Case One: You are the chief financial officer of Smithville Hospital, and you have recently implemented a budget reduction throughout the hospital. You want to ensure your actions are accepted among t

Case One:

You are the chief financial officer of Smithville Hospital, and you have recently implemented a budget reduction throughout the hospital. You want to ensure your actions are accepted among the hospital department managers. What would be the best way to communicate with these department managers? If there is resistance, what should you do? (Reference: Introduction to the financial management of healthcare organizations 6th edition).

Case Two:

Mr. Jones an 87 years old widower who lives alone was admitted to the hospital through the emergency room for shortness of breath and swollen ankles. After an extensive interview, the admitting physician discovered that Mr. Jones has been admitted two weeks earlier with the same symptoms and had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. At that time he spent four days in the hospital and then was transferred to a skilled nursing facility, where he spent three days before being discharged with a prescription for a diuretic to help reduce fluid buildup. The admitting physician discovered that no one at the hospital or the skilled nursing facility had explained to Mr. Jones the importance of maintaining a low sodium diet (high-sodium diets cause fluid retention). Mr. Jones had attended a birthday party and eaten several hot dogs before his latest symptoms appeared. Who should be financially responsible for the costs related to Mr. Jones’s latest admission? Should Medicare or any insurer, pay for readmissions related to errors in discharge instructions? Would it be different had Mr. Jones received instructions for a low-sodium diet but chosen to ignore them?