Modern Healthcare articles from January 2007

Modern Healthcare archives from January 2007

Part D extension; Some get more time to enroll in drug program.(Medicare Part D)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell At least a quarter-million Medicare beneficiaries are getting extra time to enroll in Part D for 2007. Last week, the CMS announced it will extend by 45 days its Part D open-enrollment deadline to Medicare...

Attitude Adjustment; Adopting a more positive outlook on the world can help you succeed.(Lauer's Letter)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer With the new year upon us, many of us will resolve to start doing something better, or at least to stop doing something detrimental to our well-being. With apologies to Jonathan Swift, here is my modest proposal:...

Healthcare's sacred cows; Have Berwick and Gingrich become too powerful for the common good?(Opinions)(Editorial)
January 1, 2007... Byline: David Burda, Editor There's a scene in Animal House when Otter's solution to a confrontation with Dean Wormer is to throw a toga party. Hoover, Delta House president, at first rejects the idea. Otter and Bluto then whip their...

Rebuilding in New Orleans; Feds set aside $300 million for LSU Medical Center.(Louisiana Recovery Authority )
January 1, 2007... Byline: Jessica Zigmond and Vince Galloro Plans are moving forward to build a new Louisiana State University's Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans. The Louisiana Recovery Authority authorized a plan last month to allocate $300...

Looking beyond the horizon; Systems buck investment trends, going longer term with 'alternative' portfolios.(Strictly Finance)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker Hospitals are generally not big risk-takers when it comes to investing, and they probably shouldn't be. But they also shouldn't be so consumed by worry over the next financial catastrophe that it paralyzes them...

Psychiatric keeps on buying; Pending Horizon deal would add 15 facilities.(The Week in Healthcare)(Psychiatric Solutions Inc acquires Horizon Health Corp.)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Vince Galloro In Horizon Health Corp., Psychiatric Solutions is acquiring a company that took a bit of a tumble after aggressively expanding into psychiatric hospitals during the past three years. Franklin, Tenn.-based Psychiatric...

On the Move...(News Makers)(Christopher Lloyd appointed as a system executive )
January 1, 2007... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Christopher Lloyd, COO for Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, Houston, has been named system executive for the neuroscience service line, officials announced. Lloyd, 42, also...

Managed-care shake-up; Two major Mich. players leaving insurance business.(The Week in Healthcare)(Michigan Health System's M-Care, Trinity Health )
January 1, 2007... Byline: Laura B. Benko Consolidation continued to reshape Michigan's managed-care industry last month as two of the state's largest healthcare systems prepared to sell off their health plans after more than 20 years in the insurance...

Outliers; Asides & Insides.(American College of Healthcare Executives elected Ogan Gurel)
January 1, 2007... Chicago execs group's ouster of next chief goes unexplained At a recent board meeting, the Chicago Health Executives Forum-a chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives-dethroned its president-elect, physician Ogan Gurel. ...

BALDRIGE INTERRUPTED; Premier and North Mississippi both took home the prestigious quality award, but their victory celebrations were shortlived.(Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, North Mississippi Medical Center)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Joseph Mantone When a company wins the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the company's typical reaction is celebratory. The company, its executives and its employees revel in the fact that the federal government...

Top women sought.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 1, 2007... Modern Healthcare is seeking nominations for its second biennial Top 25 Women in Healthcare recognition program, honoring those female healthcare executives who are making a positive difference in the industry. The magazine is seeking nominees...

South.(Regional News)(Mountain States Health Alliance is granted permission to build the replacement hospital)(Russell Williams is named chaimrman of the Georgia Health Information Technology and Transparency Advisory Board)(Presbyterian Healthcare is to build hospital in Mint Hill)
January 1, 2007... JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.-Mountain States Health Alliance said that Tennessee regulators granted it three certificates of need that will lead to the building of a $122 million, 80-bed replacement hospital and the addition of 64 beds at its flagship...

New year, new faces; Handful of CEOs tapped before `Auld Lang Syne' sang.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans with Cinda Becker, Vince Galloro, Michael Romano and Mark Taylor Congress isn't the only institution with new leadership in the new year. Several healthcare companies-from a 13-hospital Catholic health system to a...

