will describe their experience and vision for the future in addressing quality, cost, and the patient-caregiver experience.

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services.

Announcements and Implementations

Eastern Shore Psychological Services rolls out AlphaFlex EHR software from MediWare Information Systems at its four facilities in Maryland.

People

Former practice manager Robert Still (County of Lancaster) takes on the role of executive director for the Radiology Business Management Association.

InnovaTel Telepsychiatry appoints Charles Gordon, MD (Texas Spine and Joint Hospital) chairman and former US Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) vice chairman of its new advisory board.

Telemedicine

The local news covers the growing user base of DocMJ.com, a virtual practice geared towards Florida-based patients seeking medical marijuana prescriptions. Launched in 2016, it has has so far helped 1,000 patients sign up for the state’s Compassionate Use Registry – a database of qualified patients and ordering physicians. Florida seems to be getting its medical marijuana ducks in a row: Lawmakers approved an amendment last fall allowing physicians to prescribe medical marijuana for a range of conditions, and are preparing to consider legislation that would shorten the time between consultations from 90 to 45 days.

A Sermo survey of 1,651 members reveals that 41 percent believe the country is doing a “fair” job of adopting telemedicine, though 44 percent feel their states are doing a poor job with such programs. Responding physicians believe Ohio has implemented telemedicine the most effectively, followed by California. New Jersey and New York were found to be the most lacking in telemedicine friendliness.

Government and Politics

While I’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, I do find this summary of the #GOPDnD hashtag quite humorous.

Research and Innovation

A survey of 200 Millennial physicians reveals that 34 percent have found the reality of practicing medicine to be worse than they expected, though that hasn’t hampered their commitment to the career. Just over 80 percent report they are committed – even optimistic – about their role in changing the way healthcare is delivered. Many are already exploring the option of taking on the additional roles of entrepreneur, consultant, health system executive, and academic researcher. When it comes to health IT, they believe they’re more data-driven than their older colleagues. Sixty-two percent believe EHRs are an important part of their ability to care for patients.

Coming to a reality near you: Tesla founder Elon Musk teases followers about the formal launch of Neuralink, an AI business that will develop brain implants to help humans merge their thoughts with software. Such technology could be used to treat brain disorders like depression and epilepsy, though Musk seems to think it will ultimately be effective in helping humans function in a world increasingly dominated by robots.

Other

Better late than never, I suppose: “Brand experience” agency Cramer releases its review of HIMSS17 booths, highlighting the rise of the “living” booth designed to give attendees all the comforts of home. Salesforce and Athenahealth earned accolades for seating, creative use of height and/or second-story space, and outdoor themes. (Several booth reviews point to unnamed HIStalk sponsors.) I seem to remember the folks at Dodge Communications publishing a similar type of wrap up several years ago. I’d love to see them pick that back up for major industry tradeshows.

Rumor has it Johnny Depp will star in King of the Jungle as “computer virus magnate-turned-accused murdered John McAfee.” The movie will depict a magazine writer’s visit to McAfee’s residence in Belize – a trip “filled with paranoia, machine guns, sex, and murder.” McAfee, who had multiple run ins with local authorities, was in fact wanted for questioning related to the 2012 murder of a local who had complained about McAfee’s tendency to shoot guns and exhibit “roguish behavior.”

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Readers Write: Six (Inexpensive) Steps to Better Cybersecurity for Your Practice

Six (Inexpensive) Steps to Better Cybersecurity for Your Practice
By Lance Hayden

Physicians have a lot on their plates. Running a practice means combining the daily requirements of managing a complex business with commitments to patient care and treatment. Factor in the often daunting regulatory and technology environments of healthcare, and one can understand why practices may sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed. It’s no big surprise when physicians worry about how to address cybersecurity concerns on top of everything else.

Recent media coverage has put a spotlight on healthcare security. From large security breaches where medical records were stolen, to frightening ransomware scenarios where entire organizations find themselves in a hostage situation with their systems and data, healthcare providers increasingly find themselves wondering, “Could we be next?”

A typical medical practice also faces budget constraints and limited resources to take on new IT security projects. Many doctors feel they lack the knowledge and skills necessary to fully understand security concerns, much less mount an adequate defense against sophisticated hackers and cyber criminals.

