Modern Healthcare articles from May 2003

Modern Healthcare archives from May 2003

To take or not to take; Public N.Y. system under fire for taking vendors' gifts.(The Week in Healthcare)(Nassau Health Care Corp.)
May 5, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey The chief executive of a suburban New York healthcare system said last week that he saw no problem with potential vendors paying for trips and other expenses for hospital executives during a contract-bidding process....

Speak up! Some practical advice for success at the podium.(Publisher's Letter)(Column)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer For most people, making a speech strikes terror in the heart. Rare is the person who is comfortable stepping up to a microphone and giving voice to ideas, even if he or she is an expert on the subject at hand....

Leading the leap; Delbanco, as head of the Leapfrog Group, puts family experience, policy background to good use.(Healthcare Profile)(Suzanne Delbanco)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Suzanne Delbanco acknowledges that hospitals face economic and operational challenges in meeting the Leapfrog Group's stringent patient-safety standards that aim to reduce the number of medical errors occurring in...

Two out of three; Calif. nurses group to file complaint against Tenet.(Late News)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., is the latest battleground in the war between California's two largest healthcare unions. Tenet said it has reached an agreement with the Service Employees...

Post-acute pain; Modern Healthcare survey shows mixed results for providers in '02, with end of Medicare add-on payments among the challenges.(Special Feature)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Susanna Moon Post-acute-care providers braced for a tougher reimbursement climate last year as the sun set on some temporary Medicare reimbursement add-ons. Many providers saw their businesses continue to sag under the weight...

Scully in hot water again, this time about Medicare.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(Tom Scully)
May 5, 2003... Tom Scully's shoot-from-the-hip approach has gotten him into trouble once again. At a recent talk in Lancaster, Pa., to drum up support for the Bush administration's plans to reform Medicare, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare...

Surprise inspection; Bills proposed to enforce Calif.'s nurse-staffing laws.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly California lawmakers are considering two separate measures that would enforce the state's controversial nurse-staffing law and create unannounced hospital inspections when the nurse-to-patient ratios go into effect...

Full disclosure; Home health quality data go online.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong With little choice in the matter, the home healthcare industry heartily greeted the release of data last week on the quality of home health agencies in eight states. The release of quality information was the latest...

Ex-Chicago exec takes over at UPHS.(News Makers)(Ralph Muller)()(University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System)
May 5, 2003... University of Pennsylvania Health System has tapped Ralph Muller, former president and CEO of the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System, to succeed Robert Martin. Muller began work at UPHS in a transitional capacity on May 1 and...

On the move...(News Makers)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... Barry Freedman, ousted as chief of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York last fall, will take over as president and CEO of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, on May 12. Freedman, 54, will succeed Susan Bernini, who has been interim...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
May 5, 2003... * A story about a failed referendum to approve the sale of 182-bed Slidell (La.) Memorial Hospital to Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., incorrectly stated that other bidders for the hospital were not identified (April 14, p. 16)....

Exception to the rule; Fla. gives CON break to facility of GOP contributor.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Hospitals across Florida have grumbled for years about the state's certificate-of-need process, an administrative quagmire that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and add years to a building project. ...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
May 5, 2003... "University of Colorado Hospital is adding insult to injury by billing uninsured (as in poor) patients $292 for the privilege of learning that they're not sick enough to be treated in its emergency room.... The hospital justifies charging for...

Recognizing the next generation; A call for nominations of the rising healthcare executives 40 and under.(Opinions-Editorials)
May 5, 2003... Byline: David Burda, Editor As some of the elder statesmen of the healthcare industry continue to argue about whether there's sufficient talent in the ranks to replace them, we're moving ahead, unfazed, with our 17th annual Up & Comers...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * The National Business Coalition on Health named Andrew Webber the new president and CEO of the Vienna, Va.-based association of business health purchasing coalitions. Webber, 48, has been vice president of public policy for the National...

Late News.(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... Increased staff, better outcome Increased nurse staffing and improved communication between hospitals and other healthcare settings can reduce medical errors and improve patient safety, according to a report released by the Agency for...

Pointing fingers; More HealthSouth execs implicate Scrushy in fraud.(former Chief Executive Officer Richard Scrushy)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Two former chief financial officers of HealthSouth Corp. directly implicated company founder and former Chief Executive Officer Richard Scrushy in court testimony last week as federal prosecutors continued their...

Rural aid; Bill would hike reimbursements to rural hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman A legislative proposal floated last week in the Senate would reimburse more rural hospitals for their actual costs, but the bill's future depends on two big uncertainties: the when and how of Medicare reform and the...

