Modern Healthcare articles from April 2008

Modern Healthcare archives from April 2008

A cure for variable quality; A national clinical effectiveness institute is needed.(From the C-Suite)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Karen Ignagni A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine a few years ago should have been a wake-up call for every healthcare policymaker. An exhaustive analysis of medical records by RAND Corp. researchers found...

Southern comfort; HCAHPS data favors Ala. hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems)(Survey)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian Quality experts continue to raise questions about the effectiveness of HHS' new patient-satisfaction data. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS, survey is producing ...

Honoring diversity.(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... The leadership of any industry should be reflective of its customers. Nowhere is this imperative more critical than in the very human business of healthcare. The diversity of this country is one of its greatest strengths-a microcosm of the...

Justice takes new angle in suit; Ohio whistle-blower case shows different theory.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch A whistle-blower's case the Justice Department said it will pursue against Christ Hospital in Cincinnati and a major cardiology group appears to expand what the government typically calls a kickback, arguing that...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
April 7, 2008... Who's tops in pay? In Frisco, it's a busy 'part-time' nurse Outliers knows nurses are hard-working, but in San Francisco the job can really pay off. A part-time registered nurse scored as the city's highest-paid worker, earning a stunning...

On the move...(News Makers)(appointments)
April 7, 2008... GOVERNMENT William Kovacic was sworn in as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on March 31, replacing Deborah Platt Majoras. Kovacic, 55, an antitrust scholar, served as the FTC's general counsel from 2001 to 2004 while on leave as a...

Satisfaction data seem right; Patients' experiences belie trend toward friendlier environments.(Opinions Editorials)(Survey)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Neil McLaughlin A few words about surveys and polling: * Many industry observers focused on widespread dissatisfaction in the newly released Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey (March 31, p....

Doc rating plan set; Insurers, physicians back approach.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Providers are cautiously optimistic that an accord announced last week will lead to more fair and uniform standards on how physicians are ranked by health plans. "It will be a different level of conversation, we...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... "Warnings that Medicare spending is growing at an unsustainable rate come with mind-numbing regularity, so it was no surprise that the latest report from the Medicare trustees found that the system is still headed for a financial abyss....

Combining forces; Buyers consolidating medical practices.(Physician Affairs)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Medical practices have been merging or buying other medical practices at a rapid clip this year, and the buyers may be operating under the assumption that bigger can be better. "We are seeing a trend of...

Startup angles to buy hospital that SSM wants to close in Ill.(Late News)(SSM Health Care)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... The chief executive officer of a startup for-profit company is trying to salvage a proposal to buy a suburban Chicago hospital that SSM Health Care, St. Louis, said last week it plans to close. In October, SSM announced a letter of intent to...

Ardent Health set to sell university hospital in Tulsa.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... Ardent Health Services, Nashville, Tenn. would rather compete with Oklahoma State University Medical Center than own the Tulsa-based hospital. Ardent and Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine said they have reached an...

HMA latest to seek joint venture; Deal made with eye toward raising cash rather than spending it on growth.(The Week in Healthcare)(Health Management Associates)(Report)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro The corporate organization that was Triad Hospitals is dead and buried, but the strategy most associated with Triad-joint ventures with not-for-profit hospitals-lives on. Legacy Hospital Partners nearly reincarnated...

About that 'double standard'... Amid turmoil, credit agencies weigh changes in their bond-rating practices.(Strictly Finance)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker Depending on which one you ask, the three credit-rating agencies are restating, reviewing or changing their rating practices in the U.S. public finance market, and it has some definite implications for tax-exempt,...

LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)
April 7, 2008... Unwarranted attack... It is regrettable that you destroyed the credibility of your March 31 editorial ("Market therapy,'' p. 19) via what can only be described as a personally motivated, unsubstantiated attack on a particular...

WellPoint joins 'never' crusade; Nation's biggest insurer won't pay for some preventable errors starting this year.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 7, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker The nation's healthcare reimbursement system evolved a step further as WellPoint, the nation's largest insurer, announced last week that it would stop paying for medical errors that are the most preventable. The...

Convicted NCFE executives being held in jail pending hearing.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... Four former executives of National Century Financial Enterprises who were convicted on fraud charges last month are being held in jail pending a bail revocation hearing on April 16 in federal court in Columbus, Ohio. The four-previously under...

