Healthcare Strategic Management articles from May 2004

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from May 2004

Market memo: what level of marketing commitment does it take to gain market share?(hospitals)
May 1, 2004... Rapidly growing communities are seeing a mini-boom in facility construction, and as the two case studies presented below show, even with surging demand, the expanded facilities will benefit from smart marketing. Hospitals are building new,...

Hospitals find ways to fight rising bad debt.
May 1, 2004... Rising bad debt expenses are reducing profitability for some hospitals and producing red ink for others, but hospitals are moving to contain the damage, and the recovering labor market may provide relief sooner than most expect. Employers...

Screening for domestic violence pays off in both patient, staff safety and lower health care cost.(Strategic Notes)
May 1, 2004... For hospitals, not responding to domestic violence can be costly in the financial, as well as human sense. It can create liability as well as contribute to the rising cost of health care, a group of hospital executives heard recently. More...

Hospital finds partnership among all major contractors was key to project success.(Strategic Notes)(Community Regional Medical Center )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC), Fresno, Calif., is on track to complete its $91 million, 390,000-square-foot trauma facility, successfully complying with stringent state and local permit rules. The secret, the hospital found, was...

Kaiser to invest income in making hospitals earthquake-safe, automating medical records.(Strategic Notes)(Kaiser Permanente)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif., said it will apply the 3.9% operating margin it received in 2003 to investment in a mix of facilities, equipment and systems. Part of the facilities cost will be upgrades necessary to meet California's...

Catholic Healthcare West inks deal with UHS to acquire former Vista Health hospitals.(Strategic Notes)(Universal Health Services)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Catholic Healthcare West, San Francisco, plans to purchase two hospitals from Universal Health Services, King of Prussia, Pa., for $32.5 million. Effective May 31, CHW will acquire from UHS French Hospital Medical Center, San Luis Obispo,...

Pediatric hospital improves patient monitoring through new device that controls for movement.(Strategic Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Children's Center, Bethany, Okla., 100 beds, has found a solution to the problem of monitoring children subject to seizures, where body movement can distort oximetry readings. In April, the hospital agreed to purchase the Nellcor OxiMax...

Tenet losses climb in first quarter, while three new hospitals are slated to open this year.(financial results of Tenet Healthcare Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., reported a net loss of $122 million, $0.26 per diluted share, for the quarter ending March 31. Last year Tenet had a net loss of $20 million, $0.04 per diluted share, for the same period. Part...

Jay Grinney takes helm at HealthSouth as first permanent CEO since removal of Scrushy.(appointments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... HealthSouth Corp., Birmingham, Ala., named its first permanent chief executive officer since the removal of Richard Scrushy in 2003. The board of directors unanimously elected Jay Grinney, currently an president of the eastern division of...

Physicians, hospitals rarely see eye-to-eye on their relationships, new survey shows.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Relationships between physicians and hospitals face increasing pressure as reimbursements fall behind the rising costs of providing care, according to a survey of New England hospital executives and physician leaders. "Each group feels...

Hospitals' burden of caring for patients without health care insurance shows on bottom line.(Statistical Notes)
May 1, 2004... The increasing number of uninsured and underinsured Americans is taking its toll on hospital revenues, even in the largest integrated delivery networks. When HCA, Nashville, Tenn., released its financial results for the first quarter, the...

Hospital, nurse organizations wary of latest version of Labor Dept. rules on overtime pay.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The American Hospital Assn., Chicago, is reviewing new U.S. Labor Dept. regulations that protect overtime pay for blue-collar workers, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians and licensed practical nurses, and for individuals...

Transition from paper to electronic operations is more difficult than expected for hospitals.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The road from paper-based to paperless operations is rougher than expected for many hospitals, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin. In a June 23 symposium, they will share their findings and recommendations with health...

Spending, product choice both on the rise as suppliers respond to demand for cardiac devices.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Hospitals are picking up the pace in their use of implantable cardiac devices, while new products are rolling out in record numbers. One of the major suppliers, St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, Minn., said hospitals spent $120 million in the...

Immunotherapy is key to cancer treatment, but more improvement needed, study shows.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The future of cancer treatment lies in immunotherapy, but both science and clinical practice will have to improve considerably before the technology reaches its full potential. That is the message in a new report from Research and Markets,...

Hospital mortality, length of stay declining while discharge rate goes up during past decade.(Statistical Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Hospital mortality rates have declined steadily over the past decade, but much more slowly than the average length of stay has decreased. In 2001, there were 860,934 in-hospital deaths, a decline of 2.3% from 2000. Mortality declined 8.7%...

Patients get up, out faster with less-invasive procedure to treat heel fractures, study shows.(Database Notes)
May 1, 2004... A minimally invasive surgical procedure to repair heel fractures allows patients to be on their feet faster and with fewer complications than with traditional methods, according to research reported in the current issue of the Journal of Foot &...

Software expected to help Connecticut hospital improve performance through data tracking.(Database Notes)(Greenwich Hospital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, Conn., 160 beds, is taking a systematic approach to improving performance and measuring the quality of care. In March, the hospital, a member of the Yale New Haven Health System, signed a contract to purchase a...

Medtronic recalls earlier generation of devices to restore heart rhythm following four deaths.(Database Notes)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Medtronic, Minneapolis, on April 16 announced it is recalling some of its Micro Jewel II line of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, since the devices were associated with four deaths and a serious injury. Specifically, the Class I...

Banner seeks more comprehensive, accessible patient data using software from Initiate.(Banner Health Arizona, Initiate Systems)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Banner Health, Phoenix, Ariz., is using new software to upgrade its patient data files, in the hopes of consolidating information now contained in a variety of separate systems. In May, Banner selected Initiate Systems, Chicago, to install...

Connecticut hospitals monitor performance, post results on web for patients to review.(Database Notes)
May 1, 2004... Since April 13, Connecticut hospitals have made their performance records in three patient-care areas available to the world. The state Dept. of Public Health began posting hospital performance ratings on its web site, www.dph.state.ct.us....

What Medicare Prescription Drug Act '03 means to hospitals.(Medicare Law)
May 1, 2004... The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement And Modernization Act of 2003 (PDIMA 03, PL 108-173) will significantly restructure hospital relationships with the Medicare program over the coming years. Some changes will unfold in the years to...

Is online-only health care a viable possibility? Limits are clear.(Internet Health Care)
May 1, 2004... It was just twenty years ago that I read an article asking the question as to whether a hospital was a place or a thing. [T. Gallagher "The Hospital: A Place or a Thing?" Health Care Management Review Winter 1984]. It challenged hospitals, and...