Modern Healthcare articles from July 2003

Modern Healthcare archives from July 2003

Ratio reality; Calif. close to enacting first nurse-staffing law.(The Week in Healthcare)(California's nurse-staffing law is set to take effect on 1/1/04)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly California's controversial nurse-staffing law took one big step toward becoming reality last week as Gov. Gray Davis and the state Department of Health Services approved final regulations on the ratios that are set...

Briefly: Beltway Briefs.(Briefs)(health care industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... HHS to offer model record * HHS last week commissioned the Institute of Medicine to create a model electronic record that the agency will share free of charge across the healthcare system. The model record is expected to be ready in 2004....

Briefly: Deals.(The Week in Healthcare)(health care industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... SunLink extends pact-again * SunLink Health Systems, Atlanta, said last week that it has extended its agreement to buy HealthMont, Franklin, Tenn., for a second time, to Sept. 30. The agreement is on hold while six-hospital SunLink waits...

Joint venture wins exemption.(Late News)(the IRS approves a tax exemption for the John Gabriel Ryan Association)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Tax-exempt hospitals may be allowed greater flexibility to create ancillary joint ventures with for-profit partners thanks to a new Internal Revenue Service decision, healthcare tax attorneys say. The IRS approved a...

Late News.(health care industry news briefs)
July 7, 2003... CMS sets outlier review criteria The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published criteria that will trigger a review of hospitals for suspected abuse of the outlier payment system. The three main criteria are: fiscal 2003 outlier...

Triage for overcrowding; Hospitals should fix the emergency department problems they can control.(Opinions-Commentary)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Bruce Siegel The recent uproar over the Joint Commission's proposed standard to reduce emergency department overcrowding may obscure one fact: Both sides are right. The effort aims to hold hospitals accountable for trying to...

More bills coming due; Although Medicare reform has passed Congress, the final package remains uncertain. And what about the fate of other health legislation?(Special Report)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong and Jeff Tieman No, Medicare isn't the only healthcare topic that's being debated in Congress this year. It only seems that way. Indeed, this year like any other, hundreds of healthcare-related bills were introduced....

Medicaid mayhem; State budget shortfalls will leave beneficiaries, providers in lurch.(Opinions-Editorials)(several states face budget problems while dealing with the growing uninsured population)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed Budget season was supposed to have ended last week for all but four states, but a record number of legislatures went into overtime as fiscal chaos reigned. One thing for sure is that when...

Mixed reaction; Molina's IPO goes well, but not all observers cheer.(The Week in Healthcare)(Molina Healthcare becomes a publicly traded Medicaid managed-care company)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Molina Healthcare elicited both cheers and jeers from industry observers last week when it joined the growing ranks of publicly traded Medicaid managed-care companies. The Long Beach, Calif.-based Medicaid...

Letting it all hang out; Not-for-profits slow to post finances online.(The Week in Healthcare)(not-for-profit hospitals are slow to post their audited financial statements on the Internet)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Despite consensus that financial disclosure fosters investor confidence, many of the nation's not-for-profit hospitals and systems have been slow to ease investor access by posting their audited financial...

Getting to the bottom; HealthSouth due to offer earnings projections.(The Week in Healthcare)(HealthSouth's new managmeent team will discuss the company's plans and earnings projections)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro The true depths of the alleged fraud at HealthSouth Corp. may come into focus this week, while last week another person connected with the company lost his job as a result of the federal probe of accounting fraud...

Easing restrictions; Calif. bill would ban service restrictions for NFPs.(The Week in Healthcare)(California legislation could prohibit not-for-profit hospitals from restricting the types of medical services a buyer could offer)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly California legislation that would prohibit not-for-profit hospitals from imposing restrictions on the types of medical services a potential buyer could offer has made it to the desk of Gov. Gray Davis. The...

Resident restrictions; Most teaching hospitals ready for work-hour rules.(The Week in Healthcare)(teaching hospitals are implementing tough restrictions on residents' work hours)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano With plenty of time to prepare for the change, teaching hospitals across the country appear to have adapted to a new era-marked by tough new restrictions on residents' work hours that officially took effect last...

