As Healthcare workers, we watch the reports on the evening news about corporate takeovers in the business community and are relieved that we don’t have to worry about things like that in our profession, but are we really safe? An post on Anesthesia Reviews Blog by William Hass, MD, MBA explains why investors with venture capital investing in and profiting from the Healthcare industry. He lists the following reasons for their new interest in making profit from Healthcare:
- The stock market as a whole has barely risen in the past decade,
- Bond yields are unusually low
- With the global savings glut there is just so much capital chasing too few worthwhile investments.
Among the options are anesthesia management companies who undercut your contract to provide services. Once they have secured the contract to provide services at your hospital (your job), all staffing and equipment decisions are made based on generating a profit for investors. Sadly, the group of people who are not actively managing the business of anesthesia and maintaining contracts are the anesthesia professionals. Dr Hass lists the following as things that we could and should be doing to protect our jobs and the quality of care offered to our patients;
- Be politically active at the facility, community, state, or national level
- Spend money and time for business education
- Develop and utilize an effective human resource program
- Understand anesthesia service and OR management
- Give group leaders time to lead
- Educate and develop the next generation of leaders
This warning by Dr Hass reinforces the experience that small anesthesia departments are having across the nation. Now is the time for CRNA leaders to be proactive and solidify the relationship between the Hospital and the anesthesia group. Failure to maintain vigilance in the front office may cost you your job.
Click here to read the original blog post by Dr Hass and return to procrna.com to make a comment.