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Modern Healthcare articles from May 2007
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Modern Healthcare archives from May 2007
How do they do it? Top-performing hospitals reveal labor issues as key to saving money, lives.(Supplement)
May 7, 2007
Focusing their energies; Fewer full-time employees means making teamwork a priority.(Supplement)
May 7, 2007
Post-acute survey deadline extended.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 7, 2007
Seasoned world travelers.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007
The 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare, 2007.(Special Feature)
May 7, 2007
Legislating coverage; Three states advance reform, access bills.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 7, 2007
Other Voices.(Opinions)(Medicare program )(Brief article)
May 7, 2007
There's still time; Life, liberty, the pursuit of greatness should never die.(Opinions)
May 7, 2007
How We Did It.(Special Feature)(50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007
Still `financially driven'; Surveyed say safety still gets short shrift.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 7, 2007
Feds aim again at Michael Barr.(The Week in Healthcare)(whistle-blower Medicare false-claims billing lawsuits )
May 14, 2007
Asides & insides.(Outliers)(radio-frequency identification)
May 14, 2007
Uninsured billing study deja vu? Critics argue that data are old, changes have been made.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 14, 2007
Editors laud Modern Healthcare.(The Week in Healthcare)(American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors)
May 14, 2007
Disciplinary actions drop, but ... ... delayed Public Citizen report may not be so rosy.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 14, 2007
State loses data-mining case; N.H. plans appeal of ruling allowing use of Rx data.(Physician Affairs)(New Hampshire)
May 14, 2007
Some advice for life; Being a professional means acting, looking like one.
May 14, 2007
Perspective on pricing; Study puts hard numbers on a billing issue that may not have gone away.(Opinions Editorials)
May 14, 2007
Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(cervical cancer prevention)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007
End the blame and shame game; Health courts one way to compensate injured patients and promote safety.(Opinions Commentary)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Paul Barringer and Edward Dauer
The American legal system's response to medical injuries fails patients and medical providers. Malpractice lawsuits take a long time to compensate deserving patients for the losses they suffer. Jury...
Differing opinions; RNs rate nursing shortage as being worse than their bosses do.(The Week in Healthcare)(registered nurses)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans
Just how dire is the nation's chronic nursing shortage? It depends on whom you ask. Registered nurses see the situation as a greater threat to the quality and safety of patient care than do doctors, chief nursing...
West Penn sets bond record; Sale biggest ever for speculative healthcare financing.(Regional News)(West Penn Allegheny Health System )(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker
West Penn Allegheny Health System in Pittsburgh freed itself from the burdensome debt it has carried since its creation seven years ago by successfully selling $750 million in bonds last week.
By doing so, the...
Medicare Advantage under fire; House and Senate have overpayments in their sights.(The Week in Healthcare)(Medicare Advantage health plans)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias
Members of the Senate last week opened a second front in their battle with Medicare Advantage health plans. This time they attacked sales tactics alleged to be illegal and deceptive that contracted sales agents use...
Ex-pols win board seats; Magellan, Tenet, Universal recruit prominent faces.(The Week in Healthcare)(Magellan Health Services Inc.)(Tenet Healthcare Corp.)(Universal Health Services Inc.)(Nancy Johnson)(Jeb Bush)(Rick Santorum )
May 21, 2007... Byline: Vince Galloro
Healthcare's reliance on government reimbursements and the changing nature of serving on a corporate board of directors explain why three healthcare companies have recently appointed former politicians to their...
Northeast.(Regional News)(Paoli Hospital expands)(Bayonne Medical Center files for bankruptcy protection)(M. Jodi Rell forms task force)
May 21, 2007... PAOLI, Pa.-Paoli Hospital broke ground on a new $145 million patient-care pavilion that will nearly double the 147-bed hospital's size to 248 licensed beds when it opens in the summer of 2009. The 281,000-square-foot, four-story pavilion will...
A letter to Nicolas Sarkozy; If you haven't heard about the Joint Commission, here's some advice.(Opinions Editorials)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Neil McLaughlin
Dear Nicolas Sarkozy,
Congratulations on your election as president of France. As you settle into your new office after last week's handover of power, I wanted to mention a development that probably escaped your...
Cardinal deal's ripple effects; Purchase of Viasys could mean GPO renegotiations or additional savings.(The Week in Healthcare)(Group Purchasing Organization)(Viasys Healthcare)(Cardinal Health Inc.)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Shawn Rhea
Officials for Cardinal Health said it's too early to say how the company's plans to buy medical technology company Viasys Healthcare for $1.5 billion will affect its customers, but the deal could mean changes in...
