Modern Healthcare articles from February 2004

Modern Healthcare archives from February 2004

Board: 'Conflict of interest' stops Wis. doc's promotion.(Physician Affairs)(Wisconsin)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... West Allis (Wis.) Memorial Hospital's board of directors refused to validate the election of a physician as chief of internal medicine because of her investment in a competing cardiac specialty hospital. Cardiologist Lisa Armaganian was elected...

Montana exempts itself from anesthesia rules.(Physician Affairs)
February 2, 2004... Montana Gov. Judy Martz, a former hospital board member, informed the CMS last month that her state would opt out of the federal requirement that physicians supervise certified registered nurse anesthetists, allowing the nurses to receive...

Verbal assault; Advocates hit Triad for courting not-for-profits.(The Week in Healthcare)(Triad Hospitals Inc.,)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro A healthcare consumer advocacy group and Triad Hospitals are engaged in a war of words over Triad's attempts to form joint ventures with not-for-profit hospitals. A recent report by Community Catalyst rebuked...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
February 2, 2004... * Via Christi Health Systems, Wichita, Kan., has named Kevin Conlin, president of the consulting division of Florida-based Cross Country Consulting, as president and CEO of the six-hospital system, effective immediately. Conlin, 46, has 22...

Drug bill architect may be mulling PhRMA post.(News Makers)(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong After turning down an offer to take over as the film industry's top lobbyist, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is now reportedly in line to captain the prescription drug industry's trade association. For months Tauzin, 60,...

An ounce of prevention; The AHA tries to ward off political attacks by showing its worth through healthcare ROI study, election cards and a new logo.(American Hospital Association)(Release of Information)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Patrick Reilly Fearing that politicians might focus their election-year campaigns on rising healthcare costs, the American Hospital Association is taking the offensive by crafting an image that shows its members are providing...

On the move ...(News Makers)(DeVos Children's Hospital)(House Ways and Means Committee's health subcommittee)(Boca Raton)
February 2, 2004... HOSPITALS Michael Rowan has been named executive vice president and COO at Catholic Health Initiatives, Denver, effective March 1. Rowan, 45, currently holds the same position at St. John Health, a unit of Ascension Health, which operates...

Back from the brink; Walter Becker specializes in helping rural, financially stressed hospitals regain their health.(Healthcare Profile)(Carthage hospital)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker Walter Becker will be mortified when he reads this, but the truth is he was stopped for speeding in a 40 mph zone on the dark, remote and icy cold road that skirts the shoreline linking the mouth of Lake Ontario with...

Late News; Tenn. court blocks CON.(Tennessee)(Certificate Of Need )
February 2, 2004... In a closely watched specialty hospital dispute, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld two lower court rulings that vacated certificate-of-need approval for a 65-bed for-profit hospital that Wellmont Health Systems, Kingsport, Tenn., wants to...

Taking a hit; Bon Secours says unit's ex-CFO inflated earnings.(Late News)(Bon Secours Health System Inc.,)(David Zilli, ex chief financial officer)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Patrick Reilly Bon Secours Health System said it would reduce its previously reported net income for the last two years after an investigation alleged that a former chief financial officer at the system's Michigan subsidiary...

Cap call; Bush pushes his malpractice bill, criticizes 'junk' suits.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... President Bush focused on a rash of what he calls "frivolous and junk'' lawsuits on a visit last week to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, Ark. Bush told a crowd of about 600 medical professionals that unnecessary malpractice...

It's the little things that count; Taking care of the business at hand is often better than reinventing the wheel.(Publisher's Letter)(health care industry)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer How important are the little things in business? Well, according to a friend of mine who recently spelled things out for me, they mean a great deal. My friend is part of a committee at a prestigious private...

Midwest.(Regional News)
February 2, 2004... WAUKEGAN, Ill.-Vista Health owes $34 million to its former partner Provena Health, Mokena, Ill., under the terms of their failed merger, an arbitrator ruled late last month. Vista Health said the ruling doesn't require a lump-sum payment as...

Sell, sell; Tenet escalates sell-off of hospitals as outlook for profits falls short of analysts' expectations.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp. is starting to sound like a car dealer: We've moved all of last year's inventory to make way for the 2004 models! Barely a week after announcing a deal to sell the last of the 14 hospitals...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 2, 2004... * In the Jan. 12 editorial (p. 20), a mention of the Institute of Medicine's latest report on the uninsured incorrectly stated that it was the sixth and last report on healthcare reform. It should have read that it is the sixth and last on the...

