Healthcare Strategic Management articles from December 2002

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from December 2002

Market memo: endoscopic surgery markets offer growth opportunities.
December 1, 2002... Hospitals may want to look at expanding their endoscopy offerings as a way to grow their business. Endoscopic surgery, also referred to as minimally invasive surgery or laparoscopy, is already fairly commonplace. When endoscopy first...

Hospitals work to improve their security.
December 1, 2002... Since Sept. 11, 2001, hospital executives have planned how they would respond to terrorist attacks on their institutions and their communities and how they will secure their facilities against attacks without driving patients away. Last...

Health care financial officers give their hospitals a mixed diagnosis. (Financial Strategies).
December 1, 2002... A recent survey of health care industry CFOs finds they are struggling with three primary, often conflicting issues in operating their companies: managing cash flow pressures and changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement formulas, a need...

Analyst: HIPAA compliance proves costly for health care providers. (HIPAA Compliance).(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
December 1, 2002... Hospitals, managed care organizations (MCOs) and private practices are expected to spend a combined $1.2 billion on products and services to address provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA),...

Report: federal leadership needed to reduce errors, improve care. (Quality Control).
December 1, 2002... The federal government should take the lead in improving the safety and quality of treatment provided to the nearly 100 million beneficiaries of six government health care programs, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine...

Health premiums to jump in 2003. (Health Premiums).
December 1, 2002... All signs point to a double-digit increase in employer health care costs for 2003. Human resources consulting firm Towers Perrin predicts in its 2003 "Health Care Cost Survey" that costs will increase 15% on average in the next year--the...

HCA intends to acquire Health Midwest for $1.1 billion after outbidding Tenet. (Strategic Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... HCA intends to acquire Health Midwest of Kansas City, Mo., a 14-hospital not-for-profit system, for $1.125 billion. Health Midwest owns, manages or leases hospitals in Kansas and Missouri with 1,951 in combined beds, according to the...

Sunlink Health to merge with small operator. (Strategic Notes).(HealthMont Inc.)
December 1, 2002... SunLink Health Systems Inc. of Atlanta has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire HealthMont Inc., of Franklin, Tenn., a privately held operator of community hospitals, for about $15.3 million. As a result of the merger, SunLink...

Baylor Health Care to open medical center in Plano, Texas, in 2004. (Strategic Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Baylor Health Care System Board of Trustees recently approved the development of Baylor Medical Center at Plano, Texas. Baylor officials expect to break ground at the site in January 2003 and open the medical center in October 2004. ...

United Surgical Partners enters joint venture with Catholic Healthcare West for surgery centers. (Strategic Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... United Surgical Partners International Inc. (USPI) of Dallas and Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) of San Francisco are in the final stage of negotiating a 50-50 joint venture agreement to develop, own and operate surgery centers and surgical...

National Surgical opens 44,000-square-foot surgical hospital in San Antonio, Texas. (Strategic Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... National Surgical Hospitals has opened a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, its fourth facility to date. The new 44,000-square-foot hospital features six operating rooms, two procedure rooms, and 30 patient beds. A medical office building...

Extendicare Health Services acquires seven nursing homes in Ohio, Indiana for $17.5 million. (Strategic Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Extendicare Health Services Inc. (EHSI), has exercised acquired seven nursing homes in Ohio and Indiana for $17.5 million. The seller was not disclosed. The homes have 902 licensed beds. EHSI has operated the facilities under a lease...

Solucient finds wide variation in survival rates, performance among U.S. hospitals. (Statistical Notes).
December 1, 2002... If all U.S. hospitals performed at the level of the top 100 cardiovascular benchmark hospitals an additional 4,400 cardiovascular patients could survive each year, according to a recent report from Solucient, an Evanston, Ill.-based health care...

Fitch Ratings downgrades credit quality of 17 hospitals in first nine months. (Statistical Notes).
December 1, 2002... Fitch Ratings issued 25 credit downgrades and four upgrades for health care entities for the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company announced recently. The hospital sector accounted for 17 of the 25 downgrades, while the long-term care...

Hospital M&A activity up sharply in third quarter from second quarter, less so from year earlier. (Statistical Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Hospital merger and acquisition activity nearly doubled in the third quarter compared to second quarter and also recorded a more modest gain over third quarter 2001, according to a recent report from health care research firm Irving Levin of...

Blue Cross blames hospital consolidation, new technologies for rising health care costs. (Statistical Notes).
December 1, 2002... The rapid proliferation of new medical technology and the growing trend of hospital consolidation are the leading causes behind double-digit health care cost increases, according to a recent report from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Assn. (BCBSA)....

Health care sector has yet to embrace the benefits of IT in reducing errors, lowering costs. (Database Notes).
December 1, 2002... The U.S. health care system has not yet moved its information technology capability into the 21st century despite evidence that its use can substantially reduce medical errors and translate into major cost savings, according to speakers at a...

Melanoma.com updates Web site for consumers. (Database Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Melanoma.com, recognized by the Journal of Clinical Oncology as one of the top five Internet sites for accurate melanoma content, has been enhanced to help address questions and concerns for individuals who are looking for a reliable source of...

HHS launches Web site to address provider concerns regarding HIPAA. (Database Notes).(Health & Human Services introduces site)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a new Web page to deal with frequently asked questions about the forthcoming HIPAA privacy rules. The site is accessible at...

Harris poll: hostility toward managed care is on the decline after peaking in 2000. (Database Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Hostility toward managed care has declined somewhat after seeming to peak in 2000, according to a recent Harris Interactive poll. Poll findings by Harris Interactive Research, of Rochester, N.Y., show a modest decline in those who are...

Occupancy rates up for senior living facilities. (Database Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Average occupancy rates for assisted living and skilled nursing properties rose slightly in the second quarter, according to the most recent figures from the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industries (NIC). The...

Hospital emergency preparedness takes form after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, anthrax scare. (Worth Reading).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The concept of emergency response has evolved from a general theory to a whole new area of hospital preparedness, particularly in regards to supply management, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax scare, according to...

Preparedness still not what it should be, U.S. senator writes in latest edition of `Health Affairs'. (Worth Reading).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The risk of bioterrorism in the United States is increasing, but the nation's health infrastructure is not yet prepared to meet the challenge, U.S. Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), writes in the November/December 2002 issue of Health Affairs. ...

Columbia Hospital raises its profile in the community through advertising campaign. (Worth Reading).
December 1, 2002... Sometimes having a quality medical staff and excellent ratings by patients isn't enough. In those cases, a hospital may need to work to raise its profile in the community. That was the case with Columbia Hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla.,...