Modern Healthcare articles from January 2005

Modern Healthcare archives from January 2005

Dealing with errors; IT helps reduce severity of medication mistakes.(The Week In Healthcare)(information technology)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Joseph Conn When it comes to medication safety, healthcare information technology can create new opportunities for errors, but error severity under these systems is significantly lower than in healthcare settings without IT,...

Quality programming; Wash. doc groups unveil performance data on Web.(Physician Affairs)(medical groups)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician Seven medical groups across Washington state have gone public with their data in 12 clinical performance categories, as well as publicizing their patient-satisfaction scores in five measurement areas as part of a...

No hard feelings; Hackley, Spectrum to peacefully part ways.(The Week In Healthcare)(Spectrum Health)(Hackley Health)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Melanie Evans Four years after affiliating with Spectrum Health, Hackley Health has decided that independence is more important than joint negotiating power. Officials at the Muskegon, Mich.-based systems described the union and...

Being alive; Taking risks is what it means to live your life to the fullest, with no regrets.(publisher's letter)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I like to be around people who are positive, enthusiastic and have smiles on their faces. Too many people look for the dark side of any situation, assuming the worst in human nature and the future. These cynics...

Back in style; Hospitals revisit old strategy: Buying doc practices.(The Week In Healthcare)(recruiting specialists)(Akron Children's Hospital)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Michael Romano Faced with a shortage of key specialists, Akron Children's Hospital is back in the business of buying medical practices, revisiting a strategy that left many healthcare executives with big headaches-and big...

Aviation industry may help raise the bar on healthcare quality.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Roosevelt Hospital Center)
January 3, 2005... Whom do you trust more not to make an error: the surgeon cutting open your brain or the aviator piloting your jet? It's a rhetorical question, but apparently the aviation industry has earned a wider reputation for paying attention to reducing...

Picking up the tab; Healthcare chains put the past behind them, resolving past unpleasantries in order to make a clean start in the new year.(settlement of cases)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Vince Galloro, Joseph Mantone and Mark Taylor Hoping to get off to a quick financial and operational start in 2005, two of the nation's largest investor-owned healthcare companies agreed to multimillion-dollar mea culpas to settle...

Rising interest? Higher borrowing costs for healthcare providers.(The Week In Healthcare)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Paul Barr Healthcare providers are likely to see higher borrowing costs in 2005 if the Board of Govenors of the Federal Reserve System continues to increase its target for short-term interest rates, as many investment professionals...

Money, money, money, money; It's a new year, but providers will grapple with familiar issues; relief awaits on some fronts, new challenges on others.(Special Report)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Paul Barr Once again, economic issues promise to be all consuming for executives at hospitals, health systems and other provider organizations in the year ahead. Whether it's reimbursement from federal payers, dealing with rising...

On the move ...(News Makers)
January 3, 2005... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Denny DeNarvaez resigned abruptly as president of Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis to pursue "other career options,'' says Kendra Calhoun, a spokeswoman for parent Allina Hospitals & Clinics. Allina President...

It all comes down to money; ACHE survey shows CEOs' big worries are fiscal.(American College of Healthcare Executives)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Melanie Evans In 2004, hospital chief executive officers fretted over positions they couldn't find enough candidates to fill and struggled to get along with doctors, but mostly, they worried about the budget. Hospital CEOs...

Public knowledge; Nursing homes improve quality-of-care scores.
January 3, 2005... Byline: Joseph Mantone More public reporting, stable financing and work with quality experts have helped nursing homes improve their publicly reported quality-of-care scores, industry representatives said. Outgoing HHS Secretary Tommy...

South.(Regional News)
January 3, 2005... MIAMI-A former manager for Cardinal Health pleaded innocent last month to charges that he billed a client, Jackson Health System, Miami, for about $6,400 for personal fishing trips, meals and outings to a Florida strip club. Kevin Reece, 39, of...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... * Van Johnson will retire as president and CEO of Sutter Health, Sacramento, Calif., on June 1, after a decade at the helm of the 27-hospital, not-for-profit system. Johnson, 60, will be succeeded by Patrick Fry, 47, who has been Sutter's COO...

Spend trend; Not-for-profits' capital replacement spending up.(Industry Overview)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Paul Barr Capital replacement spending among not-for-profit hospitals and health systems is expected to grow in 2005 as part of a rebound that began in 2002, according to research by ratings agency Moody's Investors Service. ...