Medical Mutual of Ohio buys PPO network in South Carolina.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... Medical Mutual of Ohio acquired Premier Health Systems, a PPO network in Columbia, S.C., for an undisclosed sum. Premier Health Systems was a for-profit subsidiary of Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals and Palmetto Health and has 87,000...

How we selected the winners.
April 7, 2008... To select Modern Healthcare's second biennial listing of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare, co-sponsored by Russell Reynolds Associates, the magazine issued a call for nominations on Dec. 17, 2007. The nomination deadline was Feb. 8....

Growth spurt; Boom expected in doc-owned hospitals: AHA.(The Week in Healthcare)(american hospital association )
April 7, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond The American Hospital Association targeted physician-owned hospitals last week with a report predicting rapid growth in this segment just as Congress is considering whether these facilities have a future. The...

Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare.
April 7, 2008... Anthony Armada Since May 2004, Anthony Armada, 48, has been president and chief executive officer of Henry Ford Hospital and Health Network in Detroit, overseeing Henry Ford's 736-bed flagship hospital, 25 ambulatory-care centers in the...

CONSOLIDATING.(Physician Affairs)(Brief article)
April 7, 2008... Recent practice consolidations include: * Atlanta-based Piedmont Heart Institute acquired Cardiology of Georgia, a 30-year-old, 20-cardiovascular physician practice with eight locations in the Atlanta area, for an undisclosed amount on...

The 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare, 2008.(Special Report)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Jay Greene James Mongan is a bridesmaid no more. After the president and chief executive officer of Partners HealthCare System, Boston, finished second in 2005 and 2007, readers of Modern Healthcare and sister...

Setting limits; Injunction on bidding could restrict HHS' options.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea A U.S. District Court judge's decision to temporarily bar HHS from moving forward with a Medicare competitive-bidding demonstration project in San Diego could have a broad impact on the agency's freedom to define and...

Turning the tables; Doc-owned hospital foes on defensive over document.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond In an interesting turnabout, three organizations that have fought the physician-ownership model now find themselves in the same position they have placed their opponents: on the defensive. Late last week, the...

Liftoff for an EHR; Missouri SSM hospital is first in systemwide rollout.(Information Edge)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Joseph Conn What may have been two milestones in the history of clinical computing were passed late last month at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis, Mo. The 129-bed hospital, part of St. Louis-based SSM Health...

New 990 gets down to specifics.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans As nearly everyone knows, filling out tax forms is as simple (or as painful) as following the instructions. Last week, not-for-profit hospitals and health systems got a look at new instructions for their yearly...

CMS dialysis rule approved.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond A final CMS rule updating Medicare conditions for coverage in dialysis centers was well-received last week from a group representing more than 10 leading renal-care companies in the U.S. The 625-page rule is...

Gideon named to head two West Penn hospitals.(Late News)(Dawn Gideon)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... Dawn Gideon was named president and chief executive officer of Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania Hospital-Forbes Regional Campus, Monroeville, part of the West Penn Allegheny Health System, effective May 5....

HCAHPS no hiccup; Survey shows hospitals are doing some things right.(Charles S. Lauer)(Survey)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Charles S. Lauer There was a time not so long ago when customer service was at the core of business success. Unfortunately, across all business sectors today, most organizations and the people who work for them appear to have...

No stars for satisfaction ratings; Patient surveys should take a back seat to true measures of clinical skill.(Opinions Commentary)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Christine Cassel With the recent announcement that Zagat Survey and WellPoint have partnered to assess patient satisfaction with their physicians, consumers will be able to research doctors in much the same way they investigate...

On the move ...(News Makers)(in the memory of Richard Risk)(Gary Looper has resigned from the post of CEO of Northwest Health System)(In memoriam)
April 14, 2008... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Gary Looper, 60, resigned as CEO of Northwest Health System, Springdale, Ark., in order to move closer to family in Texas, according to the system. Dan McKay, a division vice president for system owner Community Health...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
April 14, 2008... Elizabeth Edwards keeps up the healthcare heat on candidates Just in case anyone was worried that healthcare reform was taking a back seat to the economy and Iraq, rest assured that Elizabeth Edwards is checking under the hood. ...