Northeast.(Regional News)
February 2, 2004... PITTSBURGH-Two pathologists have charged that Pap smear reports were routinely falsified at Magee-Womens Hospital and have sued the hospital and its parent, UPMC Health System. Most recently, Kenneth McCarty in a lawsuit filed in Pittsburgh...

South.(Regional News)
February 2, 2004... ORLANDO, Fla.-Orlando Regional Healthcare unveiled plans last week for a $100 million, 273-bed Hospital for Women & Babies to be built across the street from the existing 281-bed Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women. The 11-story...

Healthcare is, isn't the issue.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong How healthcare issues will affect this week's Democratic primaries in seven states is unclear, particularly after last week's results in New Hampshire, where voters said healthcare was their chief concern, but their votes...

Disassociate from this plan; Pre-empting state regulation of insurance pools would hurt consumers.(Opinions-Commentary)(association health plans licensed)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Mila Kofman and Karl Polzer In his State of the Union address, President Bush pushed for federal legislation to spur the use of association health plans to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses. The president...

Connecting the dots; Verispan's annual 'IHN 100' ranks organizations that are using higher degrees of integration to excel clinically and financially.(Special Report)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Mike Colias The most recent ranking of the nation's integrated healthcare networks shows top systems are improving outcomes-and cutting costs-by broadening continuums of care and better integrating disease- and case-management...

Fla. exec finds public hospitals are very, very good to him.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
February 2, 2004... Who says public hospital systems are struggling to make ends meet? Don't tell that to the North Broward Hospital District or its chief executive, G. Wil Trower. The board of the tax-assisted hospital system in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., awarded...

Attention grabbers; Investor-owned company to buy small hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(Attentus Healthcare)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro The latest investor-owned hospital company to grab attention from the Nashville area is Attentus Healthcare, which has raised $77 million to buy small, rural hospitals. The privately held company's founders-HCA...

Calling Dr. Phil; Hospitals, physicians need to work out their relationship issues.(Opinions-Editorials)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed While the rest of the healthcare world struggles with issues such as access to care, medical errors and drug coverage for the elderly, for many hospital boards and administrators the...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)
February 2, 2004... "California voters will have the chance in November to wipe out one of Gov. Gray Davis' worst legacies. SB 2, which requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide health insurance for workers, should be repealed. Every Californian...

Dueling spending projections; OMB pins $534 billion price tag on Rx benefit.(The Week in Healthcare)(Office of Management and Budget)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman Dramatically growing estimates of what it will cost to enact the Medicare prescription drug benefit gave pause last week to healthcare providers, who are quick to remember but anxious to avoid the payment cuts that can...

Cautiously quiet; Execs tight-lipped about Baxter shake-up.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 2, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker The surprise announcement last week that Harry Kraemer Jr. will be resigning as chairman and chief executive officer of Baxter International, whose financial performance has underwhelmed Wall Street in recent months,...

Focusing on the important part; Radicalizing experience sends Berwick on a mission to put the patient first.(Publisher's Letter)(health industry)(Editorial)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Over the years I've heard a lot about Don Berwick. I know he is involved in a movement to improve healthcare, but since I've never heard him speak nor have I met him in person I haven't really gotten a sense of his...

Paying up; Dollar amount outweighs number of payouts.(Physician Affairs)(medical malpractice payouts and defense costs of hospitals)
February 9, 2004... The rise in the dollar amount of medical malpractice payments by hospitals and physicians outweighs the increased number of payouts in driving up malpractice costs, according to a study issued recently by Chicago-based Aon Risk Services, an...

U.S. attorney indicts South Florida docs, clinic owner.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The U.S. attorney in Miami, Marcos Daniel Jimenez, late last month announced the criminal indictment of three South Florida doctors and 17 other defendants in a $5 million healthcare fraud scheme. All were charged with conspiracy to commit...

IT company to provide free access to NPI software.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... A physician-owned healthcare information technology company is offering free access to software to validate providers' use of their unique identifying numbers in healthcare transactions, for compliance under the Health Insurance Portability and...

Hospital celebrating two centuries of care.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Candler Hospital)
February 9, 2004... Georgia's first hospital plans to make the most of its 200th birthday. In January, Savannah's Candler Hospital kicked off its yearlong bicentennial celebration by planting a commemorative oak tree while onlookers remembered the hospital's...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... "The shame for Texas grows, with the latest monthly enrollment figures for the Children's Health Insurance Program.... The cuts in the CHIP are shortsighted for two significant reasons. First, by cutting its support for the program, Texas is...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)(Correction Notice)
February 9, 2004... * ProMedica Health System is based in Toledo, Ohio. An incorrect location was given for the system in a report on the nation's top integrated health networks (Feb. 2, p. 25). The annual "IHN 100'' ranking is conducted by Yardley, Pa.-based...

