Modern Healthcare articles from March 2008

Modern Healthcare archives from March 2008

A new safety incentive; Health plans join push to end 'never events'.(From the C-Suite)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Troyen Brennan and Don Liss Making healthcare safer is one area where there is vigorous agreement among all constituents-it is critical to improving the quality of life for patients and should reduce medical costs. The good news is...

The aftermath of a 'never event'; A child's unexplained death and a system seemingly designed to thwart justice.(Opinions Commentary)(Personal account)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Dale Ann Micalizzi We returned home from the hospital silently and in shock. The phone rang as we made our way into what was once our safe, happy refuge. It was someone from the coroner's office making an unthinkable request...

SLOW: BUDGET DANGER AHEAD; CMS says 10-year healthcare spending to reach $4.3 trillion by 2017, but execs seek longer-term planning to curb costs.(Report)
March 3, 2008... The much-anticipated strain on the publicly funded healthcare dollar driven by the next generation of seniors didn't seem so imminent after last week's annual release of the CMS' 10-year projections of healthcare spending. But industry...

MedPac recommends more dollars for pay-for-performance.(Late News)(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission )(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Some Medicare dollars that go toward hospital payments in fiscal 2009 should be reallocated toward pay-for-performance efforts, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommended in its March report to Congress. Congress should increase...

Just a few bumps; Firms say latest news doesn't spell doom for segment.(The Week in Healthcare)(Industry overview)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Despite some recent events that hint at uncertainty-perhaps even bad news-for disease-management programs, industry experts insist the segment is strong and its future is healthy. That response came last week...

Leavitt agrees to hand over documents on von Eschenbach.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt agreed to hand over documents to the House Energy and Commerce Committee that were used to brief Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach at a hearing last year, avoiding the possibility of...

NQF ups ante on performance; New measures hit on lengths of stay, readmission.(The Week in Healthcare)(National Quality Forum )
March 3, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Members of the National Quality Forum last week began voting on 43 performance measures that if approved would boost by 13% the total number of measures the organization has endorsed. The 365-member organization is...

CMS to assess Medicare Advantage's extra benefits.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems told a House committee that for the first time the agency would conduct an analysis of the extra services that Medicare Advantage Plans enrollees actually use rather than just what the participating plans...

CMS reports payment errors in Recovery Audit Contractor pilot.(Late News)(Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003)(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... More than $371 million in improper Medicare payments were collected from or repaid to healthcare providers and suppliers in three states by recovery audit contractors in 2007, the CMS reported. The Recovery Audit Contractor demonstration...

AMA President Ronald Davis is diagnosed with cancer.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... American Medical Association President Ronald Davis informed the AMA board that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In June 2007, Davis, 51, was elected the second-youngest president in AMA history. The AMA said Davis will continue to...

Big names, numbers for HIMSS; Google also announces major PHR collaboration.(The Week in Healthcare)(Conference news)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Joseph Conn and Jean DerGurahian Some of the biggest buzz coming out of last week's annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference & Exhibition related to Google's release of a few specifics about its...

Tougher disclosure sought; List payments to docs from all devicemakers: critics.(The Week in Healthcare)(2007, Physician Payments Sunshine Act of)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea A proposed law to require public disclosure of medical-device maker compensation to healthcare providers does not create a "fair and level playing field'' and would leave the door open for small physician-owned companies...

HCA victorious in Tenn. Board rejects judge's second CON ruling 7-1.(The Week in Healthcare)(Hospital Corporation of America)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro HCA's proposal to build a hospital in Spring Hill, Tenn., may be "the most scrutinized'' certificate-of-need application in the state's history, as one of HCA's lawyers said last week. And even with the Tennessee...

An assist from the feds; FHA streamlining its not-so-well-known Section 242 financing program.(Strictly Finance)(Federal Housing Administration)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond The Federal Housing Administration's Section 242 mortgage insurance program turns 40 this year, but unlike the hospitals it helps to replace, the program does not seem to be showing signs of age. FHA 242, as it...

FOR-PROFITS FEEL GLOBAL WARMING; In countries from India to South Africa, for-profit hospital companies are playing a growing role in healthcare delivery.(Special Report)(Industry overview)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro David Nevill has been working in India for only a year and a half, but he has already learned that the subcontinent is a lot like Newton's law of reciprocal actions. Nevill left HCA's Wesley Medical Center, Wichita,...