Other Voices.(Opinions)
January 3, 2005... "In the finger-pointing over who is to blame for letting risky (prescription) drugs stay on the market, the favorite culprits seem to be the drug companies, for resisting evidence of harm caused by their products, and the Food and Drug...

Disaster relief; U.S. hospitals, doctors, suppliers pledge assistance.(Late News)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Cinda Becker Halfway around the globe and stunned by the mind-numbing extent of the devastation, U.S. healthcare and medical providers responded tentatively to the fearsome tsunamis that swamped a dozen countries in Asia, leaving...

Price check in Aisle 3; Support for the healthcare system can be gained only through understanding.(Opinions)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Eric Norwood Does it seem like our entire industry has lost its mind? To believe what's been in the news lately, one would think hospitals in this country have been acting like robber barons in what has become an incredibly complex...

Closed for business; New York United's debt seals its doors permanently.(Regional News)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Cinda Becker The board of trustees of 203-bed New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester surrendered last month to years of mounting debt and declining volumes, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and making plans to...

Positive outlook; Healthcare naysayers may be disappointed by what's in store for 2005.(Opinions)(Editorial)
January 3, 2005... Byline: David Burda, Editor I was in the middle of a rant about these being boom times for the healthcare industry when our holiday deadline hit a few weeks ago for our Dec. 20/27, 2004 issue, and I didn't get around to talking about the...

Taxed out; Residents may not qualify for FICA exemption.(The Week In Healthcare)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Mark Taylor The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury Department gave teaching hospitals and academic medical centers a lump of coal for Christmas when they released long-awaited final regulations on student exemptions from...

West.(Regional News)
January 3, 2005... SACRAMENTO, Calif.-The California Nurses Association late last month sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, arguing that Schwarzenegger violated the state Constitution in seeking an emergency regulation to relax the state's landmark nurse-to-patient...

Northeast.(Regional News)
January 3, 2005... HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa.-Holy Redeemer Health System said recently that it would hand over its information technology department to Siemens Medical Solutions in a 10-year deal valued at more than $105 million. The deal calls for Holy Redeemer,...

Moving to a new 'rural address.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Joseph Mantone Forrest Calico helped prompt the Institute of Medicine to produce a major study of rural healthcare quality. Now he'll be spending his time making sure rural hospital executives learn about the report's...

By the Numbers.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Patients in the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system are more likely to receive preventive and chronic care as recommended by well-established national standards than the general population, according to a study in the Annals of...

Number of osteopaths grows.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... As the nation faces a physician shortfall, physician leaders in the practice of osteopathic medicine are on a roll. While slightly more than one in 20 U.S. physicians have D.O. degrees, their numbers have grown rapidly since the discipline...

With or without merit; Del. requires affidavit to charge medical negligence.(Physician Affairs)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician The jury is still out on a new law requiring "affidavits of merit" to accompany the filing of medical malpractice lawsuits in Delaware. Since October 2003, any person claiming to be the victim of medical...

Health officials warn of Asian bird flu pandemic.(physician affairs)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician Health officials warned last month that the world is close to its next pandemic-a powerful and highly contagious mix of avian influenza and flu virus that would likely be centered in Asia. Authorities also...

FDA doing a 'spectacular job' despite drug recalls.(Physician Affairs)
January 3, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician The federal drug safety agency is doing a "spectacular job" of protecting the public, the White House chief of staff said last month. The assessment drew an immediate outcry from a Senate critic who charged that...

In memoriam.(Bernard Shapiro)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 3, 2005... Bernard Shapiro, a New York healthcare executive who had been active in the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Hospital Association of New York State, died Dec. 12, 2004, at age 52. No cause of death was made public. Most...

New year, new faces, new agenda; Healthcare issues are expected to draw more attention in D.C., but economic, foreign policy issues leave plenty of question marks.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Tony Fong Despite the war in Iraq and an expected full-scale campaign from the Bush administration to revamp Social Security, unfinished healthcare business from the last congressional session and festering problems within the...

Late News; WellPoint trims 4Q forecast.(Healthcare)
January 10, 2005... Newly formed WellPoint, Indianapolis, trimmed its fourth-quarter earnings forecast for 2004 because of merger-related costs and a bigger-than-expected debt buyback. The health insurance giant, formed when Anthem acquired WellPoint Health...

Docs are buying in; Faltering hospitals are finding new life with physician-owners, but they may face challenges getting their facilities up to speed.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Michael Romano Woodland Park Hospital, an aging, 200-bed acute-care facility located about seven miles east of downtown Portland, Ore., closed its doors a year ago after falling victim to financial ills. Left to languish for more...