Without the confidence to know they are putting effort and resources into the right areas, too many practices fall back on a wait-and-see strategy, or focus only on the “checkbox security” of minimum compliance standards that can pass an audit but may prove inadequate for defending against determined cyber threats. Unfortunately, apathy can set the stage for an attack, which can be followed by chaos and loss if a practice does gets hit with a security incident.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Although many physicians worry that security can only be achieved through expensive technologies or consultants, the fact is that the majority of security incidents are not the result of super hackers working technological magic.

Implement a Healthier IT Lifestyle

Security researchers have found that most attacks are preventable; they take advantage of known vulnerabilities that would have been easy to fix if the affected company had made a better effort. In this way, IT security is a lot like preventive medicine. No physician would be surprised if a patient with unhealthy day-to-day habits eventually developed a more serious condition, and the same applies to cybersecurity.

In this spirit, physicians can “heal themselves” of many cybersecurity problems by simply implementing a healthier IT lifestyle within their practices. None of the six steps below takes a lot of money, or a great deal of IT or security skill. But when they become part of a practice’s business habits, they can go a long way towards keeping a physician’s systems, data, and patients safer and happier.

1. Know What You Are Protecting. Do you keep track of your information and IT systems as well as you manage your pharmaceuticals or medical equipment? Information and IT systems are just as important to the success of your practice. You should take the time to inventory them, know where they are located, and understand your legal, regulatory, and business responsibilities for keeping them secure.

2. Keep Good Backups. In some cases, like ransomware, having a good, current backup can mean the difference between an inconvenience and a catastrophe. Make sure all of your important information is backed up, protected offsite, and regularly tested. If you don’t have the resources inside the practice, contract with a vendor to make sure you are prepared in an emergency.

3. Practice Strong Authentication. Even after decades of knowing better, weak and easy-to-guess passwords are still one of the most common ways that attackers get in. Today, it’s very easy to pick strong passwords you won’t forget by using a password manager. And make sure to turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible; this requires users to enter a code from a phone or another device as well as a password when logging in.

4. Lock Down Your Technology. Don’t make your IT systems an easy target. Keep them current by regularly downloading and installing vendor patches and updates. Avoid running open WiFi networks inside your practice. Turn on WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) in your wireless routers, with strong passwords. Don’t let guests connect to the same networks that the practice uses for business.

5. Develop an Incident Response Plan. The worst possible time to be figuring out how to handle a security breach is in the middle of one. An emergency room wouldn’t wait until the ambulance was pulling in to prepare, and you shouldn’t put off planning for a security incident. Develop a protocol for security breaches, including who’s in charge, who gets called, and what steps get taken and in what order.

6. Make People Your First Line of Defense. Effective cybersecurity requires people, processes, and technology to work. And a “human firewall” can be one of your most powerful defenses against attackers. Devote time to writing good security policies and guidelines, and hold everyone accountable for following them. Policies without training are not very useful, though, so make the effort to ensure everyone understands them and knows what they require. Then, test your users against phishing attacks and other common attack vectors so that everyone is prepared in advance.

Implementing these six habits in your practice can go a long way towards protecting yourself from attack, and none of these activities require major budget expenditures. As with medicine, prevention is the best medicine when it comes to cybersecurity.

Additional Resources

Information and resources are easy to find these days if you want to know more. Check out these public websites specifically set up for small businesses as a starting place:

• HealthIT.gov https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/ehr-privacy-security/resources
• Small Business Administration https://www.sba.gov/tools/sba-learning-center/training/cybersecurity-small-businesses
• Federal Communications Commission https://www.fcc.gov/cyberplanner

Lance Hayden is the chief privacy and security officer of EPatientFinder in Austin, TX.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 3/27/17

Top News

President Trump’s decision to table voting on the AHCA didn’t stop several PACS from running television ads congratulating Republican lawmakers on passing the bill. Two legislators thanked in the ads did not, in fact, vote for the bill. Twitter commentary was understandably quick to follow, with commentary from former CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt not far behind. Slavitt, who recently announced his affiliation with the Bipartisan Policy Center as a senior advisor, took to USA Today to share his advice on how the administration can move forward with crafting healthcare legislation that will appease both sides of the aisle, and, more importantly, meet the needs of the American people. A snippet:

“In recognition that bigger solutions will take time, the president and Democratic leaders should create a bipartisan commission with experts from Congress and the real world, charged with exploring smart ways to reduce healthcare costs that could result in bipartisan legislation. Healthcare is too expensive. It’s the cost of a prescription or a night in the hospital that drives our premiums.”

