|
|
Article: Solving the communications breakdown: are your hospital's department heads financially savvy?
- Article from:
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Article date:
- March 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Healthcare Financial Management Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
As consultants, my colleagues and I work with hospitals and health systems all over the country. One of the first things we do in any new engagement is meet with department heads to find out what they know, among other things, about the financial health of their organization. We want to determine two things:
* Do department managers and directors receive regular information regarding the hospital's profitability?
* Do they truly understand--in financial "nuts and bolts" terms--what role their department plays in the organization's profitability (or lack of same)?
Too many times regardless of hospital size and variations in the ways financial ...