UnitedHealth gets Justice OK; But Nevada providers mull suing to stop Sierra deal.(The Week in Healthcare)(Sierra Health Services Inc. acquired by UnitedHealth Group Inc.)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Nevada healthcare providers who opposed the sale of Las Vegas-based Sierra Health Services to UnitedHealth Group said they are exploring whether to take legal action to block the acquisition, which was approved...

IT mandates off-course; Let the market drive the adoption of IT systems in healthcare.(Opinions Editorials)
March 3, 2008... Byline: David Burda If healthcare information technology is so good, why are the government, health insurers and special-interest groups pushing so hard to mandate that healthcare providers use it? It would seem that if healthcare IT is...

Push for more PQRI responses.(The Week in Healthcare)(Physician Quality Reporting Initiative)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Offering doctors more money and better quality measures are the way to get greater participation in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, industry representatives believe. Just 16% of eligible...

Going once? Not at all; Credit woes complicate auction-rate debt market.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans Tax-exempt hospitals and health systems seeking a quick escape from their volatile debt market borrowings are finding it may cost millions to unravel their deals and make an exit. The nation's credit turmoil hit...

Some good news, some bad news; Problem of the uninsured only grows worse, but solutions are reachable.(Opinions Commentary)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Chip Kahn A year ago, on this page, I had the opportunity to discuss what many Americans say is the nation's most important domestic issue: providing health coverage for what was then 46.6 million uninsured Americans. Back...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
March 3, 2008... New Cook County health chief fenders off story on car use A Chicago Sun-Times reporter tailed the interim chief of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services driving a county-owned Ford Crown Victoria to his Richland, Mich., home for the...

Other voices.(Opinions )(Editorial)(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... "The authority overseeing (Massachusetts') new universal healthcare law is about to raise its rates on people who are living on limited incomes. This insurance is subsidized by the state, and the (authority) wants to make sure that copays and...

False claims issues weighed; High court case involves broader interpretation of law.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 3, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in cases that could affect what constitutes ripping off the government under the False Claims Act and to what degree drug companies are vulnerable to liability lawsuits....

NEVER PAY NEVER AGAIN; After the CMS' changes, hospitals are now scrambling to deal with 'never events'-especially those not on their watch.(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian Although roundly denounced by the American Hospital Association when it was announced by the CMS last August, a new Medicare reimbursement policy now seems to have drawn a practiced ambivalence among hospitals,...

Hospital Partners resumes talks.(Physician Affairs)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Negotiations have resumed between the Metrocrest Hospital Authority of Farmers Branch, Texas, and Hospital Partners of America to develop physician-partnership arrangements for 149-bed Trinity Medical Center in...

On the move ...(News Makers)(briefs)(Ascension Health)(NightHawk Radiology Holdings)
March 10, 2008... BEHAVIORAL HEALTH Rene Lerer was named president and CEO of Magellan Health Services, a behavioral health, radiology and specialty pharmacy company based in Avon, Conn. Lerer, 52, had been president and COO at the company since 2002. He...

Double-checking doc rankings; Cigna hires NCQA as ratings examiner as part of settlement.(The Week in Healthcare)(National Committee for Quality Assurance)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely A prominent healthcare quality oversight group is taking center stage in the evolution of physician ranking programs. Last month, Cigna Corp. announced that it hired the National Committee for Quality Assurance...

Medtronic taps Duke exec; Dzau to get $80,000 annually to serve on board.(The Week in Healthcare)(executive)(Victor Dzau)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea The recent appointment of a high-ranking Duke University healthcare official to the board of medical-device maker Medtronic, Minneapolis, has been well-vetted and poses no conflicts of interest for the university,...

Halamka joins SafeMed board; Full disclosure necessary to avoid conflicts: expert.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Joseph Conn The naming of physician informaticist John Halamka to the board of directors of information technology company SafeMed, San Diego, creates a situation where he must walk a fine line, according to one governance expert....

`Angel of mercy'; Sister Mary Ignatia helped pioneer treatment, care for alcoholics.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth Gardner These days, any hospital admissions director caught admitting patients under false diagnoses, hiding them in odd corners and dosing them with fruit juice and dark Karo syrup would be let go, perhaps arrested and...

A legacy in Louisville; Wade Mountz helped lay foundation for today's Norton Healthcare, VHA.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Ed Finkel Healthcare leaders in Louisville, Ky., sometimes called Wade Mountz by the affectionate moniker "Mr. Norton,'' and he was among a small number of leaders nationally who could have been called "Mr. Voluntary Hospitals of...