South.(Regional News)(Northeast Georgia Health System wins state approval to build hospital)(University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center receives funding from T. Boone Pickens Foundation)(Wellmont Health System to purchase Jenkins Community Hospital)
May 21, 2007... JENKINS, Ky.-Wellmont Health System, Kingsport, Tenn., said it has agreed to purchase Jenkins Community Hospital for undisclosed terms. Wellmont is conducting due diligence on the acquisition, which is expected to be completed once regulators...
As time goes by ... ... old friends can fade away; don't let it happen.(Charles S. Lauer)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Charles S. Lauer
It had been a long time since I had spoken to Charlie, but from time to time I would remember some of the chats we had had. I always considered him a good friend.
He at one time was a surgeon at one of the most...
Asides & insides.(Outliers)(University of California at San Francisco's gift to employees)(Marshall Quin's Funniest Federal Employee stand-up comedy contest)(Cathy Barry-Ipema's appreciation of Dennis O'Leary)
May 21, 2007... UCSF Medical Center's thanks are music to employees' ears...
Administrators at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco are doing their part to make those white earbuds even more ubiquitous, giving an iPod Shuffle to each and every one of...
West.(Regional News)(Tenet Healthcare Corp.,)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notification to Paradise Valley Hospital)(Centura Health plans to build hospital)
May 21, 2007... TEMPLETON, Calif.-Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, said a 30-bed, $60 million patient tower at Twin Cities Community Hospital should be ready to accept patients by July. The expansion will bring the hospital to 114 beds, Tenet said. The tower...
Does not compute? IRS ruling on doctor IT subsidies confuses some.(The Week in Healthcare)(Internal Revenue Service)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Joseph Conn
Despite positive initial reaction to a decision by the Internal Revenue Service to join HHS and the CMS in clearing a path for hospitals to subsidize healthcare information technology for affiliated physicians, some are...
Late news.(Baptist Health South Florida appoints Javier Hernandez-Lichtl)(Congress approves funding of State Children's Health Insurance Program)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on hospital inpatient prospective payment system)
May 21, 2007... CMS revising 2008 IPPS
The CMS said it has identified a number of errors in its proposed fiscal 2008 hospital inpatient prospective payment system, or IPPS, and as a result, has revised the relative weights of its DRGs. Because of the...
Pushing for patient safety; Joint Commission, NQF, systems take aim at solutions.(The Week in Healthcare)(National Quality Forum)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Matthew DoBias and Andis Robeznieks
The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum took separate steps to improve their operations the same week that three hospital systems unveiled a cooperative effort to improve patient...
Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Ezekiel Emanuel)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... "Unlike (comedian George) Carlin's words (the seven you can't say on television), it is not that words about healthcare are profane or offensive, it is that they are increasingly untenable and unbelievable.... They are a sign that the speaker...
Pulling the plug; Lack of capital, experience dooms doc-owned Medicare Advantage plan.(Payers and Purchasers)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Jay Greene
The CMS' intention to raise payments to Medicare Advantage managed-care plans came a few months too late for a physician-owned plan that recently shut down in Miami. But whether more money could have saved it is...
Modern Healthcare Web poll; By the numbers.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... There have been recent calls for the development of IT systems that afford patients a level of control over who has access to their medical records. A Modern Healthcare Web poll asked: Do you oppose or support giving patients control over the...
Getting personal; Legal liability, patient-data overload among issues making physicians uneasy over emergence of personal health records.(Special Report)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Andis Robeznieks
Like a recurring dream about having to take a test they didn't study for, some physicians view the idea of patients with electronic personal health records as their own personal nightmare.
Visions of patients...
Transplant rejections? Tighter organ-transplant restrictions from the CMS could lead to fewer programs; some are leery of changes based on outcomes.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
May 21, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell
At a time when organ transplant programs are getting cited for procurement violations and getting shut down for not meeting federal quotas, more casualties may result from new regulations that set higher standards...
Exec search firm survey.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 28, 2007... Modern Healthcare is conducting its second annual survey of healthcare executive search firms.
If you would like to participate, visit modernhealthcare.com/surveys for an electronic copy of the questionnaire.
The deadline is Monday,...
Getting schooled in governance; N.J. enacts law that will require hospital trustees to receive certified training through class, special leadership curriculum.
May 28, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker
Last month, acting New Jersey Gov. Richard Codey quietly signed into law legislation that will directly regulate the education of each of the roughly 2,000 hospital trustees at more than 100 healthcare facilities...
NFPs time to shine; N.Y. healthcare conference brings financials into focus.(The Week in Healthcare)(not-for-profit hospitals)(Conference news)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Cinda Becker
More than 500 people showed up last week at the eighth annual Non-Profit Health Care Investor Conference in New York to hear some of the wealthiest not-for-profit hospitals in the country discuss their "Future Delivery...