System: Gainsharing not fair; RWJ wants pilot project shut down or open to all.(The Week in Healthcare)(Robert Wood Johnson Health System)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker A disgruntled New Jersey hospital system that was excluded from a trailblazing but limited experiment in physician "gainsharing'' has sued the CMS in an attempt to block the demonstration project. In a 41-page...

Going with the (patient) flow; JCAHO's 'watered down' ER patient-management standard relieves hospital executives, disappoints docs.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)
February 9, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey To the relief of hospital executives but the dismay of emergency physicians, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations agreed that hospitals can only do so much to attack the problem of...

Subpoena stopped; Request for records of partial-birth abortions halted.(Late News)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor A move by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to subpoena the medical records of 40 patients who received so-called partial-birth abortions at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago was halted-at least...

Open for business; Proactive approach helps maintain good vascular access for dialysis patients and reduces the cost of care for providers.(Medical Advances)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker Some medical advances improve the quality of life for patients; some-perhaps fewer-buttress the bottom line for the business of healthcare providers. But as Richard Gemming, vice president of administration at...

Late News; Frist works on diversity bill.
February 9, 2004... A day after the Institute of Medicine said increasing racial diversity in healthcare is in the nation's "compelling interest,'' Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) promised to introduce legislation to address both disparities in care...

Cash or care? Price is big difference in Bush, Dem health plans.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong As the presidential election countdown continues, the candidates' healthcare plans remain a key voter concern. And though prospects may shift before the general election, from a healthcare perspective who becomes the next...

Bush's budget guide; Rural providers, uninsured face funding decrease.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman The 2005 budget blueprint President Bush submitted to Congress last week reignited the debate over several issues important to healthcare providers, especially alarming some advocates for rural hospitals and the...

Big, but not so easy; As its large patient base sought more choice in access to care, New Orleans' Ochsner Clinic decided it was time to sell its HMO.(Special Report)(Health Management Organization)(Ochsner Health Plan)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko It was 1985, and Ochsner Clinic Foundation needed to ensure its survival. With managed care gathering steam, officials at the renowned New Orleans-based healthcare system feared the insurance industry would soon...

A family affair; Exec's estate, hospital must pay fraud settlement.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor When he was chief executive officer of Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital in Norwalk, Calif., Gerald Garner allegedly billed Medicare for expenses the hospital never incurred. In the wake of his 2002 death, his estate and the...

On the move ...(News Makers)
February 9, 2004... HOSPITALS The leadership turnover at the University of North Carolina Health Care System, Chapel Hill, continues. UNC Health Care said Eric Munson, president and CEO of UNC Hospitals, will become senior adviser for the next two years to...

Exec who broke race barriers dies at 76.(News Makers)(Obituary)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor Pioneering black hospital executive Chuck Windsor died Feb. 2 in Oakland, Calif. Windsor, 76, a Los Angeles native, served as the director of several large public hospitals, including San Francisco General...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
February 9, 2004... * Anthony Ferreri has been named permanent president and CEO of 694-bed Staten Island University Hospital in New York. Ferreri, 53, was filling the position on an interim basis for the past six months since Andrew Passeri resigned, reportedly...

Group Health chief who led revival to retire.(News Makers)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko Whoever takes over the top post at Group Health Cooperative next year will be stepping into some pretty big shoes. Cheryl Scott-who colleagues and industry observers say has become synonymous with Seattle-based...

Pay raise; Increased HMO funding excites many.(The Week in Healthcare)(Health Management Organization )
February 9, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman Providers and payers alike were enthusiastic last week that Medicare HMOs, which were recently awarded a significant federal pay increase, plan to use their newfound funds to cut premiums, soup up benefits and even...

Bill collection, self-reflection.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker When the Healthcare Association of New York State quietly unveiled its new guidelines on financial aid and charity-care policy for its 230 members last week, it was not prepared for the rush of inquiries from hospitals...

Nice ideas, outnumbered; Growing federal debt, demographics will cut healthcare proposals short.(Opinions-Editorials)
February 9, 2004... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed When the presidential candidates talk about solving the problem of the uninsured, closing the holes in the Medicare drug benefit and investing in new health technologies, all I can think...

Two GPOs to consolidate.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker In one of the first consolidations in the group purchasing industry in several years, Healthcare Purchasing Partners International, Irving, Texas, said last week that it has agreed to buy the group purchasing assets of...