Bringing in the big guns; U.S. attorney joins civil suits against Medco Health.(The Week in Healthcare)(Medco Health Solutions faces two whistleblower lawsuits)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Last month's unsealing of two whistleblower lawsuits against pharmaceutical benefit manager Medco Health Solutions has brought even more scrutiny to a little known sector of the prescription drug industry that affects...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
July 7, 2003... "(Medicare prescription drug) legislation is opposed by many liberals who say it isn't enough and that it is a first dangerous step toward privatized healthcare. And it is opposed by some conservatives who say it's too much and that it is a...

Forging the path; Former Senate aide, lobbyist helps White House craft healthcare policy, reform strategies.(Healthcare Profile)(Doug Badger, special assistant to President Bush for economic policy)(Biography)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Especially lately, the man who has the president's ear on healthcare policy doesn't have time for much besides work. His schedule packed tight with meetings and hearings and late-night negotiating sessions, Doug Badger...

Texas shake-up; Centene takes over Texas Blues' Medicaid plan.(The Week in Healthcare)(Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas agrees to sell its San Antonio Medicaid business to Centene Corp.)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas agreed late last month to sell its 21,000-member San Antonio Medicaid business to Centene Corp. and to shed its remaining 57,000 Medicaid members statewide by Aug. 31. Health...

Mission: control; System, county fight for rights to Tennessee hospital.(The Week in Healthcare)(a discussion of the dispute between Sumner Regional Health Systems and Sumner County officials)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro A Tennessee hospital and the county that owns the hospital's land and main building are grappling over which one ultimately controls the hospital, particularly the right to sell it. Money is causing the dispute...

Briefly: Hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(health care industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... Virginia system plans layoffs * Five-hospital Inova Health System, Falls Church, Va., said last week it plans to lay off 113 employees and cut others' hours to offset growing costs, saving approximately $22.5 million over the next six...

Overtime threat; Proposed regulation could limit nurses' overtime.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly A proposed change in U.S. Labor Department regulations that would help guarantee overtime pay for more than 1.3 million low-wage workers could perversely result in some nurses becoming ineligible for the perk. At...

In praise of face time; Kudos to a hospital CEO who wants his people to spend time together.(Publisher's Letter)(a discussion about Richard Birrer)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I've never met Richard Birrer but someday soon I want to shake his hand. He's a kindred spirit, I can tell already. In case you don't know what I am referring to you can look at the Outliers page from our June 30...

Clinical trials go online in effort to lure adults.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups launches a searchable database of clinical trials)
July 7, 2003... While the dust is still settling after the public outcry over a couple of high-profile clinical trials gone wrong, one group is reaching out to the majority of adults who have never heard of those medical research options. In an effort to...

Modern Healthcare staff.(Publisher's Letter)(Ilana Klein becomes national advertising sales director of Modern Healthcare)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... I am pleased to announce the promotion of Ilana Klein to the position of national advertising sales director of Modern Healthcare. Klein, 29, has been a regional sales manager for the magazine since June 2000. Based in New York, her sales...

Briefly: Managed Care.(The Week in Healthcare)(health insurance industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... HMO increases slow a bit * HMO premiums are continuing to rise at a double-digit pace, though somewhat slower than last year, a signal that rate hikes may be starting to moderate, according to preliminary data released last month by...

Broadlane's trailblazing mission; San Francisco company's deal reduces Tenet stake to that of minority holder.(The Week in Healthcare)(Broadlane completes a $50+ million financing)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Broadlane, the group purchasing brainchild of Tenet Healthcare Corp., has completed a $50 million-plus financing that reduces Tenet's stake in the company by nearly one-third to a minority position. As the battered...

How to kill a mandate; Hospital lobby persuades Scully, CMS to scuttle proposal that would have required hospitals to measure patient satisfaction.(the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services drops a proposal)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Under pressure from the hospital lobby, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has backed off its controversial proposal to require all Medicare-certified hospitals to publicly report what patients think of the...

Briefly: Access.(The Week in Healthcare)(health care industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... CHA begins campaign * The Catholic Health Association said last month that it is beginning a campaign for national legislation that would provide coverage for the uninsured by 2008. At its 88th annual Catholic Health Assembly in Orlando,...