Keep competing; Fla. settles case involving noncompete CON clauses.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Florida antitrust regulators have a message: Just because a state agency encouraged providers to settle a certificate-of-need dispute doesn't mean they can stop competing on each others' turf. The Florida attorney...

Going for top value; HCA board OKs huge stock buyback program.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro HCA said last week that its board has authorized the largest stock buyback program in its history-a move that may curtail HCA's acquisition activity. HCA said the authorization is for up to $1.5 billion in stock...

Everybody's doing it; With the U.S. economy limping along, the unlikeliest marketers are trying to claim a niche in healthcare.(Cover Story)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker As the chief information officer for 12-hospital North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Great Neck, N.Y., Patrick Carney routinely deletes what he considers a lot of unwelcome "junk mail'' from companies new to...

For sale; First Doctors Community hospital on the block.(Late News)(Doctors Community Healthcare Corp.)
May 5, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Seven bidders stepped forward for the shuttered Pine Grove Hospital in Los Angeles, one of five hospitals owned by bankrupt Doctors Community Healthcare Corp. and the first to be formally put on the block. ...

Teetering on the brink; Greater Southeast seeks help from D.C. mayor.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings and on the verge of losing its accreditation, Greater Southeast Community Hospital has enlisted the help of Washington Mayor Anthony Williams as the embattled indigent-care center...

Senate: GPO no-go; Defense Department cautioned against contracts.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker As the war in Iraq drew to a close, the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee turned the attention of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to the incendiary issue of hospital group purchasing...

Big Brother wants nurses; Possibility of federal mandates worries hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Proposed federal legislation that would establish a national requirement for hospitals to meet minimum staffing ratios has hospitals on edge about possible government-imposed mandates. "One staffing ratio does...

Rehnquist wasn't the only gun-happy HHS official-report.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
May 12, 2003... HHS' official motto is "Leading America to better health, safety and well-being.'' Behind the scenes these days, the motto seems to be "Lock and load.'' Documents that are part of a report on a gun incident involving HHS Inspector General...

Non sequiturs on parade; Contradictory messages abound at AHA's Washington meeting.(Opinions-Editorials)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Neil McLaughlin, Managing Editor You couldn't blame those attending the recent American Hospital Association annual membership meeting in Washington for feeling a bit conflicted. Public officials speaking at the event pelted the...

An electronic emergency; We need to push the industry toward standardized digital medical records.(Opinions-Commentary)(Column)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Linda Kloss When President Bush addressed the American Medical Association in Washington in March, he remarked, "Healthcare records are kept in different formats-believe it or not, a lot of times on paper.'' His choice of words...

Needling the competition; Alliances settle antitrust lawsuit with manufacturer.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Hospital alliances Premier, VHA and VHA's group purchasing arm, Novation, last week removed a nagging thorn in their side when they settled a federal antitrust lawsuit brought by a small but zealous safety needle...

The best route; Clinical pathways have become a habit at Children's Hospital in San Diego and the effort is paying off in quantifying quality and cutting costs.(Special Report)
May 12, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey As the nation's hospitals cautiously consider asking doctors to follow formal pathways for medical treatment, a San Diego pediatric hospital is nearly 10 years into fostering a climate in which physicians routinely...

Still hard to beat; Doctors don't have the heart--or a clinical reason--to part with their old-fashioned stethoscopes.(Medical Advances)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Medicine has changed vastly in two centuries but not the tried-and-true stethoscope. For hospitals, the front-line diagnostic tool is one of the best deals going-inexpensive, travels anywhere and lasts for decades....

Readers talk back to Lauer.(Publisher's Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer On "One call not to put on hold'' (April 21, p. 26), about why healthcare chief executives should listen when their counterparts at information system vendors call: Healthcare leaders can learn much from...

Extreme makeover; Tenet president hopes to restore company's reputation.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro When a company's fortunes are good, its top executive may speak of the company's need "to keep its eye on the ball''-to concentrate on doing the things that made it a success. Trevor Fetter, who rejoined Tenet...

Isn't that special; Louisiana hospital could be the first--and, if successful, probably not the last--to finance a new facility by selling bonds to doctors.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic A Louisiana hospital is slated to be the first to finance a major new facility by selling bonds to its doctors, launching a potential model for aligning the interests of physicians and not-for-profit hospitals....