Webinars

March 29 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “Improving patient outcomes with smartphones: UW Medicine Valley Medical Center’s story.” Sponsored by Voalte. Presenters: James Jones, MBA, MSN, VP of patient care services and nursing operations, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center; Wayne Manuel, MBA, SVP of strategic services, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center. UW Medicine Valley Medical Center dramatically improved patient outcomes after moving to a smartphone-based platform for clinical communication and alarm and alert notification. Before-and-after analysis shows a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and skin integrity events, fall and slip events, and medication errors. By limiting overhead paging, the medical center also created a calmer, quieter environment and improved engagement among nursing and hospitalists. Hospital executives will describe their experience and vision for the future in addressing quality, cost, and the patient-caregiver experience.

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services.

Announcements and Implementations

South County Orthopedic Specialists (CA) installs Toshiba Medical’s Vantage Elan MR system.

Telemedicine

AHRQ asks stakeholders to submit information, including details on completed and ongoing studies, to help inform its review of telehealth for acute and chronic-care consultations. The systematic review will focus on answering the following questions:

• Are telehealth consultations effective in improving clinical and economic outcomes?
• Are telehealth consultations effective in improving intermediate outcomes?
• Have telehealth consultations resulted in harms, adverse events, or negative unintended consequences?
• What are the characteristics of telehealth consultations that have been the subject of comparative studies?
• Do clinical, economic, intermediate, or negative outcomes vary across telehealth consultation characteristics?

People

Paul Markowski joins the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists as CEO. He has quite a track record with medical associations, having most recently served as EVP and CEO of the American College of Chest Physicians. Markowski has also done stints with the AMA, CHEST, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

From “snake oil” to salaried staff: The AMA seeks a digital health programs manager to “manage and execute initiatives focused on improving the quality, usability, and effectiveness of EHRs and mobile health technologies for Physician Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability Digital Health Strategy,” among other things. Glassdoor.com reviewers give the association’s CEO, James Madara, MD a 36-percent approval rating. Forty-two percent would recommend it to a friend. I don’t have access to full reviews; however, recent review titles like “No Substance,” “A pool of talent squandered by poor leadership decisions,” and “Glut of mediocre to horrific middle-management” don’t paint a pretty picture for prospective employees.

Government and Politics

CMS recognizes Healthcare Access San Antonio as a qualified registry. Originally formed as an HIE, it is the first such entity in the state and the first to receive such a designation. Recognition as a registry will enable the nonprofit to expand its service line to include clinical reporting and revenue-capture assistance, particularly for small physician practices. “Since we collect patient information and provide community reports, it made sense for us to develop a suite of services that can relieve the burden from the physician’s practice,” says HASA Executive Director Gijs van Oort. “Approval from CMS to report on behalf of a practice is a critical component of that.”

Research and Innovation

NIH researchers use facial recognition technology akin to that used by Facebook and in airport security screenings to correctly diagnose DiGeorge syndrome, a rare, genetic disease that affects African, Asian, and Latin American children. Using technology developed by Marius Linguraru, an investigator at Children’s National Health System’s Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, researchers were able to correctly diagnose the disease in children across all ethnic groups nearly 97 percent of the time. The technology has also achieved similar results in diagnosing children with Down syndrome.

CDC releases the results of its most recent National EHR Survey, which looks at the EHR adoption and utilization of in-office physicians. The survey of 10,302 physicians found that primary care docs were the largest group of adopters at 89.6 percent. Cardiologists (95.6 percent), neurologists (94.5), and urologists (94) were top specialty-practice adopters. The field of psychiatry showed the lowest rate of adoption at 61 percent.

Other

Coming soon to our shores? Given the proclivity of pedestrians to stare down at their phones while walking, Dutch officials embed traffic lights in the pavement as part of a one-street pilot project aimed at curbing traffic accidents. “Smartphone use by pedestrians and cyclists is a major problem,” explains a representative from HIG Traffic Systems, which installed the experimental LED light strip/traffic light. “Trams in The Hague regularly make an emergency stop because someone looks at their smartphone instead of traffic.”