No bonds for new La. hospital.(Late News)(Lafayette General Medical Center will not sell tax-exempt bonds to physicians to finance its new heart hospital)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Lafayette (La.) General Medical Center said it won't finance its new heart hospital by selling tax-exempt bonds to physicians, which would have been the first such financing of a major new healthcare facility....

The satisfaction switcheroo; If the industry is serious about quality, why is it so scared of a reporting mandate?(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
July 14, 2003... Byline: David Burda, Editor If you ever wanted to test the maxim that actions speak louder than words, compare the mission statements and actual behavior of any corporation or organization, whether it be in healthcare or another industry....

Too friendly? Teaching hospitals revisit ties to pharmaceutical firms.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano After growing accustomed to the largess of free-spending pharmaceutical companies, many top-flight academic medical centers are reviewing their policies to avoid even the hint of a conflict of interest in...

Starting over; Docs vow to keep working for malpractice reform.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong It's back to the drawing board for medical malpractice reform proponents. After the Senate failed last week to take up a bill capping noneconomic damages on malpractice lawsuits at $250,000, legislators now are left to...

Hard times; Legal fallout for HealthSouth driven by post-Enron climate, observers say.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro HealthSouth Corp. took great pains last week to persuade its bondholders to remain patient. As the Birmingham, Ala., company laid out financial projections for the first time since federal investigators accused...

Battle over Medicare; Providers ready to defend their pet provisions.(The Week in Healthcare)(a look at the work of the House and Senate on Medicare reform legislation)(Column)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman As the House and Senate prepare to iron out their differences in Medicare reform legislation, providers are poised to make their cases in the familiar battle of limited resources vs. unlimited demands. In addition...

Coming together; United Memorial merging with Spectrum in Mich.(The Week in Healthcare)(United Memorial Health System and Spectrum Health are merging)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor One of the few hospitals to plead guilty to federal criminal fraud charges announced last week it would merge with a larger western Michigan health system. The merger of two-hospital United Memorial Health System of...

Cloudy forecast; Analysts cite waning admissions as potential threat to not-for-profits' credit.(The Week in Healthcare)(new concerns arise about the hospital industry's financial outlook)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Two years' worth of robust growth in inpatient admissions appears to be softening, prompting new concerns about the hospital industry's financial outlook. Many hospitals and healthcare systems reported...

Group questions Frist's HCA ties amid debate over tort reform.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Senator Bill Frist is being asked to recuse himself from action on malpractice reform legislation due to ties to HCA)
July 14, 2003... With the Senate about to take on the sticky subject of malpractice reform legislation, a California-based consumer advocacy group is asking Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to recuse himself from any action on the bill, saying his...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(health care industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... * The board chairman of Detroit Medical Center, Richard Gabrys, said he will step down from the post but remain an outside director as part of a new policy to reduce conflicts of interest. Gabrys also is vice chairman of Deloitte & Touche,...

They've got the blues; N.C. Blues abandons for-profit conversion plan; fines likely at CareFirst.(The Week in Healthcare)(Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko The tide is rapidly turning in what once appeared to be a growing sea of for-profit Blues plan conversions. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state's largest health insurer, abruptly decided last...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
July 14, 2003... "Maine has just become the first state in the union to approve a plan to provide universal access to affordable health insurance. In lean times, when other states with budget woes are cutting healthcare, Maine legislators voted to expand it....

Proof of privacy; Certification offered for HIPAA 'business associates'.(The Week in Healthcare)(the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations launch ajoint certification program)
July 14, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Healthcare's two leading accreditation agencies staked out turf in the broad new field of federal health privacy regulation last month, but they acknowledged that the ground might not be fertile for a while. The...

Late News.(health care industry news briefs)
July 14, 2003... Hospital PPI triple inflation Hospital industry inflation was nearly three times greater than general inflation in June, as wholesale prices for general medical and surgical hospitals rose 1.4%, according to the U.S. Labor Department's...

On the move...(News Makers)(health care industry personnel news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Troy Villarreal, 35, has been promoted within HCA's Texas operations from COO of Medical City Dallas Hospital to CEO of Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth. At Plaza he replaces Stephen Bernstein, who retired.... Neoforma, San Jose, Calif., the...