Under pressure, oncology practices turn to contracts.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
February 16, 2004... Reflecting the growing financial pressure on oncology practices, including recent and pending changes in Medicare reimbursements for administered drugs, U.S. Oncology said last week it now receives the bulk of its revenue from group practices...

SEC joins Justice in investigation of WebMD.(Physician Affairs)(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
February 16, 2004... WebMD Corp. said last week that the Securities and Exchange Commission had joined a U.S. Justice Department probe of accounting practices at one of the company's operating units. Roger Holstein, chief executive officer of the healthcare...

Docs' group forms to press Congress on liability reform.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
February 16, 2004... A new physicians' organization an-nounced its formation last week solely to push a medical liability reform bill through Congress and began a print and television advertising campaign on the topic. Doctors for Medical Liability Reform,...

Cashing in; Former CMS head Scully joins boards of three healthcare companies.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Former CMS Administrator Tom Scully has joined the boards of three healthcare companies, following the lead of previous federal healthcare program chiefs who have entered corpor- ate governance. Select...

The silent treatment; Premier reneges on promise to disclose compensation.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker The healthcare industry's two largest group purchasing organizations have decided, at least for the moment, to remain silent on executive compensation, continuing their policy of not disclosing how much they pay their...

HHS ad campaign rekindles Medicare drug benefit debate.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
February 16, 2004... Its logo may no longer be emblazoned on a hot-air balloon, but advertisements for Medicare continue to stir the political winds. HHS' latest ad campaign, like the controversial blimp that flew over football games promoting the program's 800...

Damage control; Thompson: Positive slant on racial report a mistake.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong Washington took steps to bridge the racial healthcare gap last week as the Bush administration offered a mea culpa on a report released two months ago and a group of senators introduced a bill to improve healthcare...

Looking for a slowdown; CMS says spending growth slowed, but not all see it.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong If hospital spending growth is slowing down, Ron Bunnell hasn't seen it yet. To deal with the nursing shortage, Banner Health-a 19-hospital system based in Phoenix, where Bunnell is chief financial officer-has had to...

All's fair in competition? FTC relies on insurer complaints over price increasesto buttress first challenge of hospital merger after the fact.
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor The rift between healthcare providers and payers widened last week when the Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust complaint against a prominent suburban Chicago health system. In its 12-page administrative...

Tax-free but of little account; Without changes, health savings plans unlikely to achieve lofty goals.(Opinions-Commentary)(health savings account)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Paul Ginsburg After Congress' 11th-hour inclusion of health savings accounts under the umbrella of Medicare reform legislation, pundits on opposite ends of the political spectrum have either hailed the new tax-sheltered accounts as...

Calling for some manners; Why is it that so few people really know how to use the phone?(Publisher's Letter)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer The telephone has always intrigued me. It is one of the most effective communication tool available. It can make or break a business deal or a personal relationship. And amazingly few people know how to use this...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)
February 16, 2004... Charles Stark is proof that there is life after HealthSouth. Stark, 42, a 1993 Modern Healthcare Up & Comer award winner and former senior vice president of scandal-plagued HealthSouth Corp., was named last month as president and CEO of...

Round 3; Doc privileges fight heating up; lawsuit in Ark.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano Physicians and hospitals are squaring off in a heavyweight battle that could leave both sides battered, bruised and bloodied. Last week, six cardiologists in Little Rock, Ark., filed a lawsuit against Baptist...

Anywhere, anytime; Reality, expectations of electronic health records similar.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
February 16, 2004... Slightly more than one-quarter, or 26%, of adult former hospital patients or care supervisors of hospital patients contacted for a recently released survey said they believe an electronic health record is already available to them. An...

Home to roost; Backed into a corner, AHA deals with hospital billing practices.(Opinions-Editorials)(American Heart Association )
February 16, 2004... Byline: David Burda, Editor In our Feb. 2 cover story (p. 6), reporter Patrick Reilly wrote about efforts by the American Hospital Association to improve the public perception of the nation's hospitals. Those efforts-which the AHA says are...

On the move ...(News Makers)
February 16, 2004... HOSPITALS Change is in the air at 45-hospital Trinity Health, Novi, Mich. William Kreykes, 66, has been named board chair. He's a former CEO of Lifespan, Providence, R.I., and was on the board of Holy Cross Health System before it merged...

Abortion record probe defended by Ashcroft.(Late News)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor US. Attorney General John Ashcroft went on the offensive as he defended his recent subpoenas seeking patient medical records related to so-called partial-birth abortions at a handful of hospitals. Speaking to...