CHECK THE RIGHT BOX; Credits or deductions? The three main presidential candidates take varying stances on adjusting tax code regarding insurance.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch Anyone who's hustled to meet the April 15 tax deadline knows the federal government wields the tax code like a kindergarten teacher hands out smiley stickers and timeouts. In healthcare, it tries to pry good behavior...

Spending still high; Study shows price limits not enough to end cost spiral.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian Changes to Medicare's reimbursement program aimed at improving quality and safety in hospitals aren't likely to make a big dent in federal spending on healthcare, some policy experts say. That's because it is...

How we did it.(Special Report)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... To compile the fourth annual ranking of the 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare, Modern Healthcare and sister publication Modern Physician announced the recognition program on Oct. 29, 2007, and Nov. 5, 2007, respectively. From...

Coming together; MedPAC urges pilot test for virtual bundling.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Lubell The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission issued a series of bold new payment recommendations last week that lean on hospitals and physicians to improve their accountability for cost and quality of care. What the...

A race to spare Medicaid; House measure would stop White House cuts.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Matthew DoBias Last week a House panel approved legislation that would effectively kill a number of White House directives that critics charge would cut state Medicaid funding by $50 billion and restrict access to care for millions...

TriZetto Group set to go private with some funding from Blues.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... The TriZetto Group, a publicly traded claims processor for payers and third-party administrators, announced it reached an agreement to be acquired and taken private by funds advised by Apax Partners in a deal valued at about $1.4 billion,...

Boost payments to geriatric docs to help prepare for boomers: IOM.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers should increase payments to geriatric specialists as a means to better train and retain providers for the coming wave of aging baby boomers, the Institute of Medicine said in a report, to be released this...

Three win CEO IT award; Cecchettini, Hawthorne, Mongan chosen for Modern Healthcare, HIMSS honor.(The Week in Healthcare)(Chief executive officers)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... Modern Healthcare and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society are pleased to announce the recipients of this year's CEO IT Achievement Award. The 2008 winners are: Diane Cecchettini, president and chief executive officer of...

Mass. reform has the blues; Coverage plan seen as national test case is beset by a range of complications.(Opinions Editorials)
April 14, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane Massachusetts' universal coverage program has been cited as a model for national reform, and with good reason. It is a beta test of the individual and employer mandates favored by Hillary Rodham Clinton and the new form...

Baucus seeking 18-month fix to Medicare physician payments.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) informed physician lobbyists in a meeting that he would push for legislation to halt Medicare payment cuts for 18 months. "Chairman Baucus intends to pursue an 18-month fix this spring,''...

EMRs efficient in collecting infectious disease data: CDC.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... Electronic medical records could be used to quickly detect and report infectious diseases, according to results published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an article in its April 11 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,...

Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
April 14, 2008... A Web-only table published as part of the March 24 Construction & Design Survey incorrectly stated the firm fees reported by Stengel Hill Architecture. The firm had fees of $5.6 million in 2007.

A TAXING CHANGE.(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... All three of the remaining presidential candidates suggest changing the tax treatment of healthcare premiums Candidate: Hillary Rodham Clinton Proposal * Suggests limiting the tax exclusion for employer-based premiums for...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... "The state Senate Health Policy Committee has an opportunity to dramatically reform health insurance in Michigan and promote affordable coverage, consumer protection, insurer accountability and job growth. Recently, the chairman of that Senate...

Gideon named to head two West Penn hospitals.(Late News)(Western Pennsylvania)(Dawn Gideon appointed)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... ***** Correction: A Late News item in the April 14 issue (p. 4) incorrectly stated that St. Vincent's Hospital Staten Island in New York had closed. The hospital, which was purchased as part of the bankruptcy of St. Vincent Catholic...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... "In an earlier war, Mary Tallouzi would have received a neatly folded flag and the thanks of a grateful nation. In this war, she got her son back alive, but lying motionless and speechless right next to the line between life and death. A scrap...

Healthcare opinion leaders survey.(Survey)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane The Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, is an online poll designed to highlight perspectives on the most timely health-policy issues from a panel of the nation's...

WAYS AND MEANS.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)(Survey)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... How the nine out of 10 opinion leaders who back a complete transformation of the U.S. healthcare system think it should happen: 84% support/strongly support supplemental payments to primary care (on top of fee-for-service) for delivering...