Battle on the bayou; La. among states battling over doc-owned facilities.(Cover Story)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Few places have more-tense relations between physicians and hospitals than Louisiana. Lack of regulatory barriers for opening new facilities and low payment rates for physician services have fostered a boom...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 12, 2003... "Oregon's unemployment lines would be a little shorter, and state revenues would be a little higher, if hospitals could find people to fill their empty nursing jobs. Many hospitals can't, nor can many nursing homes and private clinics. The...

Veteran inspectors eyed to succeed Rehnquist.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Five current or former inspectors general top a short list of candidates to replace resigning HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist, Modern Healthcare has learned. As the final days of Rehnquist's administration...

Not paying off; Baylor, EDS terminate revenue management deal.(Late News)
May 12, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Baylor Health Care System became the latest healthcare organization to pull the plug on a long-term outsourcing agreement for important business functions, announcing it was terminating a 10-year, $200 million...

Shedding new light; IRS proposes rules to clarify HMO exemption.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Healthcare tax lawyers hailed last week's field directive from the Internal Revenue Service proposing new regulations to clarify the tax-exempt status of not-for-profit HMOs. The proposed regulations will define how...

Late News.(from the health care industry)
May 12, 2003... JCAHO offers ER standards The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations released for public comment a proposed standard to address emergency department overcrowding. The draft standard calls on hospitals to resolve what...

Grassley: I'll study HCA deal.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Sen. Charles Grassley said last week's long-awaited settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and HCA didn't resolve his dispute with the Justice Department and Tom Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare...

Corrections & Clarifications.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2003... * Howard Widra is managing director of the healthcare group at Merrill Lynch Capital. Widra's name was misspelled in the May 5 cover story on nontraditional vendors that are entering healthcare.

On the move...(health care executive appointments)(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... President and CEO Larry Glasscock has added the post of chairman to his duties at Anthem, the Indianapolis-based managed-care giant. Glasscock, 55, replaces L. Ben Lytle as chairman after the latter's retirement. The move comes at a time when...

Teaming up against Tenet; Calif. unions use company's problems to their advantage.(deal with the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Two labor unions in California are capitalizing on Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s recent setbacks involving Medicare reimbursements and physician relationships to strike a deal with the beleaguered hospital chain, a...

Doing the drill; Hospital staffs get inventive during bioterror drills.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Hospitals in Seattle, Chicago and Vancouver learned they could come up with some innovative on-the-spot solutions but also faced some communications challenges during large-scale, albeit simulated, bioterror disasters...

Democratic prescriptions; Presidential hopefuls offer health insurance solutions, while a new report questions how many Americans really are uninsured.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong With the presidential campaign season still barely in first gear, more Democratic nominees unveiled plans to provide coverage for Americans without health insurance as a new report came out putting into question the...

Outlining the losses; Tenet: Lack of outlier revenue hurts company's profits.(Tenet Healthcare Corp. 1st-quarter earnings)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp. reported earnings last week that document just how devastating the change in its Medicare outlier reimbursements is going to be for the Santa Barbara, Calif., company's prospects. Tenet said it...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)
May 19, 2003... "(Maryland) Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. should eagerly sign the bill reforming CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The company needs new direction and new leadership, both of which are ordered in legislation passed by the General Assembly.......

No more business as usual; Providers must replace backroom deals with ethical transactions.(Opinions-Editorials; Nassau Health Care Corp. calls gifts to executives from vendor 'standard business practice')
May 19, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed It must be spring, as sweethearts abound. This being a business magazine, I am of course referring to the kind of sweethearts who favor dark suits and seal the deal with a wink and a...

An army of patients; The VA struggles with a growing population of veterans using its healthcare system as it works to boost quality and capacity.(Veterans Administration)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong In Baltimore, federal administrators saw trouble with a growing population of veterans three years ago. Wait times for appointments were supposed to stay within 30 days, but they were starting to approach twice that time...

Smallpox vaccine program lagging.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski W ith only a fraction of the nation's healthcare workers having been voluntarily vaccinated against smallpox and concerns still pouring in about risks from the shot and liability issues, future participation in the...

Lasting legacy; Menninger Clinic leaves assets to provide mental health services in Kansas.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano The Menninger Clinic, which heads south to Houston next month, will leave a little something behind in its longtime home of Topeka, Kan. Menninger agreed last week to establish a lasting legacy through a new...

Late News.(healthcare industry news briefs)
May 19, 2003... Skyrocketing wholesale prices Wholesale prices for general medical and surgical hospitals recorded their highest-ever monthly increase in April-1.4%-and were up 6.2% from the 12 months earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor...