Take the IT survey.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 1, 2007... Modern Healthcare's 17th annual Information Technology survey is now available. This invitation-only survey analyzes the opinions of senior healthcare executives to understand the benefits of implementing new IT systems and sharing data....

Options probe opens.(The Week in Healthcare)(Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate UnitedHealth Group Inc.' stock option practices)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Laura Benko UnitedHealth Group said the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a formal investigation into its historical stock-option granting practices. In its latest SEC filing, the nation's second-largest health...

N.Y.'s turn; Groups formulating universal plans.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker Inspired by Massachusetts' groundbreaking universal health insurance plan, key organizations in New York have begun to separately conceptualize their own plans. Both the Blueprint for Universal Health Insurance...

CEOs focus on finances, docs; Execs cite financial challenges as No. 1 problem: ACHE.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans Doctors ranked No. 2 on hospital chief executive officers' list of most significant challenges for 2006, ousting the nation's chronic shortage of healthcare workers from CEOs' top three concerns for the first time in...

Emergency preparedness; Texas system scores first with inflatable surge hospital.(Regional News)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Romano The hospital building boom has taken on a slightly different meaning for Harris Methodist Fort Worth (Texas) Hospital, which recently unveiled what officials describe as the first privately owned, inflatable surge...

Giving vendors the bill; Law makes VA contractors liable in security breaches.(Department of Veterans Affairs)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Joseph Conn President Bush signed into law late last month legislation aimed at preventing data-security breaches at the Veterans Affairs Department, ironically considered by many to be the model of information technology adoption...

Late news.(Federal Trade Commission accused physicians for price fixing)(Pitt County Memorial Hospital being inspected by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Clark Mitchell accused for securities fraud with Mutual Benefits Corp.)
January 1, 2007... Groups charged with price fixing The Federal Trade Commission charged several groups representing more than 2,900 Chicago-area physicians with price fixing and refusing to deal with certain health plans except on collectively determined...

Hitting resistance; Two doc-owned hospitals sell to not-for-profits.(New Albany (Ohio) Surgical Hospital, Wisconsin Heart Hospital)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Romano For physicians, the sudden spurt of specialty hospitals over the past few years seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. Offering high-margin services such as cardiac care and orthopedic surgery, these specialty...

CONSUMERS ARE KING; From IT projects to quality initiatives to improved transparency, in '07 it's all about making the healthcare experience better, safer.(Special Report)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker with Laura B. Benko, Joseph Conn, Melanie Evans, Vince Galloro, Joseph Mantone, Andis Robeznieks, Michael Romano, Mark Taylor and Jessica Zigmond Cinda Becker Consumers are king From IT projects to quality...

War of Words.(The Week in Healthcare)(Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... On Dec. 11, 2006... "The only way this mess will go away is for Premier to withdraw. I wish they would for a variety of reasons. But many of the `experts' say that is not a likely scenario. What is likely, if they do not withdraw, is a...

Express Scripts' power play; Caremark deal would make the PBM largest by far.(The Week in Healthcare)(pharmacy benefit managers )
January 1, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker The already highly concentrated market shared by pharmacy benefit managers could consolidate into two powerhouses if Caremark Rx yields to Express Scripts' hostile takeover bid of $26 billion. If so, a...

West.(Vincent Regional Medical Center constructing emergency deaprtment)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... SANTA FE, N.M.-St. Vincent Regional Medical Center began construction in early December on a $12 million project to expand the 190-bed not-for-profit community hospital's emergency department by more than 20,000 square feet. Expected to open in...

Midwest.(Regional News)(ProHealth Care Inc. and Centerre Healthcare Corp. to jointly build a rehabilitation hospital in Waukesha County)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... WAUKESHA, Wis.-ProHealth Care and Centerre Healthcare, St. Louis, announced a joint venture to build a 40-bed rehabilitation hospital in Waukesha County. ProHealth's 15-bed rehabilitation unit at 326-bed Waukesha Memorial Hospital cannot...

Wish you were here.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 1, 2007... But if you weren't, Modern Healthcare Online has you covered. Our seasoned group of 28 reporters and editors attends dozens of healthcare conferences throughout the year. You can read their take on those conferences in the Reporter's Notebook...