USC, Tenet make peace.(The Week in Healthcare)(University of Southern California)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro A tentative settlement between the University of Southern California and Tenet Healthcare Corp. over the fate of USC University Hospital looks to be an addition of cash and a subtraction of a headache for Dallas-based...

NURSING GREAT EXPECTATIONS; Employers push for nurse performance data, but compiling it may prove difficult and could increase scrutiny of nurses.(Special Report)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans Registered nurses outnumber doctors 4-to-1 in the nation's workforce, but have been largely overlooked by efforts to hold providers accountable for costly and harmful errors. Not anymore. Keeping closer tabs...

A trillion here, a trillion there ... ... and pretty soon you have a big problem paying to cover the uninsured.(Opinions Editorials)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane One of the most interesting books of the year so far is The Three Trillion Dollar War, an analysis of the cost of the Iraq conflict by Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and public finance expert Linda Bilmes...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
April 21, 2008... Across U.S., the spotlight is on preparation for end-of-life care More than 450 organizations in all 50 states participated in the first National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16, to raise awareness about the importance of advance...

CMS: You'll have to earn it; IPPS proposal would bump quality measures to 72.(inpatient prospective hospital system)(The Week in Healthcare)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Hospitals would have to work a lot harder to earn their Medicare paychecks for the inpatient services they provide under a proposed rule the CMS issued last week. The agency in its proposed rule issued April 14...

Doc discipline falling: report.(The Week in Healthcare)(Report)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks A 4.6% decline in disciplinary actions by the nation's medical boards in 2007 shouldn't set off any alarms, according to one medical board official, but the head of a watchdog group called the decrease "very...

Focus on gain-sharing.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch and Jessica Zigmond The CMS' inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule released last week includes actions related to some hot-button issues. The rule solicits comments regarding so-called gain-sharing...

House bill seeks one-year moratorium on Medicaid regs.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill that would put a one-year stop to a clutch of Medicaid regulations even while the White House said it would veto such legislation. The bill, which changed only slightly from a...

Hospital lobby to back bill restricting doc ownership.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... The hospital lobby said it would back an effort by lawmakers to include a provision in a broad agriculture bill that would greatly restrict physician ownership of hospitals even while the American Medical Association a day earlier had railed...

Cigna to stop paying for some medical errors on Oct. 1.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... Cigna Corp. announced it is among the growing list of major health insurers that will no longer reimburse providers for certain serious medical errors. As with the CMS, Cigna will stop paying for these adverse events on Oct. 1, the company said...

Maine passes legislation to contain its universal care costs.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... Maine lawmakers passed new funding legislation aimed at containing rising costs for Dirigo Health-the state's 5-year-old healthcare reform effort, which, among other goals, seeks to establish universal healthcare for Maine residents. The law...

Federal auditors: CMS overstepped on SCHIP ruling.(State Children's Health Insurance Program)(Late News)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... Federal auditors said that the CMS overstepped its authority when it issued tighter enrollment requirements for the State Children's Health Insurance Program last August, and that the agency should have first released it as a proposed rule...

Special report extra: podcast series.(Special Report)(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... In an exclusive interview with Modern Healthcare reporter Melanie Evans, Bonny Collins, program manager of the VA's Nursing Outcomes Database, discusses the connection between nursing practice and quality of patient care and how that connection...

Joint Commission consults again; new product branches into medication reconciliation.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian The Joint Commission and its affiliate Joint Commission Resources again have followed up an accreditation-related move with a new product that aims to make money consulting on standards implementation. This...

Disclosure may end suits faster.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch Providers and their lawyers liked what they heard last week from HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson: Those who do a prompt and comprehensive job telling on themselves for fraud and abuse violations are likely to be...

Providers getting out; systems selling managed-care businesses.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely A steady sell-off of provider-owned health plans in recent months suggests two factors converging-that providers are feeling the pain of running managed-care plans amid a tightening market while larger competitors...

We're not home yet; hurdles remain to primary-care-based system.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Martin Sepulveda The "medical home,'' a practice-based structure to facilitate the delivery of comprehensive care and to promote strong relationships between patients and their primary-care physician-led teams, has real momentum in...