Experimenting with quality; CMS-Premier initiative to reward best, punish worst.(The Week in Healthcare)(a discussion of the pay-for-quality program launched by HHS and the Premier hospital alliance)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Hospitals that join the pay-for-quality experiment launched last week by HHS and the Premier hospital alliance could be penalized with a reduction in Medicare payments if they do not improve performance, a feature of...

Another membership study; After rejecting sweeping change, AMA to pay for another organizational review.(The Week in Healthcare)(the American Medical Association will spend at least $1.5 million on a new membership study)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano The American Medical Association plans to spend at least $1.5 million on a new membership study after paying a consulting firm more than $1 million over the past year for a wide-ranging examination of its membership...

Into the fire; SEC's Tenet probe becomes formal investigation.(The Week in Healthcare)(the Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenas Tenet Healthcare Corp.)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro The Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed Tenet Healthcare Corp. for patient-billing records dating back to 1997, Tenet said. The subpoena indicates the SEC has elevated its 8-month-old probe of Tenet into...

What suppliers think; GPO supply contracts don't ensure success: survey.(The Week in Healthcare)(hospital group purchasing organizations)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Hospital group purchasing organizations may open a few doors for vendors, but their supply contracts do not guarantee that a huge base of customers will cross the threshold, according to a new survey of suppliers. ...

The healthcare doctrine; U.S. foreign policy must include the eradication of dangerous diseases.(Opinions-Commentary)(Editorial)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Kenneth Shine and Ross Anthony Recent action by the World Health Organization to step up its role in combating disease and poor health around the world marks an important advance in a world war that will claim far more lives than...

The Yale pipeline feeds Justice.(News Makers)(the U.S. Justice Department announces leadership appointments in the enforcement area)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... The U.S. Justice Department recently announced key leadership appointments in the enforcement arena. All three appointees graduated from either the undergraduate school or law school at President Bush's alma mater, Yale University. ...

It's more than just Tenet; Analysis shows not-for-profit hospitals, including a cluster in New Jersey, also heavily rely on outlier payments.(Tenet Healthcare Corp.)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Tenet Healthcare Corp. has operated under a cloud since last fall's news that the company was fueling growth by using a loophole in the Medicare outlier payment program to ramp up its revenue. Based largely...

On a mission; Foundation, network work to improve healthcare in Latin America more through building relationships than building facilities.(Special Report)(Hope for a Healthier Humanity)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Keeping promises was always important to Mary Healey-Sedutto, former executive director of 25-hospital Catholic Health Care Network in New York and healthcare adviser to the late Cardinal John O'Connor and the...

Bloodless coup; Funded by the Army, Oregon researchers turn to the sea to develop a revolutionary bandage that stanches heavy bleeding.(Medical Advances)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker An Oregon hospital that was merely trying to give itself an edge in physician recruitment and patient referrals unexpectedly owns a stake in what is arguably the biggest advance in wound dressing since the Civil War....

Talking about sales; New book lays out the keys to the art of connecting with customers.(Sales Talk: How to Power Up Sales Through Verbal Mastery)(Book Review)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer As a salesperson for most of my life, I have always enjoyed books on the business of selling. I've read a number of them to learn how other sales professionals practice the art of persuading people to buy their...

Crescendo of concern; HHS, CMS sifting through HIPAA appeals.(The Week in Healthcare)(groups appeal for a transition period before having to comply with electronic insurance-claim standards)
July 21, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey As the healthcare industry comes to grips with the mind-aching complexity of complying with electronic insurance-claim standards, groups representing providers and health plans have besieged HHS with proposals to...

Turning up the heat; Medicare reform measure would boost penalties for federal false claims abuses.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor If the Senate version of the Medicare reform bill ends up becoming law, providers would be subject to higher penalties for federal False Claims Act abuses. In the version of the law the Senate passed in June, Sen....

Tenet fights back; Fla. law lets 4 rivals bypass CON process.(The Week in Healthcare)(Tenet Healthcare Corp. seeks an injunction against a Florida law)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Tenet Healthcare Corp. is seeking an injunction against a law signed by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last week that exempts a handful of rival hospitals from undergoing the certificate-of-need process in their attempts to...