Other Voices.(Opinions)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... "If you get a bad meal at a restaurant, you expect the manager to tell you it's on the house. Similarly, if the plumber wrecks your sink instead of fixing it, you don't pay him. That's the American way of commerce. Do the job right or forget...

Docs fear 2008 cuts; Another round of possible reimbursement reductions.(The Week in Healthcare: Physicians)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias For physicians and their lobbyists, congressional lawmakers made sure that 2007 would be anything but a happy new year. In a report released quietly at the end of December, federal actuaries from the...

LTACs need fine-tuning: report; Congress could play role in establishing guidelines.(long-term acute care hospitals)(Report)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell A long-awaited, CMS-mandated report that may have a financial impact on the lucrative business of providing long-term acute care could open the door to congressional action this year. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.),...

Short-term failure; 4 of 5 cardiac-care measures don't help much: report.(The Week in Healthcare: Quality)(Report)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Recently published findings indicating that four out of five popular heart-failure treatment performance measures don't affect short-term patient outcomes drew criticism from a heart-care provider who helped...

IT survey extension is Jan. 12.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 8, 2007... The deadline for Modern Healthcare's 17th annual Information Technology survey has been extended until Jan. 12. The survey analyzes the opinions of senior healthcare executives to understand the benefits of implementing new IT systems and...

Late news.(credit ratings trends of healthcare companies, expanded insurance coverage in the agenda of the American Medical Association, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations name changed to the Joint Commission, )
January 8, 2007... Credit ratings may keep dropping Credit ratings may fall further for healthcare companies if they give in to shareholder pressure to increase returns, with either stock buybacks or leveraged buyouts like the $33 billion deal that took HCA...

Carilion readies med school; Va. plans come as other states boost education.(a joint venture between Carilion Health System and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans Carilion Clinic's $100 million overhaul took another turn last week when the seven-hospital Virginia system unveiled plans to open a medical school by 2010. The school, a joint venture between Roanoke-based...

Outliers; Asides & Insides.(Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems announces new dressing trends and services for patients)
January 8, 2007... System looks at the ins and outs of `holistic patient environment' Patients should remember to pack some designer pajamas if they plan to stay at one of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System's hospitals. Last week, the Houston-based...

A hamstrung healthcare agenda; Dems limited by fiscal, political constraints, but there are a few opportunities.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Todd Sloane Their hands are tied. Giddy Democrats danced into control on Capitol Hill last week, with healthcare a headliner of their agenda. But seldom has there been less wiggle room for substantive action by a new majority...

Change will be incremental; Democrats will push a healthcare agenda, but Bush still stands in the way.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rep. Pete Stark In the 110th Congress, new leadership will bring new priorities. However, we have to be realistic: President Bush will continue to occupy the White House for two more years. Instead of working toward quality...

PPS to draw more attention.(Prospective Payment System)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell The continued phase-in of a new payment system for inpatient care is likely to be the biggest regulatory issue for hospitals in the coming year, although the industry will need to be watchful for other rule changes...

Huron Consulting's expansion; Group purchases Wellspring Partners for $65 million.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans Huron Consulting Group expanded its hospital and health system practice at least fourfold with its $65 million cash deal to buy healthcare consultant Wellspring Partners. The acquisition, announced last week, adds...

Baptist system taps CEO.(Shane Spees appointed as chief executive officer)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans After six months without a chief executive officer, four-hospital Baptist Health System named Shane Spees as president and CEO. Spees, who will start with Birmingham, Ala.-based Baptist on Feb. 1, will inherit a...

TIME TO ACT ON COVERAGE; Survey finds uninsured No. 1 priority, but achievable goals may be incremental.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)(Survey)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Most of the healthcare opinion leaders who responded to the Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare survey agreed that Congress should target the uninsured as a top priority in the next five years, but some are doubtful...

On the Move.(Catholic Healthcare Partners appoints James Gravell Jr., Bruce Rendina, former chairman of Rendina Cos. died)(Obituary)
January 8, 2007... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati, named James Gravell Jr., 58, as its senior vice president and CFO effective Jan. 1. William Shuttleworth, who will retire from the position at the end of the first quarter, is...

Looking into HCA's future; Analysts offer '07 predictions for newly private co.(buyout of the Hospital Corporation of America, opinions of hospital industry observers )
January 8, 2007... Byline: V ince Galloro The biggest story involving HCA in 2006 was, of course, the $33 billion leveraged buyout that made it a private company again. What's ahead for the Nashville-based giant in 2007? Modern Healthcare asked three...

