Healthcare Strategic Management articles from November 2005

Healthcare Strategic Management archives from November 2005

Filling the quality gap: physican-hospital QIs.(quality institutes)(Editorial)
November 1, 2005... Is the independent practice of medicine in a community hospital setting in jeopardy--again? There is no doubt that the viability of an individual physician, an integrated delivery system (IDS), and even the entire U.S. healthcare system...

For-profit hospitals show average performance on quality measures.(RESEARCH NOTES)
November 1, 2005... For-profit hospitals come out average in the most commonly examined best practices, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show. The seven largest publicly traded for-profit hospital systems had quality scores near...

AMA report finds research dollars focus mostly on trials.(American Medical Association)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The United States spends more than ever on medical research, yet research represents a tiny fraction of healthcare spending and lags in finding cost-effective treatments for critical diseases, the September 28 Journal of the American Medical...

Beth Israel testing cardiac device designed to strengthen pumping.(Beth Israel Medical Center)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Cardiologists at 229-bed Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City in September began enrolling patients in a clinical trial of a pacemaker-like device that helps strengthen the heart's pumping power. The FIX-HF-5 (Fix Heart Failure 5)...

Hospital, patient organizations: rule keeps patients out of rehab.(RESEARCH NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Hospitals and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continue to be at odds over the policy of lowering reimbursement for many patients transferred from acute-care to rehabilitation facilities. The "75% rule" reduces the...

Spinal cement draws patients and questions.(verebroplasty)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A new treatment called verebroplasty for patients with osteoporosis who have broken a vertebra involves injecting a form of cement into the broken spinal bone. Prior to vertebroplasty, patients with osteoporosis could only be treated with a...

Scant progress amid racial healthcare gaps.(RESEARCH NOTES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... African-Americans still receive far fewer operations, tests, medications, and other life-saving treatments than whites despite efforts to erase racial disparities, according to three major studies published in the New England Journal of...

Studies give edge to J&J stent.(Johnson & Johnson's Cypher compared with Taxus)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Johnson & Johnson may make a better stent--a catheter for holding open clogged arteries--than its rival, Boston Scientific, according to new studies that show patients who receive Cypher, a drug-coated stent made by Johnson & Johnson, may be...

Survey: in the face of rising costs, fewer companies offer health benefits.(STASTICAL NOTES)
November 1, 2005... As health insurance costs rise, the number of companies offering health benefits to their employees is on the decline, according to a national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The survey found that about 60% of companies nationwide...

Improve quality through cultural understanding.(STASTICAL NOTES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A recent survey conducted by the American Medical Association's (AMA) Institute for Ethics found that 55% of physicians believe that minority patients generally receive a lower quality of care. But 75% of physicians who answered the survey...

Hospitals take measures to counter criticism about billing of uninsured patients.(STASTICAL NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Hospitals are responding to adverse publicity about aggressive billing practices with new policies and public relations efforts, concludes a report issued in October by the Center for Studying Health System Changes (HSC). Many hospitals...

CEOs see light at end of tunnel for financial woes, despite ongoing challenges for hospitals.(STASTICAL NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Hospitals CEOs have a more optimistic outlook about their financial future this year, a new survey found. In its biennial survey, Deloitte & Touche USA found that 29% believe their hospital could fail financially in the next five years,...

Proposed standards seek to reconcile demands of HIPAA privacy rules, electronic data transfer.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Although the Bush administration continues to push for adoption of electronic medical records and further automation of hospital operations, it remains mindful of the privacy and security requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and...

Healthcare services regroup following loss of hospital facilities; charity moves off-shore.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, has found a new home aboard a U.S. Navy ship. Louisiana State University (LSU) medical teams will provide emergency services and other medical care to...

CA hospital thanks community by distributing funds to fellow health centers.(Saint Francis Memorial Hospital )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Although many hospitals devote significant energy to finding grants and donations, one hospital has reversed the flow of money briefly to celebrate its relationship with its community. In honor of its 100th anniversary, Saint Francis...

HCA officials told to turn over documents related to recent stock sale by senator frist.(HCA Healthcare Inc.)(Bill Frist)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... HCA Healthcare is in the legal spotlight again. HCA spent the late 1990s under a cloud of investigations of its reimbursement claims procedures and other financial practices, leading to a corporate reorganization, a new name, and divestiture of...