Run for the money; Despite CMS report, hospitals still push for more funds.(The Week in Healthcare)(the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong As the House and Senate try to negotiate a Medicare reform bill that includes provider relief, a report issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that shows investor-owned hospitals have increased their...

Look-back wrapping up; FTC's study may be coming to close, sources say.(The Week in Healthcare)(the FTC is looking at a Wilmington, North Carolina, hospital merger)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor The Federal Trade Commission is winding down at least some of its investigations into previously consummated hospital mergers and currently is focusing its energies on a Wilmington, N.C., hospital merger, said...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
July 21, 2003... "The competition between Decatur Memorial Hospital and Prairie Heart Institute in Springfield heated up in recent weeks after DMH filed suit, alleging that Prairie Heart conspired with the distributor of a new coated heart stent to keep DMH...

Unbundling a practice; At hearing, a leading GPO says it plans to stop controversial marketing strategy.(The Week in Healthcare)(Premier is halting the practice of bundling)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Saying it's perhaps time for a Senate panel to turn its attention away from the embattled group purchasing industry, hospital alliance Premier indicated last week that it plans to halt a controversial business practice...

Don't be a player; Hospitals that try to beat the outlier system only hurt themselves, industry.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed Now we know what Tom Scully was referring to when he testified before a Senate panel on March 11 about abuses of the Medicare outlier payment system. In detailing how the system is...

Fever and chills; Physician pay survey again shows wide disparities.(Special Feature)(physicians are enjoying better-than-average pay increases)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Despite a chorus of complaints about lagging reimbursement, rising overhead and skyrocketing malpractice insurance costs, America's physicians-particularly specialists such as radiologists and oncologists-are reaping...

Late News.(healthcare industry news briefs)
July 21, 2003... FTC probing Va. merger Modern Healthcare has learned the Federal Trade Commission is investigating a July 2001 sale involving a Bedford, Va., hospital owned by nine-hospital Carilion Health System in Roanoke, Va., (See related story, p....

Another slow quarter; HCA reports second straight drop in volume.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro HCA said last week that its volume figures for the second quarter would be weak, including a 3.6% drop in outpatient surgeries when compared with 2002's second quarter. It's the second quarter in a row of soft...

House panel seeks data detailing billing practices; 20 health systems get requests to provide data on their policies for charging uninsured patients.(The Week in Healthcare)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Seizing on concerns about hospital pricing practices, a congressional subcommittee last week sent letters to 20 health systems asking for detailed information about their billing practices for uninsured...

Terkel speaks out in bid to save the old Cook County Hospital.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(a campaign has been launched to save the old Cook County Hospital in Chicago)
July 21, 2003... An effort to preserve a 90-year-old Chicago architectural and healthcare landmark has received the support of an even-older Chicago institution, writer and radio broadcaster Studs Terkel. The author of the famed oral histories Working and...

Under scrutiny; Tenet legal woes multiply with kickback probe.(The Week in Healthcare)(Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s Medicare outlier payments are investigated)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Much attention has been paid to the investigations of Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s Medicare outlier payments and the allegations that two physicians at its Redding (Calif.) Medical Center performed medically unnecessary...

Healthcare hath no fury; Power of religion and might of physicians join forces to prevent joint venture of faith-based Baptist Health, for-profit Triad Hospitals.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Top executives at religious, not-for-profit health systems might want to consider all their constituencies--along with the potential consequences--before moving ahead on a merger with an investor-owned partner. ...

Retooling medical schooling; IOM report calls for overhaul of academic centers.(Late News)(the Institute of Medicine reports on the need for improved teaching environments at academic health centers)
July 21, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Academic health centers will play an important role in applying expanding medical knowledge and technology advances to the nation's patient-care and payment systems, but substantial changes are needed in teaching...

Readers talk back to Lauer.(Publisher's Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
July 21, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Dear readers: My June 30 Publisher's Letter ("Don't play the waiting game," p. 22) sparked a flurry of letters from readers, some supportive and others decidedly not. The piece was about my experiences with long...

Data trackers; These groups supplied information for this year's Physician Compensation Survey.(Special Feature)(health care industry news briefs)
July 21, 2003... American Medical Group Association * The Alexandria, Va.-based trade group's 17th annual compensation and productivity survey was conducted in February in partnership with the Bloomington, Minn.-based accounting firm RSM McGladrey. The...