Wash. alliance gets HHS' OK; Puget Sound first to get designation, could get data.(Department of Health & Human Services designates Puget Sound Health Alliance a "Community Leader for Value-Driven Health Care")
January 8, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias Puget Sound Health Alliance became the first organization to win an HHS designation that eventually could give the Seattle organization access to Medicare data on hospital and physician performance. HHS...

Regional News: Northeast.(Geisinger Health System's patient records stored in computer stolen from Electronic Registry Systems, Coordinated Health Care opened an orthopedic hospital, Elder Health Pennsylvania to acquire Health Partners of Philadelphia)
January 8, 2007... PHILADELPHIA-Elder Health Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of Elder Health, Baltimore, will acquire 21,000 Senior Partners Medicare members from provider-owned Health Partners of Philadelphia, the companies said last week. Financial terms weren't...

Regional News: Midwest.(Aurora Health Care Inc. awaits approval from Summit to build hospital, lawsuits against Ocomowoc planned to be dropped, Wisconsin hospital systems contract with the state over uninsured billing practices, Nurses filed antitrust case against hospitals in Detroit)
January 8, 2007... MILWAUKEE-Aurora Health Care filed plans with Summit, Wis., to build a 110-bed hospital and medical office building there. The $189 million project, if approved by Summit authorities, would end the 12-hospital system's long-running battle to...

Regional News: West.(St. Mary's Regional Medical Center merged with Catholic Healthcare West, task force recommends California's medicaid program to upgrade electronic claim processing, Tenet Healthcare Corp. sells Alvarado Hospital Medical Center to Plymouth Health)
January 8, 2007... SACRAMENTO, Calif.-A task force urged California's Medicaid program to upgrade its aging computer system and convert to an all-electronic claims-payment process in an effort to clamp down on an estimated $3 billion in fraudulent payments...

One vendor at the core; Will rare breed of RHIO ever become dominant?(Regional Health Information Organization)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Joseph Conn Healthcare leaders in more than 100 communities across the U.S. are exploring ways to share patient information through regional health information organizations. One way providers in several communities have tried to...

Regional News: South.(District of Columbia council voted to use $245 million fund for health facilities, Huntsville Hospital and Athens and Limestone Hospital alliance, Medical Properties Trust acquires real estate for the Warm Springs Hospital System)
January 8, 2007... WASHINGTON-The District of Columbia council voted unanimously to use $245 million in tobacco-settlement funds for a new healthcare complex, several new ambulatory-care centers and a host of preventive-health services. The council authorized...

Unlikely GPO partners unite; Could Consorta and HealthTrust's collaboration spark a trend among the nation's other top group purchasing organizations?(Group Purchasing Organization)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker Two of the nation's largest group purchasing organizations with roots stretching to opposite corners of the healthcare provider world last week announced they were joining together, startling the GPO industry from a...

The 100-year itch; If you want to live for a century, you must read this book.(Dare to be 100)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Why can't we all live to 100? With all of the advances medical science has made, there seems to be little reason not to expect to live a far longer and more vital life than those of generations past, longer even...

Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey.(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Todd Sloane With this report, Modern Healthcare joins the Commonwealth Fund in an expanded version of the fund's ongoing Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey. This online poll is designed to highlight perspectives on the most...

AMBITIOUS AGENDA; Dems promise to push hard on healthcare, but Washington realities stand in the way of bold progress.(Special Report: Agenda)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias For the first time in more than a decade, Democratic lawmakers have the votes-and the bullhorn-to make revamping healthcare a top-shelf objective of their federal domestic agenda. But budgetary realities, the next...

Bipartisan progress is possible; GOP, Democrats will work on a full range of health policy issues.(Healthcare Opinion Leaders Survey)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Sen. Mike Enzi As we prepare for the 110th Congress, healthcare reforms undoubtedly will continue to dominate the agenda of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Following two years of milestone achievements...

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS.
January 8, 2007... A story in the Dec. 18/25, 2006 issue (p. 6) overstated the estimated number of health savings accounts. There were about 1.4 million employees enrolled in HSA-qualified high-deductible health plans in 2006, and another 855,000 covered by HSAs...