Adoption of electronic health records would require major change but save billions.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Widespread use of electronic medical records in the United States could save $18 billion annually in healthcare costs, according to a study published in September in Health Affairs, an online publication of the Department of Health and Human...

Rural southern hospital systems continue expansion plans with coming acquisitions.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Community Health Systems in Brentwood, TN, and Health Management Associates in Naples, FL, have embarked on expansion programs. The systems own small and rural hospitals in southeastern states. In October, Community was expected to close on...

Texas hospital invests in claims filing software in effort to improve revenue, rate of collection.(Guadalupe Valley Hospital)(XactiMed)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Guadalupe Valley Hospital in Seguin, TX, is automating its submission of insurance claims in an effort to improve revenue and reduce denials. The hospital selected Xacti-Med in Dallas to provide its electronic claims processing and claims...

Efforts to reduce medical errors, increase patient safety net awards for three hospitals.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, MN, 60 beds; Fairview Southdale Hospital in Minneapolis, 390 beds; and the Minneapolis Veterans' Affairs (VA) Medical Center, 410 beds, recently received awards for their accomplishments in...

OR medical center purchases new scanners.(Sacred Heart Medical Center )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, OR, announced in September that it will buy one of the new, highly sophisticated 64-slice computed tomography scanners that were featured in the September 5 Time magazine. The new scanner at Sacred...

Smokers taking controversial cancer test.(STRATEGIC NOTES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A huge federal study is underway to determine the value of a test that can detect deadly lung cancer when it is smaller than a pea, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The spiral or helical computed tomography (CT) scan can detect lung...

Jersey Shore becomes home to children's hospital.(Jersey Shore University Medical Center )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Jersey Shore University Medical Center of Neptune, NJ, has become home to the first official children's hospital for Monmouth and Ocean counties. The designation became official after the university medical center received its license from the...

Illinois hospital honors rehab patients.(Rush-Copley Medical Center )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Rush-Copley Medical Center of Aurora, IL, honored three "Rehabilitation Patients of the Year" during a September 23 luncheon as part of National Rehabilitation Awareness Week activities. Also, Nora Morenz, RN, was honored as Rush-Copley's...

With $5,000 donation, Grinnell completes matching grant challenge.(STRATEGIC NOTES)
November 1, 2005... Grinnell (IA) Regional Medical Center (GRMC) completed a $200,000 matching grant challenge for its Blue-print for Health campaign, an outreach effort to uninsured and underinsured patients. Joan Baker of Grinnell made a $5,000 gift to the...

The struggle between hospitals and their medical staffs: Lessons learned from recent litigation.(Community Memorial Hospital)
November 1, 2005... In 2003, physicians at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, CA, went to court to challenge their loss of self-governance. The medical staff won a settlement from the hospital, and California adopted a new self-governance law that took effect...

Hospitals and consumer-driven healthcare: five marketing moves Anthony Crillo.(WORTH READING)
November 1, 2005... Consumer-driven healthcare is a hot topic these days, and even if the change it will bring has been somewhat overstated, there's no doubt that employers are reducing their role and that employees are beginning to shoulder more of the burden for...

When you're sorry, say so.(WORTH READING)
November 1, 2005... There's a growing movement that says hospitals and physicians must start apologizing when they make a mistake. According to the Sorry Works! Coalition, such apologies may reduce the number of malpractice suits you face. According to...

The age-old problem of documentation James Saxton.(WORTH READING)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Taking the documentation issue to the next level is long overdue, writes James Saxton, a risk management lawyer at Stevens and Lee in Lancaster, PA. As much as we complain about the liability crisis, we have to learn to help ourselves as well....

Millions of hospital workers face drug exposures.(WORTH READING)
November 1, 2005... Hospital workers who handle hazardous drugs, particularly antineoplastic agents used in cancer therapy, may risk their health even if they follow safety procedures, according to the report Preventing Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and...

Improving bariatric services marketing at your hospital.
November 1, 2005... As troublesome as the obesity epidemic is from a public health standpoint, many hospitals are realizing that it also presents an opportunity--a chance to improve services, expand market share, and perk up business. Healthcare organizations...