Six years and counting; Last payout from 2001 sale still pending.(Catholic Health East sold the two-hospital system to Tenet Healthcare Corp. for charity donation)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Vince Galloro
The final payout to local healthcare foundations from the 2001 sale of Intracoastal Health Systems, West Palm Beach, Fla., will take a bit longer than some in the state expected.
The system's former owner,...
Asides & insides.(Outliers)(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America cause strike for "Sicko'')(Coventry Health Care Inc. contracts with Facebook Inc.)(Boston Red Sox seeks for universal coverage)
May 28, 2007... AHIP, AHA find the best antidote to `Sicko' is the positive spin
The drug industry's lobbying arm, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, caught some flak by launching an apparent pre-emptive strike against Michael...
Blesch takes over legal beat.(The Week in Healthcare)(Gregg Blesch)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Please welcome reporter Gregg Blesch to our editorial staff. Working out of our Chicago office, Blesch, 33, covers healthcare legal affairs and regional healthcare business news in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Blesch replaces reporter...
Midwest.(Regional News)
May 28, 2007... CHICAGO-Rush University Medical Center has transferred its behavioral health system to Resurrection Health Care. Rush characterized the handoff in a statement as supporting its "strategic focus'' on redeveloping its campus on Chicago's West...
South.(Regional News)(facilties for Acuity Healthcare Management Corp., Mountain States Health Alliance and MedCath Corp.)
May 28, 2007... HUMBLE, Texas-Acuity Healthcare Management Corp., an Austin, Texas-based long-term, acute-care company, broke ground on a 42,000-square-foot LTAC hospital outside Houston on May 20. The new facility, which will cost between $12 million and $14...
Expanding with style; Columbus plans addition with architectural flair.(Regional News)(Columbus Regional Hospital)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Gregg Blesch
Columbus (Ind.) Regional Hospital is planning an expansion that would make room for a bigger, modern emergency department and achieve or make progress toward having all private rooms within the 90-year-old campus.
...
Northeast.(Regional News)(hospitals joins Leapfrog Hospital rewards program)(Auburn Memorial Hospital files bankruptcy protection)(reducing costs for chronic disease patients)
May 28, 2007... NEWARK, N.J.-Seven additional New Jersey hospitals have joined a pay-for-performance program offered by the Leapfrog Group. They join eight hospitals in the state that have participated in the program since 2006. The Leapfrog Hospital Rewards...
West.(Regional News)(Exempla Lutheran Medical Center plans for tower)(California Nurses Association joins AFL-CIO)(Brief article)
May 28, 2007... WHEAT RIDGE, Colo.-Exempla Lutheran Medical Center unveiled an estimated $225 million expansion and renovation project that will add a five-story tower to the 543-bed hospital. The project, expected to be complete by early 2010, is the final...
On the move...(NewsMakers)(briefs)
May 28, 2007... ASSOCIATIONS
K. Conwell Smith, a one-time senior lobbyist for the National Retail Federation who has an extensive background in health policy, has joined the Federation of American Hospitals as vice president of legislation. Smith, 35,...
Devising a new approach; Proposed changes to device law aim to boost funding, streamline product review.(Supply Chain)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Shawn Rhea
It's rare when a federal agency hearing is marked by all-around praise of proposed regulations that would affect both an industry's and the federal government's bottom lines. That was the case, however, at a Food and...
DOCS ON THE DO-NOT-CALL LIST; Hospitals continue to struggle with a shortage of specialists willing to work on-call; some try incentives to lure them back.(Special Report)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Andis Robeznieks
When Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill last May that would have increased the burden of proof necessary to establish a malpractice lawsuit against healthcare professionals who provide emergency treatment,...
MedPAC renews ranks; Commission appoints three new members.(The Week in Healthcare)(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Jennifer Lubell
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission appears to be beefing up its rural representation.
Last week, U.S. Comptroller General David Walker appointed three new members to the commission, the advisory body that...
Higher standard; Ruling could make it tougher for antitrust plaintiffs.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Melanie Evans
In a ruling that could dampen healthcare antitrust lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court last week made it more difficult for all antitrust plaintiffs to keep their claims alive in the legal system.
The high court's...
Midwest.(Regional News)(McLaren Health Care Corp. plans for office building)(Indian Health Service dedicates Wahpeton Oyate Health Care Center )
May 28, 2007... FLINT, Mich.-McLaren Health Care Corp. has won approval from Independence Township trustees for the first phase of what it calls McLaren Health Care Village at Clarkston, about 30 miles southwest of Flint. The approved 130,000-square-foot...
Settlement in temp pay case; Hospital group barred from setting nurses' rates.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 28, 2007... Byline: Gregg Blesch
Hordes of cold-fearing pilgrims spend winters in sunny Arizona, straining hospitals' budgets with a need for huge ranks of per diem and traveling nurses. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department and Arizona's attorney...