Healthcare Strategic Management articles from May 2005

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from May 2005

Hospital chains work to reduce impact of uninsured.(Market Memo)
May 1, 2005... Several investor-owned hospital chains reported stronger first-quarter earnings that reflected their success in gaining some control over the costs of caring for uninsured patients. But they still have a long way to go in containing their...

Acute care hospitals will be more acute.
May 1, 2005... Hospitals are going to be more acute care providers while integrated systems" will become more integrated to better serve the sickest seniors. Community benefit and wellness programs will go by the wayside as health care systems focus on...

Creative financing helps NYU build new cancer center while saving long-term on interest, taxes.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(New York University. Medical Center)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... After losing a bid to finance a cancer center through tax-exempt bonds, New York University Medical Center, 878 beds, found a creative alternative. First, it obtained financing from Key Bank, Cleveland, for a developer to build and...

Specialty hospitals face continued moratorium in light of industry opinion, Congressional query.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Congress is likely to extend the ban on new specialty hospitals past its June expiration date, following a recommendation in March by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and introduction of a bill that would prolong the ban for at...

Woman's Medical Hospital's acute-care days are over, but outpatient services will remain.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Woman's Medical Hospital closed down)
May 1, 2005... Woman's Medical Hospital, Philadelphia, 50 beds, closed March 12 after a series of efforts to keep it open. But while its days as an acute-care hospital are over, the facility will continue to provide outpatient services. On March 22, a...

Michigan health systems' expansion plans may proceed, court rules following lawsuit.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(St. John Health, plans to build a new hospital)(Providence Hospital (Southfield, Michigan) received a license)(Henry Ford Health System plans to build a new hospital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... St. John Health, Novi, Mich., will be able to go ahead with plans to build a 200-bed hospital, a state appeals court ruled March 23. Providence Park Hospital received a license in December 2004, and currently has six inpatient beds. It also...

Alta Bates warned it will lose accreditation unless patient care procedures are improved.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Alta Bates Corp.)(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Berkeley, Calif., 551 beds, is on the way to losing its accreditation if it does not improve certain patient safety and operational procedures. Following a November 2004 inspection, the Joint Commission on...

Pennsylvania hospital mergers said to provide 'synergies' in coordinating treatment offerings.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(West Penn Allegheny Health System merges its Western Pennsylvania Hospital and Forbes Regional Hospital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... West Penn Allegheny Health System, Pittsburgh, plans to merge its Western Pennsylvania Hospital and Forbes Regional Hospital by June 30. Both hospitals will continue to provide services in their present locations. According to Jerry...

Triad teaming up with other systems to acquire aging hospitals, and replace them with new.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Triad Health acquires Gateway Health System)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Triad Health, Plano, Texas, plans to acquire Gateway Health System, Clarksville, Tenn., 201 beds. The two parties are in negotiation with an agreement expected by June 30. In October 2004, Gateway began seeking either a buyer or an investor to...

Memorial Health scores big as recipient of cash from winner of charity golf challenge by drug co.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Memorial Health Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah, Ga., 530 beds, increased its revenue by $50,000 in April, thanks to a golf game. When Peter Lonard won the Crestor Charity Challenge by leading in the final round of the MCI Heritage, by...

Hospital profits up for now, but analysts debate whether it's a trend or one-time phenomenon.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The nation's largest and most influential integrated delivery networks won the confidence of investors with improved operating margins in the past year, but analysts warned that profits are not likely to keep rising in the future. The...

Dallas/Fort Worth hospitals need to work with employers, insurers to maintain financial health.(STATISTICAL NOTES)
May 1, 2005... With a patient population that is among the most sick, poor and uninsured in the nation, hospitals in the metro area of Dallas/Fort Worth are operating on razor-thin margins. If they do not find ways to cut costs and increase revenue, they...