I like this idea: Lyft will test an in-app payment feature that allows customers to round up their fare and donate that difference to charity. It has not yet disclosed what charities it will support. The ride-sharing company is no doubt looking to set itself apart from Uber, which is working its way through a number of crises including several sexual harassment allegations.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 3/23/17

Top News

Milwaukee, Portland, and Minneapolis take the top spots for shortest wait times in the latest Vitals report. The study shows that, on average, a patient spends 18 minutes and 35 seconds waiting to see a physician – a decrease of over a minute compared to 2016. Wait times have decreased 13 percent since the annual study launched in 2009. The study’s authors surmise that wait times will continue to decrease as options like telemedicine and urgent care facilities continue to proliferate.

Webinars

March 29 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “Improving patient outcomes with smartphones: UW Medicine Valley Medical Center’s story.” Sponsored by Voalte. Presenters: James Jones, MBA, MSN, VP of patient care services and nursing operations, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center; Wayne Manuel, MBA, SVP of strategic services, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center. UW Medicine Valley Medical Center dramatically improved patient outcomes after moving to a smartphone-based platform for clinical communication and alarm and alert notification. Before-and-after analysis shows a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and skin integrity events, fall and slip events, and medication errors. By limiting overhead paging, the medical center also created a calmer, quieter environment and improved engagement among nursing and hospitalists. Hospital executives will describe their experience and vision for the future in addressing quality, cost, and the patient-caregiver experience.

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services.

Announcements and Implementations

Santa Monica, CA-based Casetabs develops a surgery coordination app for Iphone users, especially ideal for physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, and hospitals that want to coordinate care amongst caregivers, send and receive real-time patient updates, and reduce cancellations and delays.

Zynx Health will integrate Healthwise patient engagement and educational resources with each step of its care plans, giving providers a more efficient way to pull such content from their EHRs.

People

Sam Karam (Optum) joins AMC Health as CTO.

Endotronix hires Mike Dilworth (Nanosphere) as VP of manufacturing and operations, Katrin Leadley, MD (HeartWare) as CMO, and Richard Powers (CardioMEMS) as CIO. The Woodridge, IL-based company has developed cloud-based technology and sensors to help providers and patients detect the onset of heart failure.

Senior-focused primary care medical, management, and tech company ChenMed hires George Wheeler (Bon Secours Health System) as market president for JenCare Senior Medical Center (VA), Donald Trexler (Acadia General Hospital) as market president for JenCare Louisiana, Jim Whitling (Alcon) as chief of HR, and Gaurov Dayal, MD (Lumeris) as EVP, chief of strategic growth.

Government and Politics

The House vote to repeal and replace the ACA is postponed due to a lack of Republican support.

Other

The South Florida Business Journal looks at the waves Miami-based EZLabz is making in the world of mobile lab testing. Launched in 2015 by Physicians Group of South Florida MDs Jordan Hackmeier and Joel Lusky, the company is working to offer local physicians and their patients a cheaper and less time-consuming alternative to blood work done in house or by more well-established companies like Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp. It added an online platform to its mobile in-office services this week. Its founders have yet to draw salaries; instead, they are pouring revenue back into the company in hopes of securing additional investment and launching a mobile app.

The local news profiles the innovative yet tech-less ways in which one local pediatrician is teaching her patients and their parents some pretty basic concepts about good nutrition. Nimali Fernando, MD started Yum Pediatrics (VA) in 2014 to offer traditional healthcare appointments and cooking classes via her Doctor Yum nonprofit. “This way,” she says, “I can see patients on one side of the building or go into the kitchen side and participate in whatever is happening. It’s proven to be a really interesting way of practicing pediatrics, but it’s absolutely different and fun every day.” 

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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Readers Write: Winning the Cutthroat Competition for Health Tech Talent

Winning the Cutthroat Competition for Health Tech Talent
By Rachel Neill

In the past 10 years, we’ve gone from a massive recession to an amazingly low national unemployment rate of 4.6 percent. It’s hard to believe that not long ago, senior managers were scrambling to take on entry-level work just to stay afloat in their respective industries. However, in 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released reports that healthcare, and professional and business services added over 900,000 jobs in the preceding 12 months. Competition for talent in the health tech industry has become cutthroat, in part because of the rapid pace of industry growth. Established companies with significant market share have historically been able to lock up the best and brightest workers by virtue of buying power alone, but those days are over for now. Top talent is fleeing traditional powerhouse companies and jumping to nimble, well-funded competitors.