Scrushy on trial; Insiders advise execs to learn from HealthSouth fallout.(The Week In Healthcare)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Joseph Mantone Many healthcare insiders say the fraud at HealthSouth Corp. is something of an outlier in the industry, but executives still can learn from the fallout. Last week, jury selection began in the Birmingham, Ala.,...

Other Voices.(Opinions)
January 10, 2005... "Count us among those who'd like to see Congress pass more market-oriented healthcare reform. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt if elected officials kept their hands off one of the more encouraging new areas of health competition, namely...

Two joining Hall of Fame.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Melanie Evans A retired Utah health system executive and a former head of the American College of Healthcare Executives have been named to Modern Healthcare's Health Care Hall of Fame. Scott Parker dedicated the bulk of his...

Second chance? Troubled hospitals in Atlanta, Houston seek buyers.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Paul Barr Two city hospitals ran aground last week, with for-profit Bellaire Medical Center in Houston closing and not-for-profit Southwest Hospital and Medical Center in Atlanta making plans to close in less than two weeks. ...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... * The U.S. attorney in Birmingham, Ala., filed three counts of conspiracy and securities fraud charges against Sonny Crumpler, a former HealthSouth Corp., employee, in connection with the $2.6 billion accounting scandal that occurred at the...

On the Web.(Physician Affairs)
January 10, 2005... Responses from the Seventh Annual Modern Physician/PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of Executive Opinions on Key Information Systems Issues showed nearly three out of four physician leaders reported their hospital or medical group has its own Web...

Cases closed.(The Week In Healthcare)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Mark Taylor Details from last month's $325 million HealthSouth Corp. settlement cast light on longtime business practices of the nation's largest rehabilitation services company as its founder, Richard Scrushy, prepares for his...

On the move ...(News Makers)(Hendersonville (Tenn.) Medical Center)(Trinity Health)(appointments)
January 10, 2005... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Mathew Abraham takes over as president and CEO of St. Agnes Medical Center, Fresno, Calif., owned by Trinity Health. Abraham, 51, replaces Sister Ruth Marie Nickerson, who left in September 2004 after being elected to...

Managing more; Another doc-CEO makes jump to managed care.(Late News)(chief executive officer)(Benjamin Chu appointments)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Cinda Becker In the latest example of a physician executive who leapt into the other world of managed care, Benjamin Chu resigned as president and chief executive of New York's Health & Hospitals Corp., to become president of...

Tenet loses a round.(The Week In Healthcare)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Vince Galloro Prosecutors won a significant victory last week when a defendant in a criminal case involving allegedly illegal physician recruitment deals agreed to plead guilty, and the government may reap the benefits in both the...

Will work for visa; Bill would boost visas for skilled workers.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Melanie Evans As nurses from China, India and the Philippines face a mounting wait for work visas, hospitals and immigration attorneys say reforms are needed to expand entry for foreign nurses seeking U.S. employment. One...

Policy outlook: cloudy, troubled; Social Security reform, deficits, partisanship may limit healthcare agenda.(Editorial)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor Op/Ed Seldom in recent years has there been such a confluence of pressing healthcare issues before Congress and a lack of resources and consensus on what to do about them. That may seem...

Quick exit by doc-owners.(News)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Michael Romano While some doctors eagerly dive into the heady world of hospital ownership, others are getting out of the business-involuntarily. A quick exit by as many as 65 doctor investors on the staff of Physicians'...

Cases dismissed; Plaintiffs warn defense the battle has just begun.
January 10, 2005... Byline: Paul Barr A surge of dismissals within the consortium of uninsured patient billing lawsuits invited optimism for future rulings among defense attorneys but has plaintiff attorneys declaring the battle is hardly over. Recent...

Life lessons; Embarrassing moments can provide valuable learning experiences.(publisher's letter)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Charles S. Lauer It was one of the most embarrassing moments in my career and I will never forget it. The memory came to me while reading an article in the January issue of the Harvard Business Review. It was entitled "The best...

More bang for your buck; One good thing leads to another in VA care study.(Veterans Administration)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician When you get good at doing one thing, you also get better at doing something similar, according to the lead physician researcher of a recent Veterans Affairs Department study comparing the quality of care delivered...

Founder of Duke cancer center dies at age 88.(Physician Affairs)(Obituary)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician William Warner Shingleton, a surgeon and founding director of Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, N.C., died Jan. 2. He was 88. Shingleton was a proponent of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which...