Proposal for new ER standard puts providers on the defensive; JCAHO's public comment period opens as evidence shows that treatment delays lead to patient deaths.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations )
May 19, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey A proposal for a new accreditation standard to reduce overcrowding in emergency departments touched off a defensive reaction last week from provider representatives who said the responsibility for fixing the problem,...

Chicago event shovels up a groundbreaking new ballet.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
May 19, 2003... Dancers in flowing white costumes, bending as gracefully as flowers in the wind. A string octet playing standards and classical pieces. A "Rite of Spring?'' Well, sort of. That was the scene during an unusual groundbreaking for a new...

Docs say: No sale; Ala. docs angered by possibility Baptist Health System will be sold to for-profit.(Regional News)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Like a hospital-based version of a shareholders' revolt, angry doctors at a church-based hospital system in Alabama have mobilized a high-profile protest against management's plan to explore a sale to a for-profit...

Extension tension; Is the industry ready for electronic standards?(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Painting a picture of upheaval in healthcare claims and payment processes, industry experts on electronic data issues are pressing HHS for another extension of the deadline by which providers and health plans must...

Rosy picture; Execs highlight positives at investor conference.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Healthcare executives pitched so many positive stories to bond buyers at the fourth annual not-for-profit healthcare investor conference in New York last week that some investors said it was difficult to keep...

A conflict of interest; Providers use GAO report to push for stricter legislation.(General Accounting Office report on conflicts of interest between physicians and the hospitals in which they invest)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Some providers are using last week's General Accounting Office report on specialty hospitals to build a case for enacting legislation that would regulate these hospitals more carefully to prevent conflicts of...

The $200 billion question; Senate's tax cut contains $10 billion for Medicaid.(Late News)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman The Senate late last week narrowly passed a 10-year, $350 billion tax cut bill that would also increase payments to rural hospitals and provide $10 billion in federal money to assist battered Medicaid programs. The...

Marching orders; Tricare restructuring, rebidding designed to cut costs, improve quality.(Special Report)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman For the U.S. military's massive health insurance program, a large-scale redeployment is about to get under way. By year-end, the Tricare program, which administers health benefits to more than 8 million military...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(health care industry personnel announcements)(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... * MaryAnn Aelmans-Digman, CEO of 140-bed Memorial Medical Center, Las Cruces, N.M., has resigned with no public explanation. Aelmans-Digman, 57, had been CEO since July 2000 and previously was COO. The hospital hired turnaround firm...

HealthSouth: Take two; Prosecutors mull 2nd attempt to freeze Scrushy's assets.(The Week in Healthcare)(officials attempt to freeze the assets of HealthSouth Corp.'s founder and former CEO, Richard Scrushy)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Federal officials last week were planning a second attempt to freeze the assets of HealthSouth Corp.'s founder and former chief executive officer, Richard Scrushy, after a U.S. District Court judge ruled earlier...

100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.(News)
May 19, 2003... Modern Healthcare is now accepting nominations for the magazine's second annual ranking of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare. This year the nomination process is in the hands of Modern Healthcare readers. Your choices alone will be...

West.(Regional News)(health care industry news briefs)
May 19, 2003... LOS ANGELES-A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order last week preventing the closure of Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Downey, Calif., a 207-bed specialty hospital for victims of strokes and traumatic injuries,...

Northeast.(Regional News)(health care industry news briefs)
May 19, 2003... CAMBRIDGE, N.Y.-McClellan Health System closed 15-bed Mary McClellan Hospital on May 5, the only hospital serving rural upstate Washington County. The community could no longer continue to support the operation, hospital officials previously...

Midwest.(Regional News)(protest over high damages in malpractice lawsuits)
May 19, 2003... CHICAGO-Several thousand physicians, some bused in from hundreds of miles away, gathered in Daley Plaza last week for a noontime rally to lobby federal lawmakers for new laws that would limit damages in malpractice lawsuits. The two-hour rally,...

Transfer trauma; Hospitals oppose CMS plan to include more DRGs in controversial policy.(The Week in Healthcare)(policy governing post-acute patient transfers )
May 19, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' proposal to expand a policy governing post-acute patient transfers drew rapid fire from the hospital lobby, which would like to scrap the policy altogether. Under the...

A profile in courage; Legislator's speech a reminder of early lessons about racial equality.(Publisher's Letter)(Georgia state legislator gets John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Many years ago when I was a high school student living in Buffalo, N.Y., my mother and father lived in the Fairfax Hotel, which had many permanent guests. Living in a three-room suite was a little cramped with two...