Employers have to think beyond traditional hiring processes and employee incentives if they want to stay competitive. Elaborate job descriptions and standard salary and benefits paradigms fall short. In order to attract and retain the best workers, especially those much-maligned-yet-undeniably-desirable Millenials, companies can make simple, yet significant, changes to adapt to the evolving needs and desires of the people they employ. Consider the insights below as you begin to rethink how your organization attracts and retains the best talent.

Keep an Open Mind … and a Short Job Description!

I hate job descriptions (Note to HR: Are they really a necessary evil?). Job posters may think they’re doing potential hires a favor by making an exhaustive list of qualifications, duties, and descriptors, but they’re probably not. There always seems to be a big disconnect between the actual hiring manager and the HR department, and a smart-sounding, long job description written out for legal or other well-intentioned purposes that often – and unfortunately -  eliminates some potentially good fits before they’re even in the door.

Hewlett-Packard’s internal report findings show that men apply for jobs when they are 60-percent qualified on paper, but women don’t until they feel 100-percent confident or have checked off every item on the description. That isn’t good; it means that a lot of talented people, women in particular, don’t even have a chance to succeed in many positions. The longer and more verbose a description, the less likely you are to get a diverse candidate pool. Job descriptions don’t lend themselves to transferability, either. For example, Epic implementers make great project managers across multiple industries based on the training and hands-on experience they get while traveling and working at multiple healthcare systems. They can define the scope of a project, put together a detailed plan, manage a budget, and get executive buy-in. None of those skills is unique to health tech, or any other industry for that matter.

What can you do that is actionable? Keep job descriptions short and simple. Don’t be overly specific unless a skill can’t be learned or there isn’t a substitute skill out there. Think about complementary skill sets someone might have and incorporate examples into your job posting. Finally, make the application process simple and encourage current employees to refer people they think have the chops.

Employee Perks and Benefits Matter

You may have heard about Netflix’s unlimited paid parental leave or France’s new law that aims at making it illegal to require employees to answer after-hours email. (Supporters of the law have compared humans and technology to dogs and leashes). More and more employees are seeking work-life balance and flexible employment. You may not have the budget for unlimited parental leave, but there are plenty of other programs you can put in place.

Develop an employee perk page. Don’t worry, It’s free. Work with local and national companies to negotiate discounts – this can be on anything from gym memberships to clothing. Think creatively, but don’t overload employees with perks they might not use. If you aren’t sure, ASK. Most people would appreciate lower-cost access to health and fitness programs, but not everybody wants 10-percent off at the local drapes emporium.

Re-think your vacation policy. Maintaining an open vacation policy and becoming a results-based work organization doesn’t mean your employees will never show up to work. Actually, compensation and benefits research indicate that employees with flexible vacation policies don’t take any more time off than those with formal PTO programs in place. However, it gives an employee autonomy and the ability to stay healthy and take care of life as it happens. Tying paid time off into a results-based plan means that you can limit the program for any outliers who may not be meeting standards or that are taking advantage of the program.

Remote work. These days, technology allows us to fulfill many of our professional responsibilities from just about anywhere. Offering employees the option to work from home can help employers recapture time that may have been lost because an employee felt that they needed to take PTO.  If your employees can get their jobs done from another location, then why not let them have some flexibility?

Workers Want to Make an Impact

Today’s employees today, especially Millennials, are looking at the impact their position will have beyond the four walls of their office. They want to know that the work they are doing is meaningful, often in ways wholly unrelated to the job itself. Many are making a difference with data, or attacking and solving big problems in healthcare. Firms attracting top talent like Healthfinch, Catalyze, Redox, and CareMerge are sifting through and connecting the massive amounts of data to improve patient outcomes. Consider making this meaningful impact a highly visible part of the much-dreaded job description I mentioned above.

In the end, Professor of Management and Human Resources Peter Capelli leaves us with some parting wisdom: “If there’s nothing distinctive you can offer to set your organization apart, and you don’t want to pay enough to buy the talent you prefer, then, just like any other shopper, you’ll have to start compromising on what you want.”

Rachel Neill is CEO of Carex Consulting Group in Madison, WI.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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