Innovation and inspiration; Pat Groner helped pioneer outpatient surgery, assisted-living, helicopter transport.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Ed Finkel During Pat Groner's 33 years at the helm, Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., grew from about 100 beds at its opening to about 500. Called Baptist Health Care Corp. by the time Groner retired in 1983, the system had...

Showing the way; 2008 inductees include a nun who broke the rules, two men who rewrote them.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Neil McLaughlin, Managing editor Movie fans may recall the recurring theme of the "no-win scenario'' in the film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.'' A Starfleet cadet is vexed by an officer training simulation that has no solution...

Prime Healthcare strikes deal with Aetna; West.(Regional News)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro VICTORVILLE, Calif.-Prime Healthcare Services has made a reputation in Southern California for tough dealing with managed-care organizations. Last week, however, the nine-hospital company signed its first companywide...

Sharp exec to Breakaway.(The Week in Healthcare)(Breakaway Group appoints William Spooner, R. Greg Brophy and John Markus)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch The Breakaway Group, Denver, a consulting firm that helps healthcare providers adopt new technology and equipment, has landed the chief information officer of San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare as one of five new members...

Northeast.(Regional News)
March 10, 2008... ENGLEWOOD, N.J.-Englewood Hospital and Medical Center plans to break ground on a new building on March 13 to house a 35,000-square-foot emergency-care center. Named the Kaplen Pavilion, it will be nearly three times the size of the existing...

Rejection noticed; Fewer nursing students applying: study.(The Week in Healthcare)(Survey)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans Healthcare's push to woo students into nursing careers may be a victim of its own success. Despite expanded enrollment, scoring a spot in a nursing school has grown increasingly competitive, and a new survey...

Blood thinner market slimmer; Heparin recall has purchasers seeking alternatives.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea Healthcare supply-chain experts said it's too soon to know whether hospitals and other healthcare facilities will be seriously challenged by the recent removal of nearly half of all available heparin products from the...

Caution urged ... ... on CMS' value-based purchasing.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Lubell As hospitals grapple with new CMS guidelines limiting reimbursement for care related to errors, they also are trying to get ready for increased use of pay-for-performance-based reimbursement by Medicare. At a...

The unwritten curriculum; Writer: Medical students learn from elders' cynicism.(Charles S. Lauer)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Perhaps even more than other students, many young people entering medical school are full of idealism and social-mindedness. After all, what greater career path is there than helping others who need medical...

Guidelines to achieving diversity; ACHE points the way for hospitals seeking to broaden their workforce.(Opinions Commentary)(American College of Healthcare Executives)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Brig. Gen. David Rubenstein For a moment, consider these two statements: We are successful because of the people around us. Much of healthcare is local. Taken separately, these statements make sense. Taken together, however,...

MedPAC recommends pay increase for primary-care docs.(Late News)(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission drafted language recommending that Congress increase payments for doctors who provide primary-care services. This budget-neutral payment adjustment for primary-care services would be billed under...

Tenet general counsel, Urbanowicz, leaving company.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, said Peter Urbanowicz, the company's general counsel and secretary for four years, is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities, effective immediately. Urbanowicz, 44, joined the company and was appointed...

Midwest.(Regional News)
March 10, 2008... CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.-St. Francis Medical Center said it plans to build a combined center for cancer and heart care on its campus at a cost of $84 million. The center will be financed through a combination of bonds and hospital reserves. The...

South.(Regional News)
March 10, 2008... CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Presbyterian Healthcare applied to the state Division of Health Service Regulation for a certificate of need for a $48.2 million renovation and expansion project of 536-bed Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte. The project includes...

West.(Regional News)
March 10, 2008... SALEM, Ore.-Close to 92,000 Oregonians are hoping to be among the few thousand who will be selected randomly this month to receive health insurance through the Oregon Health Plan. New enrollment in the state's standard plan for low-income...

Not the specialty of the House; Mental-health bill threatens doc-investor viability.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Behavioral health providers got what they were waiting for and physician-owned hospital providers got pretty much what they expected when the U.S. House passed mental-health parity legislation last week. While...

Rates of change slowing: AHRQ; Experts say various data are too hard to measure.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian A new Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report indicating that the rates of quality and safety improvement are slowing down shows how myriad providers of quality data are ill-prepared to measure...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
March 10, 2008... Charity-care case evokes bygone era of `permanent free beds' Four thousand dollars may be a pittance in the world of healthcare, but a lawsuit filed by a Providence, R.I.-based charity in November contends that Rhode Island Hospital's...