Conn. docs lose attempt to revive suit against Oxford.(Physician Affairs)(Connecticut State Medical Society )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician The Connecticut State Medical Society lost an attempt to revive a class-action lawsuit against Oxford Health Plans for allegedly denying, delaying and reducing payments to about 7,000 doctors. The state Supreme...

By the Numbers.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... A vast majority of people responding to a survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund said expanding coverage to the uninsured should be Congress' top healthcare priority during the next five years. The survey of 318 respondents provides a...

Vacationing doc calls on old lessons after tsunamis hit.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(doctors)
January 10, 2005... Mark Oberle will probably never know how many injured survivors he saved on the Thai island of Phuket using simple, makeshift medical tools. Oberle, who is a medical doctor, teacher and expert on bioterrorism surveillance, tapped into some...

One step ahead; States restructure Medicaid to keep costs in check.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Melanie Evans and Vince Galloro As the CMS released data showing that both state and federal spending on Medicaid eased in 2003, several states last week made moves to overhaul their Medicaid programs to further control costs. ...

Another option; HHS tests alternatives to malpractice lawsuits.(Department of Health & Human Services)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Mark Taylor As medical malpractice reform ranks high on President Bush's national domestic agenda, members of his administration are testing a complementary plan to speed the malpractice litigation process and potentially reduce...

Stunted growth; Spending growth--dampened by Medicaid, Medicare--dropped for the first time in 7 years, but consumers still paid big bucks.(Column)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Paul Barr The first drop in healthcare spending growth in seven years came at the expense of hospitals and consumers, according to 2003 data released last week by the CMS. Total healthcare spending grew 7.7% in 2003 to $1.7...

Editor's Note.
January 17, 2005... This article is based on an interview with David Brailer conducted by Modern Healthcare reporter John Morrissey when Morrissey worked for Brailer in HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in Washington....

Chasing compliance; Delayed CMS pilot will assess program's success.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Mark Taylor While the CMS' pilot to assess the effectiveness of hospital compliance programs got off to a late start, its project leaders said the agency has enlisted 15 hospitals from six states to participate in the 18-month...

The insider--for a while; A rare glimpse into the creation of national healthcare IT policy.
January 17, 2005... Byline: John Morrissey You could blink twice and miss the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. A cluster of 10 cubicles, some open and others displaying vain attempts to create a little privacy, are wedged...

The wrong solution; Malpractice insurance costs may be a crisis, but 'tort reform' isn't the answer.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Todd Sloane When President Bush travels around the country on his crusade to clamp a $250,000 limit on the amount of money that people injured by medical errors can receive for their pain and suffering, his painstakingly handpicked...

Ahead of the pack; ACHE Gold Medal Award goes to Evanston Northwestern's Spaeth.(American College of Healthcare Executives)(Ronald Spaeth)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Stacie Williams Ronald Spaeth says "running a hospital is like running the city of Chicago.'' He should know, having attended graduate school in the city and spent most of his long healthcare career in the metropolitan area. ...

At a crossroads; Neoforma considers sale or merger to increase value.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Cinda Becker After five years of operational successes but a grim financial performance on Wall Street, Neoforma reached a crossroads last week in its complex relationship with hospital alliances VHA and University HealthSystem...

Dear grandson; Thoughts for someone starting out in life, from an interested observer.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Charles S. Lauer My daughter Kathy and my son-in-law Gerry are one of those couples who prove that opposites attract. Gerry stands about 6 feet, 5 inches and weighs close to 280 pounds, while my daughter checks in 5 feet, 4 inches...

Briefly: Legal.(Catskill Regional Medical Center)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... N.Y. hospital settles case * Catskill Regional Medical Center, Harris, N.Y., will pay $1.5 million to settle False Claims Act charges that from 1997 to 2000 an administrative services agreement between the 238-bed hospital and an unnamed...

CHS chooses HealthTrust.(Community Health Systems)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Cinda Becker A rumble emitted from the ever-shifting landscape of hospital group purchasing earlier this month when Community Health Systems, Brentwood, Tenn., signed a four-year agreement to purchase supplies through HealthTrust...

IT highway shortcut; Connecticut hospitals find high-tech on-ramp.(Connecticut Hospital Association)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Joseph Mantone Taking advantage of some early information technology resources and its state's geography, the Connecticut Hospital Association has built a for-profit IT business that has wired most of the state's hospitals. ...