By the Numbers: Online poll.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Some 60% of respondents to a Modern Healthcare Web poll agree with recent criticism of pay-for-performance plans by Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), who said providers should be booted from Medicare if they don't provide top-quality care -- not be...

Other voices.(implications of mental health insurance parity law)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... "The breakthrough mental health insurance parity law that went into effect (Jan. 1) moves Oregon farther down the path toward a more modern and humane system of mental health treatment. The long fight to break down the stigma of mental illness...

Chart: Top 20 pharmaceutical companies; Ranked by U.S. sales, December 2005 to November 2006.(Brief article)(Company rankings)
January 8, 2007... 1. Pfizer 2. GlaxoSmithKline 3. Merck & Co. 4. Johnson & Johnson 5. AstraZeneca 6. Amgen Corp. 7. Novartis 8. Sanofi-Aventis 9. Hoffmann-La Roche 10. Eli Lilly and Co. 11. Wyeth 12. Abbott...

United Surgical starts things off.(The Week in Healthcare)(UNCN Acquisition Corp acquires United Surgical Partners International)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Other mergers, acquisitions could be on the horizon The $1.8 billion agreement by United Surgical Partners International to sell itself to a private equity firm last week adds to an already active mergers and...

Late News.(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality statistics)(negotiation on presciption drugs)(resignation of Ronald Hollander from Massachusetts Hospital Association)
January 15, 2007... AHRQ: Quality could be better The quality of U.S. healthcare could be much better despite recent improvements, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Nevertheless, providers have made improvements at a steady rate in...

Numbers that count; Disease-management industry is taking steps to deliver more reliability, consistency in data on program outcomes.(Payers and Purchasers)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Laura B. Benko For more than a decade, the disease-management industry's approach to evaluating and reporting outcomes has been about as comprehensible as baseball legend Casey Stengel famously directing a group of rookie players...

Doc-owned ASCs drop: survey.(The Week in Healthcare)(Ambulatory Surgery Centers)(Survey)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michael Romano About 47% of the nation's estimated 5,000 ambulatory surgery centers were owned entirely by physicians in 2006-down about 1 percentage point from 2004, according to a survey by the American Association of Ambulatory...

The essence of healthcare; Charity, generosity and loving care should be fundamental for hospitals.(Lauer's Letter)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer History is a great teacher, but too few people these days spend much energy pondering the past. The current generation of young people seems particularly disinterested in anything that happened longer ago than last...

Links to quality; Studies look at effects of workload, pay.(Physician Affairs)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michael Romano Three recently published studies demonstrated how physician compensation and workload can affect healthcare quality. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that heavier workloads for hospital residents...

Asides & Insides.(Outliers)
January 15, 2007... Telemedicine will be in deep in man's bid to swim Amazon Martin Strel is a little crazy, and doctors from around the world are going to try to help him. No, they aren't seeking to deter him from his insane goal of swimming the length...

Following the money to nursing; Current job trend may lessen predicted shortage: study.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans Sarah Roberts walked away from a job overseeing a $25 million retail business seven years ago to pursue a career she had long considered: Nursing. Her mother's sudden death had prompted a re-evaluation of her...

Education payments in sights; MedPAC recommends cuts for teaching hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission )
January 15, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's proposal last week to reduce indirect medical-education payments by a full percentage point in 2008 has the potential to undermine payments to teaching hospitals, the...

Methodist struggles back; Ind. system relies on consultants for turnaround.(The Week in Healthcare)(Methodist Hospitals, Gary, Ind. review financial health)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mark Taylor Editor's Note: Modern Healthcare will be following the turnaround effort at Methodist Hospitals in periodic stories on our Web site, Modern Healthcare Online. You can follow the series, titled "The Methodist...

Prime target: hospitals? Spending growth could attract feds looking for cuts.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias Last week's release of U.S. healthcare spending data may hurt hospitals' arguments that they're suffering from a lack of funding. The data show hospitals' spending climbed by a healthy 7.9% in 2005, compared with...

On IT, privacy is the priority; Ideas for a data security plan that can win essential public trust.(Opinions Commentary)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Steve Findlay and Alison Rein The most vexing issue surrounding the creation of a national electronic healthcare network is the privacy, confidentiality and security of personal health information. To be sure, the technical and...