Power to the patient; HHS panel backs limited control over data access.(Information Edge)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Joseph Conn The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics has approved a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, again recommending that patients be able to control the movement of some of their healthcare information over a...

End the apotheosis of the FDA; After court ruling, Congress must step in to preserve rights of injured patients.(Opinions Editorials)
March 10, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane Over the years the Food and Drug Administration has been portrayed variously as sharing a corrupt bed with the industries it regulates, being notoriously inefficient or doing the best it can with limited resources and...

Physician recruiting getting more creative, AMGA report says.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Medical groups are getting more creative with their efforts to recruit and retain physicians, a new survey found. The use of mentoring programs, part-time work schedules and sabbaticals were found to be on the upswing in the survey, conducted...

Yale-New Haven settles Medicare overbilling charges.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle allegations that it overcharged Medicare for infusion therapy, chemotherapy administration and blood-transfusion services. Medicare regulations allow payment for only one unit...

Restructuring recommended for Caritas Christi: report.(Late News)(Caritas Christi Health Care system)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... A progress report on Massachusetts' troubled six-hospital Caritas Christi Health Care system recommended a major restructuring. The recommendations include the Archdiocese of Boston turning over control of the system to an independent board of...

Systems survey open.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 10, 2008... Modern Healthcare's 32nd annual Hospital Systems Survey is now open for participation. Interested systems should contact Rebecca Mielcarski, special projects/research editor, at rmielcarski@crain.com or 312-397-5511 in order to be e-mailed a...

Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
March 10, 2008... In the March 3 issue, a list of the largest for-profit hospital chains, should not have included Scottsdale (Ariz.) Healthcare in the ranking (p. 31). The organization is a not-for-profit system. The information was provided by Thomson...

Panel of judges.
March 10, 2008... A distinguished panel of judges selected the 2008 inductees to the Health Care Hall of Fame. The seven people who participated in the deliberations represent a variety of organizations associated with the healthcare industry. Ruth...

HEALTH CARE HALL OF FAME -- PAST INDUCTEES.(Health Care Hall of Fame)
March 10, 2008... Bob Ball: Inducted in 1999 Clara Barton: Inducted in 1993 Karl Bays: Inducted in 2001 Nancy Brinker: Inducted in 2007 Ray E. Brown: Inducted in 1988 Robin C. Buerki: Inducted in 1989 George Bugbee: Inducted in 1989...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... "I'm disappointed by (Barack) Obama's attacks on (an individual mandate to buy health insurance). Still, I do not believe that the individual mandate is essential to healthcare reform, as its supporters suggest. That's because Obama and...

Restructuring recommended for Caritas Christi: report.(Late News)(Correction notice)
March 10, 2008... ***** Correction: A March 10 news brief (p. 4) on Caritas Christi Health Care system included financial results for the system's physician network but identified them as that of the system. In fiscal 2007, ending Sept. 30, the system made...

We're in it together; An unlikely partnership is leading a movement toward meaningful reform.(Opinions Commentary)
March 17, 2008... Byline: Denis Rivera and George Halvorson ***** Correction: A March 17 commentary (p. 22) misspelled the name of Dennis Rivera, chairman of the Service Employees International Union's SEIU Healthcare and chairman of the Partners for...

Focus on the hospital; Acute-care projects continue to draw most attention.(Construction Digest)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks While news items on retail clinics and ambulatory surgery centers have captured the attention of the public and healthcare professionals, if you follow the money, one would see that most of the healthcare...

A speed bump for BUILDING BOOM; Survey shows a strong year for healthcare construction in '07, but some signs point to a slowdown on the road ahead.(Special Feature)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks The current gloomy economic picture isn't expected to significantly slow healthcare construction already under way or scheduled to begin in 2008, some experts say. However, the years 2009 and 2010 may tell a...

Home sweet medical home; We need to reorganize care to improve quality and reward efficiency.(Opinions Editorials)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane While Congress mucks about with procedural shenanigans aimed at embarrassing the other side of the aisle and fruitlessly debates plans to expand or rip apart popular programs, the goal of fixing our ludicrously muddled...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
March 24, 2008... Young researcher finds way to use germs to fight bacteria The phrase "even your germs have germs'' may one day be considered a favorable pronouncement thanks to the work of synthetic biologist Timothy Lu, a Harvard medical student and...

How we did it.(Special Feature)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... A total of 185 respondents participated in Modern Healthcare's 29th annual Construction & Design Survey, compared with 186 last year. This year's total includes 99 architecture firms, 33 construction management companies, 22 development firms,...

