Healthcare Strategic Management articles from July 2005

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from July 2005

Market memo: is there a future for concierge medicine?
July 1, 2005... Though "concierge" (also "boutique", "retainer" and "membership") medical practices have existed and grown in numbers since 1996, there is a clear difference of opinion as to whether they will continue to grow, stagnate or even die out in the...

What's hospital's role in concierge medicine?
July 1, 2005... Concierge medicine may not be going anywhere for some time, but hospital planners should understand the implications of the minor trend in case it catches on in their markets. Thus, this issue's articles about concierge medicine by Scott...

Intermountain revises policies on uninsured; offers discounts, halts aggressive collections.(Intermountain Health Care)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City, is changing its policies on the care of uninsured patients. Patients with incomes up to five times the federal poverty level may qualify for discounts of up to 100% for the care they receive at IHC...

Double duty: Littleton Adventist named primary center for stroke and acute coronary syndrome.(Littleton Adventist Hospital, Gold Seal of Approval )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Littleton Adventist Hospital, Littleton, Colo., 175 beds, is the first hospital in Colorado to be certified as a primary care center for both stroke and acute coronary syndrome. Littleton received the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint...

New specialty hospitals waiting in the wings while CMS ponders reimbursement changes.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Although the 18-month moratorium on specialty hospitals officially ended in June, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to delay certification of new specialty hospitals through January 2006. The delay, CMS said, will...

Alabama hospital to start building new facility, may convert current hospital to long-term care.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Coosa Valley Baptist Medical Center, Sylacauga, Ala., 223 beds, will begin construction this year to replace the main building of its hospital, with the new facility to open in early 2007. The four-story structure will contain 70 general...

Ascension Health looking for way to dispose of under-performing St. Joseph Hospital in Georgia.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Ascension Health, St. Louis, is weighing whether to sell, close or merely downsize struggling St. Joseph Hospital, Augusta, Ga., 232 beds. Ascension announced its decision June 20, after two years of watching St. Joseph's revenues and...

LifePoint strays from small acquisitions policy by bidding for 350-bed hospital in Virginia.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(LifePoint Hospitals L.L.C. plans to acquire Danville Regional Medical Center)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... LifePoint Hospitals, Brentwood, Tenn., plans to acquire Danville Regional Medical Center, Danville, Va., 350 beds. The purchase price was not disclosed, but Danville has annual revenues of about $180 million. If the deal receives regulatory...

St. Luke's Episcopal turns from merger talks with Memorial Hermann to focus on Baylor.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Baylor College of Medicine merges with St. Luke's Episcopal Health System)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Merger talks are ahead for Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and St. Luke's Episcopal Health System, which have voted to enter into exclusive merger negotiations. In June, both boards voted unanimously to move forward with discussions...

Florida health care agency says 'no' to HCA bid to build its 13th hospital in the Tampa area.(Health Care Administration, Tampa General Hospital)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Tampa, Fla., won't be getting another hospital, since the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration in June denied a request by HCA, Nashville, Tenn., to build one. HCA's plans called for a new, 80-bed, $112 million hospital in the...

Hospital shows community it is serious about staying by expanding emergency department.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Ohio State University Hospital East, Columbus, Ohio, 200 beds, on July 5 opened a 25,000-square-foot addition to its emergency department. The $5 million project was part of a series of upgrades of the former Park Medical Center, which OSU...

HFMA aims to ward off movement to tie tax status to charity care for non-profit hospitals.(Healthcare Financial Management Associations)
July 1, 2005... Don't tax community hospitals, and don't tie tax exemption directly to the value of charitable care, the Healthcare Financial Management Assn. (HFMA), Chicago, told a Congressional hearing. While the provision of charity care is an...

Physicians say they often order costly tests just to protect themselves against malpractice suits.(practicing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The vast majority of physicians react to the risk of lawsuits by ordering more tests than necessary, turning away high-risk cases and referring patients to additional specialists. This "defensive medicine," while reasonable considering...

Many more employers will offer HSAs next year, according to new Mellon Financial Corp. survey.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(Health savings accounts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Nearly one-third of U.S. employers plan to offer health savings accounts by 2006, up from just 7% that offer HSAs now, a survey by Mellon Financial Corp., Ridgefield Park, N.J., revealed. HSAs, authorized under the Medicare Modernization...

HMO membership shrinking, Minnesota study finds, even though profitability is still climbing.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
July 1, 2005... The era of health maintenance organizations is over, if a Minnesota-centered study is any indication. Allan Baumgarten's 16th annual report analyzing the Minnesota health care market was released June 24 and showed that HMO enrollment...

Virginia alliance seeks funding, education effort to reverse growing shortage of health workers.(Northern Virginia Health Care Workforce Alliance)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... As Virginia's population grows--and ages--the number of health care professionals in the area is shrinking, new research shows. According to a study by the Northern Virginia Health Care Workforce Alliance, Fairfax, Va., there is a critical...

Computers in health care have downside: germs that hide in keyboards can spread infection.(Northwestern Memorial Hospital)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Here's a new problem for the infection control team: A study conducted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, 779 beds, revealed that harmful bacteria can survive as long as 24 hours on computer keyboards. With hospitals investing in...

Banner hires benchmark firm to provide data for improvement of operational procedures.(DATABASE NOTES)(Banner Health Arizona)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Banner Health, Phoenix, Ariz., in May awarded a contract to Healthcare Management Council, Needham, Mass., for performance improvement consulting. The company develops benchmarks for clinical and administrative procedures. ...

Experiment shows higher reimbursement hopes give hospitals incentive to improve quality.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The government's pay-for-performance approach to Medicare payments is working, according to preliminary data from a demonstration program sponsored by the hospital alliance Premier, Charlotte, N.C. At the American Hospital Assn. annual...

Patient safety becomes stronger issue as AHA sets up info center, study shows more incidents.(American Hospital Association )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A survey by HealthGrades, Golden, Colo., of cardiology and orthopedic operations serving Medicare patients found incidents that threaten patient safety were on the rise between 2000 and 2003. Just as the May report was released, the...

Hospitals softening stance on patient payments in response to demands from states, uninsured.(Allina Hospitals & Clinics, HealthEast Care System, North Memorial Health Care and Park Nicollet Health Services)
July 1, 2005... A group of 18 Minnesota hospitals agreed to reduce charges to many uninsured patients and to refrain from aggressive billing practices. Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch praised the two-year, voluntary agreement. The hospitals belong to...

Oregon Health & Science University to integrate information systems using Streamline Health.(DATABASE NOTES)(contracts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, Ore., 509 beds, in May signed a contract with with the Streamline Health business of LanVision Systems, Cincinnati, for clinical and administrative sol, ware. The contract calls for an...

Kaiser plans to put Hawaii patient records online as part of paper-reduction efforts.(DATABASE NOTES)(Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.)(www.kp.org)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Members of Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif., will be among the first U.S. patients to have access to their medical records online when Kaiser begins offering the service in Hawaii this summer. The web site, www.kp.org, will have...

How many concierge physicians are there? Counting is quite tricky.(health care )
July 1, 2005... The question of how many concierge physicians there are in the US involved more than idle curiosity. Planners who are addressing the primary physician shortage that most experts agree faces the country must take into account how many...