Construction survey deadline extended.(News)
January 15, 2007... The 28th annual Construction & Design Survey deadline has been extended. Surveys will be accepted until 5 p.m. CST on Jan. 29. This survey is meant to help healthcare providers determine firms' capabilities as well as to inform readers of...

On the Move...(NewsMakers)(appointment of Douglas Danko as Chief Operating Officer at Jameson Health System)(appointment of Douglas Leonard as Chief Executive Officer at Indiana Hospital & Health Association)(Death of Robert Majors)(In memoriam)
January 15, 2007... Hospital, systems Jameson Health System, New Castle, Pa., named Douglas Danko as its COO. Danko succeeds Donald Melonio, who retired after 35 years with the hospital. Danko has been at Jameson for 31 years, most recently as vice president...

Sutter exiting Sonoma; Hospital consolidation rankles nurses unions.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Laura B. Benko Sutter Health's decision to pull out of the cutthroat hospital market in California's Sonoma County has raised the hackles of local nurses, who vowed to challenge the controversial transaction "every step of the...

The bad news behind the good news; Cost study masks unresolved problems of poor quality of care and inefficiency.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Todd Sloane Health cost inflation moderated in 2005, but this is no time to get out the party hats. Yes, as my late grandma used to say, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. But as I used to reply to her, so are a...

Groups are devising plans; Uninsured.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michael Romano Two months ago, America's Health Insurance Plans laid out an ambitious initiative it said would provide affordable health insurance to every American within the next decade. It featured provisions to expand and...

Onex to buy Kodak's X-ray vision; Imaging pioneer to sell group, name to remain for now.(The Week in Healthcare)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker Eastman Kodak Co. cut loose its health group last week, agreeing to sell one of the most prominent names in X-ray technologies to Onex Healthcare Holdings, a subsidiary of Onex Corp. in Toronto, for approximately $2.55...

Legislating better access; States and national organizations ready their own proposals as solving the national uninsured crisis takes center stage.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Michael Romano Politicians and policymakers in more than two dozen states are busy exploring ways to broaden healthcare coverage for the uninsured. But so far nothing else comes close to the scope-or the cost-of California Gov....

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made good on his promise to pursue comprehensive healthcare reform in California.... As with any sweeping reform, the governor's healthcare proposal has drawn both praise and criticism, sometimes from the same...

No hospital is an island; In today's business environment, rural hospital executives need to branch out in the community to lead effectively.(Special Report)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Rural hospital executives are all too familiar with the many challenges that result from geographic isolation. But now experts say these leaders should also be aware of isolation within their own facilities-and be...

Not everything is a symptom; Obsession with early diagnoses is turning us into nation of hypochondriacs.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Quite often when I am reading an article about a disease, I start to feel some of the symptoms described. I am not alone; a lot of people I talk to say they experience this phenomenon, which may be akin to the...

HCA SETS NEW STANDARD; Mergers and acquisitions hit the highest level since 2000, with a $33 billion leveraged buyout leading the pack.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Vince Galloro and Melanie Evans In the 1980s, they were the Visigoths to corporate America's Romans, plundering the established order. They were dubbed "barbarians at the gate'' by the book of that title that tells the tale of the...

Coalitions not coalescing; With national coverage plans failing to find consensus, states set to legislate.(Opinions Editorials)(Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured)
January 22, 2007... Byline: todd sloane For those who have long pushed for government to do something to help the growing number of uninsured Americans, the current pullulation of proposals is both surprising and heartwarming. Equally stunning are the strange...

Asides & Insides.(Outliers)(Cleveland Clinic Health System)(Arizona Heart Institute, Phoenix)(New Jersey hospitals)
January 22, 2007... Cleveland Clinic embarks on apology for a dog of a demo The beleaguered Cleveland Clinic has spent months extricating itself from the deep doo-doo of physician and institutional conflicts of interest, but now it's really stepped in it: Dog...

The next game of tag; Device ID system faces cost, uniformity challenges.(Supply Chain)(unique device identification system)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Joseph Mantone The adoption of a universal unique identifier system for medical devices has long been considered the holy grail for hospital supply-chain managers. The miraculous powers of a standard unique device...