Briefly: Chains.(The Week in Healthcare)(health care industry news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2003... CHS' revenue still up * Community Health Systems, Brentwood, Tenn., offered more evidence that hospital admissions declined in the three months ended June 30, but the company said last week that its profits and revenue increased by about...

Sigh of relief; CMS won't require total compliance.(The Week in Healthcare)(the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )
July 28, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Health plans and providers breathed easier last week after the federal government announced it would look for good-faith efforts toward conversion to electronic insurance-claim standards instead of hard-and-fast...

Some free advice for the AMA; Group should rethink priorities to stay relevant to next generation.(Opinions-Editorials)(the American Medical Association needs to reverse its loss of members and focus more on younger practitioners)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed Organized medicine needs a powerful, unified voice in dealing with a host of issues facing physicians, and the American Medical Association is the only group capable of providing that...

Boomer bust? While hospitals increase capacity to prepare for an onslaught of aging baby boomers, some say medical advances and health awareness mean those extra beds will stay empty.(Special Report)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko All along, America's baby boomers have been making their presence known, reshaping everything from marketing trends and workplace issues to pop culture. And as they age and begin entering their golden years, their...

Voluntary appeal; Safety bill offers no punishment on reported errors.(The Week in Healthcare)(a Senate panel approves a patient-safety bill)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman A patient-safety bill approved last week by a Senate panel would not punish providers for reporting medical errors, but might require new investments in information technology that it would not help hospitals fund. ...

Breaking away; Specialty societies try different tack on liability reform.(The Week in Healthcare)(doctors fight for medical liability reform)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano A coalition of doctors' specialty societies that split with the American Medical Association early last year in a key political battle over a patients' bill of rights is again carving out its own advocacy effort on...

Legal troubles; Two hospitals face bankruptcy, another murder.(Late News)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor A bizarre series of unrelated events led to bankruptcy and murder involving three different hospitals last week. In Granada Hills, Calif., a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge denied a request to close 139-bed Granada...

A defining moment; Database to help establish universally accepted clinical terminology, easing development of a standardized medical record.(The Edge)
July 28, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey When is a sore throat not a sore throat? To a computer, it's when the sore throat is called pharyngitis, a throat infection, an irritation of the throat or throat soreness. The same thing goes for high blood pressure...

Learning new lines; New 'playbook' advises hospitals how to win bigger reimbursements for medical procedures that use expensive advanced technology.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor If hospitals' hardball negotiating tactics with managed-care plans seem scripted, they have been since 1995, when the Advisory Board Company issued an exhaustive report to its hospital members on how to put the squeeze...

Numbers game; HCA says it's the economy, stupid.(The Week in Healthcare)(HCA's net income drops 31% in the second quarter)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Citing a slumping economy, higher levels of uninsured patients and new competition, HCA reported its net income in the second quarter plummeted 31%, as the nation's largest hospital chain increased its bad-debt...

Chilling effect; Dismissed HMO lawsuit against Pa. system may set precedent in antitrust cases.(The Week in Healthcare)(a discussion of a judge's decision to dismiss a lawsuit against the 1994 merger forming the Susquehanna Health System)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Last week's decision by a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by an HMO against a three-hospital Pennsylvania system could have a chilling effect on similar antitrust lawsuits filed by doctors and health plans against...

Premier premieres finances; GPO quietly posts numbers on Web, keeps part of vow.(The Week in Healthcare)(a discussion of Premier's financial results for the fiscal year ended 6/30/02)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Some financial information that hospital alliance Premier vowed to publicly disseminate as a result of an ethicist's six-month study last year was quietly posted on the GPO's Web site in May, and it shows Premier...

Easing the pain; Tenet avoids firestorm at shareholders' meeting.(The Week in Healthcare)(Tenet Healthcare Corp. seeks to make allies)
July 28, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp. has made a concerted effort to turn adversaries into allies since the Santa Barbara, Calif., company's troubles began in November. At its annual shareholders meeting last week in Los...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
July 28, 2003... "The House acted quickly this month to ensure that when members of Congress retire the federal government will provide them with far better prescription drug coverage than other Americans. It was a breathtaking act of hypocrisy. The bill...