The Alabama solution; Hospital-owned group will offer malpractice coverage.(Regional News)(Alabama insurance regulators approve plan)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Alabama insurance regulators have allowed a new hospital-owned company to begin selling malpractice coverage to providers left stranded by the recent collapse of the state's second-largest medical liability carrier....

Pointing fingers; Alleged fraud bankrupts Wellmont Health subsidiary.(Regional News)(MEDex Regional Laboratories chooses Chapter 11)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Alleged financial fraud led a laboratory subsidiary of Wellmont Health System, Kingsport, Tenn., into Chapter 11 protection last month. The three-hospital system said it expects the problems at the subsidiary, known...

Critical care at a critical time; Emergency room doc chosen as Broadlane's CEO.(The Week in Healthcare)(Charles Saunders is new chief executive officer)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Charles Saunders, an emergency room physician who until last week ran the healthcare division of the embattled Electronic Data Systems Corp., has been tapped to step into the vacant chief executive officer spot at...

Exec knows full hospital spectrum.(News Makers)(Spectrum hospital sytems hires new president)(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... It may seem like a comedown to move from world-renowned teaching and research institution Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., but Matthew Van Vranken doesn't see it that way. Van Vranken, 43,...

Weighing in on assisted living; Report to Senate panel seeks quality improvements in growing industry.(The Week in Healthcare)(comprehensive national report on assisted living)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Assisted-living providers, healthcare officials and organizations for the aging have partnered to release a comprehensive national report calling for widespread quality improvements in assisted living. The...

Legal payback? Ruling could force hospitals to give back lien funds.(Regional News)(state Supreme Court to decide case)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko California hospitals are tensely awaiting a critical court ruling that could eliminate one of their most effective yet controversial means of recovering the full cost of treating Medicaid patients. The state...

Medicare isn't going away; Ex-HCFA chiefs see dim prospects for Rx benefit.(The Week in Healthcare)(prescription drug benefit won't be added to Medicare)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Traditional Medicare is here to stay, but it won't include a prescription drug benefit anytime soon. The agency that runs Medicare, meanwhile, is micromanaged by Congress as it struggles to carry out a massive mission...

Beyond the rebound; HFMA's annual conference will use 'personal' tone to address issues facing execs.(Special Feature)(healthcare financial professionals must desal with several issues)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Even with operating profits rebounding at many hospitals this year, there are still plenty of issues to demand the attention of the nation's healthcare financial professionals. High labor costs. Diminishing...

The way forward; Legislation, investment needed to achieve uniformity of healthcare data.(Opinions-Commentary)(New York-Presbyterian Hospital continues to work with and create the next generation of technology)(Company Profile)
May 19, 2003... Byline: Herbert Pardes At New York-Presbyterian Hospital, integrating a new medical information technology system adds 30% to its cost because it must be customized. Imagine how much it would cost to customize an adapter for every lamp,...

Straight Talk: Participants.(Straight Talk: New approaches in healthcare)
May 26, 2003... Michael Schwartz CEO Prince William Health System Manassas, VA Paula McManus Associate VP, Clinical Planning, Managed Care, and Decision Support University of Connecticut Health Center Farmington, CT Brett...

Talk of the town; Growing speculation surrounds possible successor to HHS' Thompson.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong More than 18 months from his expected departure date, speculation is already under way on Tommy Thompson's successor as HHS secretary. In a speech earlier this month during the annual Wisconsin Republican Party...

More safety procedures; NQF adds guidelines to safe-practice list.(The Week in Healthcare)(the National Quality Forum rolls out a list of 30 evidence-based safe practices in hospital care)
May 26, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Businesses could soon be incorporating a newly endorsed list of evidence-based safe healthcare practices into healthcare contracting and hospital evaluation efforts, industry leaders said last week. The National...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(the Supreme Court rejects drugmakers' contentions that Maine should not be allowed to negotiate discounts for its residents)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... "That sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth... is no cause for concern. It was just the pharmaceutical industry adjusting to the unfamiliar sensation of defeat in the long-running battle over the costs of its heavily advertised wonder drugs....

After Justice, HHS, FBI play, IRS says it has next game.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(the Internal Revenue Service will investigate healthcare professionals)
May 26, 2003... Although U.S. attorneys, Justice Department lawyers and investigators, the FBI and HHS' inspector general's staff regularly hog headlines for nabbing fraudulent healthcare providers, the Internal Revenue Service wants crooked doctors, hospital...

The reform crowd; Democrats seize on healthcare as 2004 issue, but pitfalls await.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
May 26, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed After Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman weighed in last week, five of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls had given their prescriptions for curing our nation's healthcare woes,...