A sense of duty; Carmona wins honorary fellowship.(Richard Carmona)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Stacie Williams The idea of serving a larger community has always been very strong for Richard Carmona. Before becoming a doctor and healthcare administrator, he spent two years in the U.S. Army's Special Forces during the Vietnam...

In his blood; Holmes receives the ACHE's award for young healthcare executive of the year.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Stacie Williams As a young child, William "Chip'' Holmes would sit down to eat at the kitchen table and listen to his father, a pediatrician, and his mother, a nurse, discuss the day-to-day affairs of their shared private practice...

What a difference a year makes; Brailer continues to forge ahead on his IT journey.
January 17, 2005... Byline: John Morrissey It all started a year ago--Jan. 20, 2004--with a single sentence in President Bush's State of the Union address, one that highlighted computerized health records as a means to avoid medical mistakes, reduce costs and...

Late News; HHS panel backs changes.
January 17, 2005... An HHS task force recommended more collaboration between the CMS and the Food and Drug Administration over medical technology and creation of a forum for researchers and technology manufacturers to communicate with HHS agencies that influence...

By the Numbers.(The Week In Healthcare)(HIV was 11 times higher than for non-Hispanic whites under 75)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Certain medical conditions shave off more years of life for non-Hispanic black Americans than they do for non-Hispanic white Americans, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2002, the number of years...

Judgment day; McKesson settles suit for $960 million.
January 17, 2005... Byline: John Morrissey The rainy day came for McKesson Corp. last week, but the healthcare-products distribution and information services company had been saving for it. Six years after a securities-fraud scandal led to a $9 billion...

Controlling interest; MedPAC supports extension of specialty hospital ban.(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Tony Fong The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's recommendation to extend a moratorium that applies to physician-owned specialty hospitals left acute-care hospitals smiling and specialty facilities frowning last week. ...

Growth is slow.(Physician Affairs)
January 17, 2005... See printed publication for the following charts: Average house staff stipends aren't exactly skyrocketing in teaching hospitals

HealthSouth patient blew whistle only after feds fumbled.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
January 17, 2005... At the heart of the U.S. Justice Department's case in its $325 million civil settlement last month with Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth Corp. is a crusty 83-year-old ex-Internal Revenue Service agent and retired Army lieutenant colonel named...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week In Healthcare)
January 17, 2005... * The color key on a chart that ran in Physician Affairs describing the growing number of osteopaths (Jan. 3, p. 30) was reversed.

Leading the way; Ascension Health issues subordinate bonds.(Computer Sciences Corp.)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Laura B. Benko Ascension Health is once again breaking new financial ground in the not-for-profit healthcare sector. The Roman Catholic hospital giant set the sector's record for the largest inaugural bond offering in October...

Other Voices.(Opinions)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... "The drastic cuts to TennCare announced by Gov. Phil Bredesen (last week) will enable him to balance the state's budget, but they are not a long-term solution to the state's massive healthcare needs. People will be dropped from TennCare and...

Change of heart; Whistle-blower turns himself in to federal regulators.
January 17, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician Typically, a whistle-blower inside a company launches an investigation into the wrongdoing of others. But Robert Davids, 41, former vice president for mergers and acquisitions of physician office management...

Rising patient loads have docs turning to IT systems.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician More than 60% of physicians surveyed said their patient load had increased over the past year, but just 36% reported higher revenue. Some 31% said their revenue had, in fact, decreased. Nevertheless, 48% of 356...

Uninsured to save under new discount program.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Byline: Modern Physician Millions of uninsured Americans could save money on prescriptions under a discount program unveiled last week. The Together Rx Access Card allows those who meet income and age requirements to save 25% to 40%-and...

The simplest gift; Why letting others know how much we value them is so important.(publisher's letter)
January 24, 2005... Byline: Charles S. Lauer In his 1989 book, Leadership Is an Art, Max DePree, then the chief executive of Herman Miller, writes about the value of showing our feelings in our interactions with people in both our personal and professional...

Merger issues linger.
January 24, 2005... Byline: Mark Taylor Last week's settlement of price-fixing allegations by a Chicago-area health system doesn't resolve the core issue at the root of a February 2004 merger challenge brought by the Federal Trade Commission against...

In the spotlight.(Bernard Hengesbaugh joins American Medical Association)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... * Bernard Hengesbaugh, a longtime Chicago-area insurance executive who served for the past two years as chairman of the board of the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, has joined the...