Whose turn for tax returns? Millions of dollars are at stake in a federal tax case. At question: whether some medical residents are 'students' or just 'employees'.(Special Report)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor There are more than 160 million reasons why academic medical centers and teaching hospitals will be watching the outcome of a federal tax case in Florida scheduled to go to court this spring. That's the estimated...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)
February 16, 2004... "Most people probably aren't surprised at White House estimates showing that Congress badly understated the cost of providing prescription drug coverage to Medicare recipients.... But what's unusual in this case is that the president was...

Late News; Attentus makes offer.
February 16, 2004... Attentus Healthcare, Franklin, Tenn., offered to buy SunLink Health Systems, Atlanta, and take the eight-hospital company private in a deal valued at about $25.2 million. Robert Thornton Jr., SunLink's chairman and chief executive officer,...

Tenet names new COO.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp. last week completed a management overhaul that began with the revelation of its higher-than-average Medicare outlier payments in November 2002. Tenet promoted Reynold Jennings, president of...

Ulterior motive? FTC searching for evidence with look back at merger.(The Week in Healthcare)(Federal Trade Commission)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor Was it revenge or the pursuit of knowledge that prompted the Federal Trade Commission to begin looking back on previously cleared hospital mergers? With last week's antitrust lawsuit against three-hospital Evanston...

Planning ahead; Survey: Few not-for-profits have succession plans.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic When Michael West retired as chief executive of Akron (Ohio) General Health System at the end of 2001, someone else was ready and waiting to fill his shoes. Alan Bleyer, president of the three-hospital system,...

Creating competition.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Julie Piotrowski An emerging company is promoting a new not-for-profit model of long-term acute-care hospitals within hospitals, offering competition for investor-owned facilities that currently dominate the market. "If you're...

20/20 hindsight; Divestiture would snuff Tenet's long-term strategy.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro While the foundation of Tenet Healthcare Corp. remains a group of hospitals owned by its two predecessor companies, the hospitals Tenet purchased through its second largest deal are largely being trimmed away, calling...

Dampened enthusiasm; Long-term acute-care facilities under scrutiny.(The Week in Healthcare)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Favorable Medicare reimbursement for long-term acute care and a growing demand for high-acuity care is leading to a proliferation of long-term acute-care hospitals set up within other hospitals. But recent and...

Porter heads north for next challenge.(News Makers)(McGill University Health Centre)
February 16, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor Former Detroit Medical Center President and CEO Arthur Porter is heading north of the border for his next assignment, heading the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. Porter, 47, left DMC after securing a...

Ethical superhero in Indiana has providers mesmerized.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(health care industry)
February 23, 2004... An Indiana hospital-and through it a major health system-has turned to a comic strip superhero to spread the message about employee ethics and compliance issues. Captain Integrity, who dons a cape and wears the letter "I,'' is the creation...

The numbers speak for him; Richard Cartabuke, M.D., named first AAASC/MP Medical Director of the Year.(Profile)(American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers )
February 23, 2004... Byline: Joseph Conn Richard Cartabuke, M.D., is a physician executive leading an ambulatory surgery center with some impressive numbers: * Staff satisfaction rating, 90% * Patient satisfaction rating, +99% *...

Someday we'll all be on the same page; The long journey toward common health data record-keeping is well under way.(Opinions-Commentary)
February 23, 2004... Byline: Stephen Lieber No one wants to make major healthcare decisions based on incomplete information-not chief executives, not chief information officers, not clinicians and certainly not patients. The Institute of Medicine, in its...

More than just face value; Taking the time to know your customers can pay big dividends.(Publisher's Letter)(importance of making personal sales calls)
February 23, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer In the past few months I have had the privilege to spend a fair amount of time in the company of a friend who happens to be a senior sales executive with one of the biggest suppliers in our industry. I've enjoyed...

On the defensive; A physician's confidence can shatter in the wake of a lawsuit.(Feature)
February 23, 2004... Byline: Leigh Page After Philip D'Arrigo, M.D., was sued for malpractice several years ago, he "almost had a nervous breakdown,'' the Bridgeton, N.J., OB/GYN recalls. "When you are sued, you go through disbelief, anger, self-doubt,...

Connect The Docs; Study shows IT issues could create common ground for physicians and hospitals.
February 23, 2004... Byline: Neil Versel In recent years, growing competition from physician owners of ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals has irked more than a few acute-care hospital physician executives and lay administrators. Physician...

Briefly: Earnings.(The Week in Healthcare)(HCA Nashville)(Vanguard Health Systems Inc)(Brief Article)
February 23, 2004... HCA's profits climb * HCA, Nashville, said earlier this month that its profits rose for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2003. However, its 2002 figures were weighed down by a $603 million charge to settle a federal probe of its...