Healthcare Strategic Management articles from July 2004

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from July 2004

Minimally invasive thoracic surgery taking off.(Market Memo)
July 1, 2004... For hospitals doing thoracic surgery, the question of investing extensively in a minimally-invasive thoracic surgery program is not "Should we?" but "How quickly can we?" Minimally-invasive thoracic surgery is fast becoming the norm...

Not-for-profits respond to Scruggs' lawsuits.(hospitals)
July 1, 2004... Thirteen not-for-profit hospitals and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) in eight states are being sued for charging self-pay patients charges and for their aggressive collections practices. Free care for all; no insurance required ...

New England hospitals find teleconferencing pays off in care quality, savings on travel.(Strategic Notes)
July 1, 2004... Hospitals in New England have been investing in teleconferencing equipment, and the result has been savings on travel, more efficient communication, and a bonus in public relations. In early June, a U.S. Marine who was injured overseas and...

Long-term lease gives Province Healthcare Co. control of New Mexico hospital operations.(Strategic Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Province Healthcare Co., Brentwood, Tenn., has acquired Memorial Medical Center, Las Cruces, N.M., 286 beds. The deal took effect June 1 and gives Province a long-term lease on Memorial, valued at $150 million. Previous owners were Las...

CHW employee contract setting standard for letting caregivers influence staffing levels.(Strategic Notes)(Catholic Healthcare West)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Catholic Healthcare West, San Francisco, on June 2 reached a tentative agreement with its nurses' union. The statewide master agreement runs for four years, and at press time had been ratified by all but three locals of the Service...

Michigan hospitals can log on to find methods of improving patient safety in intensive care.(Strategic Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Michigan Health and Safety Coalition, Detroit, developed a list of practices shown to improve patient safety in hospital intensive care units. Designed as a "tool kit," the package is available at...

Time outs before surgery part of new protocol established by JCAHO to reduce medical errors.(Strategic Notes)(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... With patient safety and reduction of medical errors of increasing concern, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) now requires a universal protocol for surgical procedures. The protocol took effect July...

Examination of HealthSouth's books verified that accounting fraud was as bad as thought.(Strategic Notes)(HEALTHSOUTH Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A forensic accounting report issued in early June confirms identified the extent of fraud at HealthSouth Corp., Birmingham, Ala. to be in line with the company estimate of $3.4 billion. HealthSouth's special audit committee sent the report...

HCA moves Lewis up to top Atlantic Division post from hospital after Robinson resigns.(Strategic Notes)(Margaret Lewis)(Phillip Robinson)(HCA Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Margaret Lewis was named president of the Central Atlantic Division of HCA, Nashville, Tenn. She succeeds Phillip Robinson, who recently stepped down for health reasons. Lewis will have operational responsibility for 18 hospitals and six...

Hospitals in Maryland expect easier case management with internet-based software.(Strategic Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Good Samaritan Hospital, 271 beds, and Union Memorial Hospital, 350 beds, both in Baltimore, will streamline and automate their case management procedures using software from Canopy Systems, Chapel Hill, N.C. The software is internet based,...

Recruiting woes face hospitals as specialists are in short supply; 'not enough radiologists'.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Hospitals trying to recruit radiologists will find fierce competition for that talent, and those looking for orthopedic surgeons won't find the going much easier. Almost 90% of the nation's hospitals are actively recruiting physicians, a...

Miami-area HMOs see heaviest competition, according to latest MSA profile by InterStudy.(Statistical Notes)(health maintenance organizations)(metropolitan statistical area)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Southern Florida is the most competitive market for health maintenance organizations, a recent study shows. InterStudy Publications, St. Paul, Minn., a division of Decision Resources, in its Spring 2004 MSA Profiler database, presents HMO data...

Clinical trials doing better job of recruiting patients, while doctors face logistics hurdle.(Statistical Notes)
July 1, 2004... The way clinical trials are conducted is changing. Patients are better informed before signing up, and their reasons for doing so vary widely. Doctors, on the other hand, are losing interest in running the trials because of the time and work...

Study finds timing, duration of antibiotic use most effective in preventing surgical infection.(Statistical Notes)
July 1, 2004... Administering antibiotics before surgery can reduce the incidence of surgical site infections, the second most common cause of hospital-acquired infections, a survey shows, but barely half of hospitals do so. A group of hospitals,...

Key to stroke treatment is speed of transfer to specialty unit, new Canadian study shows.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A Canadian panel studying the treatment of acute stroke concluded that pre-hospital and hospital procedures must be coordinated to speed the transfer of the patient to specialist care. On June 24, the ACT NOW Expert Report was released at...

Orthopedic departments caught in jam between higher cost of implants, lower reimbursement.(Database Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Total joint replacement is not as profitable as it could be for a majority of hospitals. In fact, it is a losing proposition at some hospitals. That is the startling conclusion of a survey by group purchasing organization Premier,...

Rural hospitals would benefit most under proposed CMS inpatient payment rule.(Database Notes)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
July 1, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will increase payments by up to 6% to acute care hospitals for inpatient services in fiscal year 2005, which begins Oct. 1, if a proposed new rule is implemented. The rule, CMS said,...

Tennessee has growing number of chest pain centers, as River Park becomes 8th certified.(Database Notes)(River Park Hospital)
July 1, 2004... River Park Hospital, McMinnville, Tenn., 127 beds, on June 1 became the eighth accredited chest pain center in Tennessee. The hospital is a member of HCA, Nashville, Tenn. On the same date, Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, Conn., 425 beds,...

Doctors warming to wireless technology as convenient tool to track patient information.(Database Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Soon a handheld computer may be as familiar a symbol of physicianhood as a stethoscope. At a growing number of U.S. hospitals, wireless devices call up patient records, diagnostic images and lab results stored in a central database and...

Nurses cite research to back demand for less overtime, higher staff levels in Michigan.(Database Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Nurses in Michigan are pushing for passage of legislation that would limit involuntary overtime and force hospitals to hire more staff. The Michigan Nurses Assn. is pointing to research by Public Policy Associates, Lansing, Mich., to...

Trial begins for injectable antibiotic designed to combat hospital-acquired pneumonia.(Database Notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A clinical trial has begun for an injectable drug designed to treat hospital-acquired pneumonia. Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, Alameda, Calif., developed the drug, doripenem for injection, of the carbapenem class of beta-lactam antibiotics....

Finally, hospitals can point to numbers when investigating merits of electronic commerce.(Worth Reading)
July 1, 2004... For years, hospitals have been asking electronic commerce providers to justify the cost of switching to online purchasing with documented savings data. In March, they received one answer. Neoforma, San Jose, Calif., released a report...

Former staffers resurrect pre-merger Conn. Bank & Trust philosophy as well as name.(Worth Reading)
July 1, 2004... Connecticut Bank & Trust Company (CBT), Hartford, Conn., is a de novo bank, but it bears the name of a favorite old community institution. A group of former employees, formed the new CBT to preserve the old way of banking. By way of...

Hospitals reconsider outsourcing key support and clinical departments.(Outsourcing)
July 1, 2004... One of the most important factors in health care cost inflation that needs to be addressed immediately by hospital executives is the inappropriate use of outsourcing. Supplier-driven conversion to contracted management solutions may actually be...