Overhaul this 'broken system'; consensus gels within the industry's elite that U.S. healthcare needs to be reorganized from top to bottom.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)(Survey)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Barbara Kirchheimer A vast majority of surveyed healthcare leaders say healthcare quality and efficiency will improve only with fundamental change, and among their priorities are strengthening the primary-care system, encouraging...

EMRs need TLC; rollout of large IT project is a community effort.(electronic medical record, information technology)(From the C-Suite)
April 21, 2008... Byline: John Bosco As part of its mission to improve the health and quality of life for the people and communities it serves, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System is implementing an integrated clinical information system across...

The third path; systemic change will focus on returning value.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)
April 21, 2008... Byline: Greg Poulsen As the political debate over the nation's healthcare crisis becomes increasingly polarized, it is tempting to believe that there are only two mutually exclusive paths before us. One proposal argues broadly for greater...

Nowhere to run, or hide; current economic downturn may exacerbate hospitals' weaknesses with building, technology costs, reimbursements.
April 21, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker The credit crunch roiling the nation's economy is at least partially challenging the notion that hospitals are immune from economic downturns. While some hospitals are still enjoying high volumes and cushy operating...

Few alternatives left; doc-ownership limits may be tacked on to other bill.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Matthew DoBias Time and options are running low for proponents of an effort to pass legislation restricting physician ownership of hospitals. The removal of such a provision from a farm bill last week is the latest signal that...

ACPE founder plans to retire.(American College of Physician Executives)(The Week in Healthcare)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks The retirement of Roger Schenke, who founded the organization now known as the American College of Physician Executives and then led it for more than 30 years, is not expected to hurt the organization's mission of...

Leapfrog enhances hospital survey with new CPOE tool.(computer physician order entry)(Late News)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... The Leapfrog Group released its 2008 hospital survey with a data-collection redesign and new features, including an evaluation tool for computer physician order entry. The group, which previously announced it was streamlining the...

Reid fast-tracks bill to suspend controversial Medicaid measures.(Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid)(Late News)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to fast-track a bill that would place a hold on a series of controversial Medicaid regulations. The Nevada Democrat invoked a Senate rule that would allow the bill to bypass the Senate Finance Committee...

Appel, founder of American Medical International, dies.(Late News)(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Uranus J. "Bob'' Appel, the founder of the first publicly traded hospital company, American Medical International, died at the age of 91. Appel, who was trained as a bacteriologist, founded MedLabs in 1956 at the age of 39. In 1960, he bought...

'Unleash the energy': activists, professors try to use their own sphere of influence to affect U.S. healthcare policy and improve patient care.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely With 47 million uninsured nationwide and millions more facing rising premiums for less coverage, the crisis facing the U.S. healthcare system has never been more urgent. The issue is likely to take center stage...

Public health curricula idea.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Advocacy could be added to the curricula of professional public health programs nationwide, as a leading organization considers helping schools develop coursework around the issue. The American Public Health...

Taking action, post-auction: rating actions spike from variable-rate debt failures.(The Week in Healthcare)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker The debt-restructuring frenzy un-leashed by the failure of auctions for tax-exempt variable-rate debt issued by not-for-profit hospitals has not abated, prompting a rash of rating actions by the three major...

Senate OKs bill barring genetic discrimination.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... The Senate voted 95-0 to approve a bill that would prohibit health insurers from denying coverage to otherwise healthy individuals who have a genetic predisposition to develop a disease. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act would...

Memorial Health settles false claims lawsuit for $5.1 million.(Late News)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... Memorial Health, a Savannah, Ga.-based system, agreed to pay $5.1 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit based on allegedly excessive payments made to hospital-employed ophthalmologists. The government's investigation was triggered by a...

Construction digest.
April 28, 2008... Mayo opens new Florida hospital The new $254.6 million Mayo Clinic Hospital, which opened April 12 in Jacksonville, Fla., is designed to provide the best care under literally the worst-possible conditions. With Florida's hurricane history...

Our carpe diem moment; execs, clinicians must help policymakers find the way to universal coverage.(Opinions Commentary)(Viewpoint essay)
April 28, 2008... Byline: Joseph Swedish Leave it to a long drive across mid-America to give you a reality check on the obstacles facing health reform in this country. Somewhere along the 1,200 miles, I heard a talk radio host pose the question: How can...