Price indices up throughout hospitals, from patient services to medical-surgical supplies.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Consumer Price Index for hospital care rose 0.7% in March, after rising an equal percentage in February. The hospital CPI, which measures prices hospitals receive for their services, was 5.8% higher than in March 2004. The CPI for...

ACHE survey shows hospitals CEOs have been moving in and out of positions more frequently.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(American College of Healthcare Executives, Chief Executive Officers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Top executives at hospitals changed jobs more rapidly last year, according to a survey by the American College of Healthcare Executives. Turnover of hospital CEOs was 16% in 2004, the highest level since 2000. It was 14% in 2003. Turnover...

Lure of higher reimbursement leads hospitals to designate more patients as needing rehab.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Hospitals are sending too many joint replacement patients off to inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in violation of the Medicare "75% rule," a new study from the Government Accountability Office (formerly General Accounting Office) found. ...

Pennsylvania beefs up malpractice prosecution, gains kudos from national medical board group.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Pennsylvania's crackdown on physician incompetency led to 120 more disciplinary actions taken in 2004 than in 2003, Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes said. In 2003, the State Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine issued a...

Insurance company helps hospitals improve care by boosting payments to leading facilities.(STATISTICAL NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Indiana hospitals gained $13 million in added revenue by improving patient care under a program sponsored by an insurance company. The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Hospital Quality Program, which began in Indiana in 1996, rewards...

Instant check-in speeds patient traffic, saves staff time at Baylor's breast imaging center.(DATABASE NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... With the swipe of a driver's license or credit card, patients at the Sammons Breast Imaging Center at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, 998 beds, can register in about three minutes, compared to the traditional 12 minutes. Baylor...

Hospitals may be first under the microscope as feds review charity tax exempt status.(DATABASE NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Not-for-profit hospitals will receive much closer scrutiny this year than in the past, if House Ways and Means Committee chair Bill Thomas (R-CA) has his way. During hearings on the effect of tax-exempt organizations on the U.S. economy,...

CMS would shift supplemental reimbursement for treating undocumented aliens to DSH offset.(DATABASE NOTES)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is backing off on releasing a $1 billion appropriation to reimburse hospitals that treat non-paying undocumented immigrants. The funds were allocated under Section 1011 of the Medicare...

Hospital charges continue to raise questions for lawmakers as major IDNs are asked for data.(DATABASE NOTES)(Integrated Delivery Networks )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The House Energy and Commerce Committee is continuing to investigate charges that hospitals are overcharging uninsured patients compared with those covered by insurance or Medicare. The committee asked 10 large integrated delivery networks...

Study indicates uninsured numbers may be off by 20%; state-by-state review has Texas in lead.(DATABASE NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A glitch in the Census Bureau's population data reporting methods may have resulted in an overestimate of the number of uninsured Americans. According to an April 26 article in the Los Angeles Times, research requested by the Bush...

Letting nurses perform duties normally done by doctors is good for patients, not for bottom line.(DATABASE NOTES)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Letting nurses take over some areas of treatment normally performed by doctors could help meet rising demand for health care and increase patient satisfaction. But it may not save money, because nurses tend to see patients more often and for...

Females outnumber males as hospital patients, but average slightly shorter length of stay.(DATABASE NOTES)(Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A hospital patient, at nearly any age, is more likely to be female than male, according to the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database maintained by The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). In 2002, the latest year for which...

Contrast media market has had ups and downs with technology changes and group contracts.(WORTH READING)
May 1, 2005... When Novation, Irving, Texas, signed a contract for contrast media with GE Healthcare, Princeton, N.J., earlier this year, member hospitals didn't have to change brands. Their longtime vendor, Amersham Inc., Princeton, N.J., was acquired...

Consumer ads promote Medical City Children's Hospital in radio, television and print ads.(WORTH READING)
May 1, 2005... Since its introduction in 1996, Medical City Children's, Dallas, has barely been recognized in its primary service area, despite a major branding campaign over the last couple of years by its parent, Medical City, Dallas. And, awareness of the...