Humana's Midwest move.(The Week in Healthcare)(OSF Healthplans)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Humana is the latest top health insurer to gobble up a regional provider-owned health plan in a quest to boost flagging membership. This time, the target is OSF HealthPlans, Peoria, Ill., which Humana said last...

To docs go the insured: study.
March 24, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Physician-owned hospital advocates may have scored a win with a settlement in Kansas last week, but a recent study about referral patterns to ambulatory surgery centers continues-and broadens-the debate over...

Don't fly off handle after a pilot test; Feds, private sector must not abandon the promise of disease management.(Opinions Commentary)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Tracey Moorhead The recent news that Medicare Health Support, or MHS, would suspend services to 68,000 beneficiaries at the end of its three-year pilot phase raised questions-and legitimate concern-about the federal government's...

Mass. safety net frays; Insurance mandate costly for providers.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Healthcare reform in Massachusetts is having an unintended consequence of hurting safety net hospitals' bottom line, according to some providers. Hospitals in the state that treat high numbers of uninsured are...

Conti to step down as CEO of Maine Medical Center.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Vince Conti, president and chief executive officer of Maine Medical Center, Portland, will step down June 15. In a written statement announcing Conti's departure, the 557-bed hospital offered no reason for his exit. Martha Davoli, a spokeswoman...

Hospitals can breathe easy ... ... execs say Bear Stearns deal won't affect systems.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s expected acquisition of Bear, Stearns & Co. should create an even bigger player in healthcare finance, but seems likely to have little effect on hospital systems that have used Bear...

Coyle tapped to take over as Md. hospital association chief.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Carmela Coyle, senior vice president for policy of the American Hospital Association, was named the next president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Hospital Association. She will succeed Cal Pierson who announced his retirement in...

BJC settles class-action lawsuit regarding uninsured refunds.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by uninsured patients that would allow some patients to claim refunds for treatment as far back as 1999. The settlement agreement received preliminary approval from...

Eleven Calif. hospitals fined $25,000 per safety violation.(Late News)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Eleven California hospitals were fined $25,000 per violation by the state for actions that caused or were likely to have caused serious injury or death to patients. Nearly all the fines were medication-error related, including one penalty...

The Mayo story; New book examines how a clinic achieved excellence.(Charles S. Lauer)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Charles S. Lauer There's a new book about to be released that is a must read for anyone in healthcare. It's all about the Mayo Clinic and how it evolved and the total dedication of the people who have made it a center of excellence...

Cost of doing business; Not-for-profits hasten to leave auction-rate securities.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans Not-for-profit healthcare's exodus from the formerly popular auction-rate securities market is under way in earnest. The credit turmoil roiling the banking industry and bond insurers has upended borrowing by...

BACK IN BUSINESS; Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital showed that a small, physician-owned hospital can beat the big guys in court.
March 24, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks The Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital's settlement of a lawsuit accusing hospitals and insurers of conspiring to shut the tiny physician-owned hospital out of the market may serve as a "guidepost'' for...

VHA studying errors' financial hit.(The Week in Healthcare)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian VHA hopes to show hospitals how much they stand to potentially lose through Medicare's new reimbursement policy regarding hospital-acquired conditions by conducting an analysis of some of its member hospitals. ...

Corrections & clarifications.(Correction notice)
March 24, 2008... A March 10 news brief (p. 4) on Caritas Christi Health Care system included financial results for the system's physician network but identified them as that of the system. In fiscal 2007, ending Sept. 30, the system made $3.7 million, and is...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
March 24, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane "If all those in our state had a "medical home,' we would get closer to having a true healthcare system that would be far more effective and efficient.... People with such a medical home would have: a confidant who is...

Why over there isn't over here; Experts say U.S. can look to foreign healthcare systems to adopt best practices.(International Healthcare)
March 31, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea Few politicians in their battle to lay claim to a fix for the U.S. healthcare-coverage crisis have been willing to seriously consider the financial and regulatory tactics used by other countries to achieve universal...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
March 31, 2008... Manning visit pushes top doc into a frenzy of sports cliches When Outliers heard that the famously bland Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning would be making a joint appearance with acting Surgeon General Steven Galson, our first thought was that...

And then there were five; NAHIT employees gear up for restructuring.(The Week in Healthcare)(The National Alliance for Health Information Technology)
March 31, 2008... Byline: Joseph Conn The National Alliance for Health Information Technology and its five remaining employees face an uncertain future following last week's announcement that the group's board of directors is reconsidering NAHIT's continued...