Modern Healthcare articles from May 2008

Modern Healthcare archives from May 2008

Outliers; Asides & insides.(briefs)
May 5, 2008... DeBakey's unlikely prescription: VA as model for health reform In accepting his latest and perhaps highest honor-the Congressional Gold Medal-99-year-old heart surgeon Michael DeBakey showed he still has plenty of fight left, even if the...

Mag receives Lisagor Award.(The Week in Healthcare)(Modern Healthcare)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Modern Healthcare received a prestigious Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism last week from the Chicago Headline Club, which is the Chicago chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The magazine won in the deadline reporting...

Affordable care becomes scarce; More choosing between basic needs and care: report.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely Americans continue to struggle with healthcare access and affordability, straining their pocketbooks and pushing the healthcare system to the brink, according to a flurry of studies released last week during Cover...

Bound by bureaucracy; Rural hospitals must negotiate some complex rules if they want to relocate and still keep their critical-access status.(Special Report)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Any way you look at it, St. Joseph's Community Health Services in Hillsboro, Wis., is cornered. The hospital, located roughly 50 miles northwest of Madison, is bounded by state Highway 80 at the front and a lake...

MedAssets to buy Accuro.(The Week in Healthcare)(Accuro Healthcare Solutions )
May 5, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian MedAssets' $350 million purchase of its competitor Accuro Healthcare Solutions continues the group's shift toward becoming a revenue-cycle management provider, according to company executives. Alpharetta,...

On call in a disaster; A system that takes preparedness to a new level.(From the C-Suite)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Chris Van Gorder On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, after the World Trade Center attack, I raced to the office to meet with senior staff to review our disaster plans and monitor the events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania....

Final chapters in NCFE saga? Civil action against prominent investment bank among issues still to be resolved.(Strictly Finance)(National Century Financial Enterprises)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker When opening arguments first got under way in the criminal trial of five former executives of the defunct National Century Financial Enterprises this past February, it became apparent that healthcare's convoluted...

FTC paves unclear path; Final order given in Evanston Northwestern case.(The Week in Healthcare)(The Federal Trade Commission)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch The Federal Trade Commission left mixed clues as to the path forward in hospital merger challenges as it issued its final order and opinion in the Evanston (Ill.) Northwestern Healthcare case last week. On April...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... A doctor who claims to have been hired by Grady Health System, Atlanta, now says the hospital violated terms of that employment agreement and is demanding $612,500 in severance pay. William Bithoney left his job in New York last fall and moved...

Beltway divide; AMA's tactics, status losing some favor on Capitol Hill.(The Week in Healthcare)(American Medical Association)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Lubell A rift between one of the most powerful healthcare lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the American Medical Association has some healthcare experts wondering if the AMA has lost its touch as a lobbying power and Beltway...

LifePoint ready for acquisitions ... ... while Community Health ends spate of selling.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro LifePoint Hospitals is looking to buy hospitals once again, while Community Health Systems is done selling them for the time being. LifePoint, Brentwood, Tenn., has not made a hospital acquisition since July 2006,...

Going the way of the dinosaur; Retiree health coverage's vanishing act will have ill effects across the board.(Opinions Commentary)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Emily Friedman Look out, retired people and future retirees: Your non-Medicare health benefits are disappearing! Well, it's not like every retiree gets private health bennies; if you are not covered by a union contract, if you...

Generation Next: a hope for ethics? In era of conflicts of interest, signs of progress center on impressionable youth.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane The recent revelation that Steven Nissen, the top Cleveland Clinic cardiologist, failed to disclose his financial ties to the maker of a diabetes drug while detailing a competing drug's cardiac risks in the New England...

St. Clair sells software company.(The Week in Healthcare)(St. Clair Memorial Hospital )
May 5, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker In an example of entrepreneurial initiative on a shoestring, St. Clair Memorial Hospital in Pittsburgh announced last week that it has sold its startup company, Sculptor Developmental Technologies, to Hospira, a global...

Medical migration: a study projects Americans spending up to $68 billion abroad by 2010 for treatment, but some doubt the trend's momentum.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea When International Hospital Corp. opened the first of its 10 hospitals spread throughout Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico, the Dallas-based provider's sole focus was to offer the kind of high-quality healthcare that had...

Bids sought for Up & Comers.(News)
May 5, 2008... The nominations are now open for Modern Healthcare's 22nd annual Up & Comers recognition program. The program, co-sponsored by Witt/Kieffer, an Oak Brook, Ill.-based executive search firm, honors rising young stars in the healthcare management...

Health savings accounts mostly used as tax shelter for rich: GAO.(Government Accountability Office)(Late News)
May 5, 2008... Health savings accounts are used more as a tax shelter for the wealthy than as a path to health benefits for working- and middle-class families, according to a Government Accountability Office report released by two Democratic members of...

Genetic discrimination ban bill wins overwhelmingly in Congress.(Late News)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... The House passed a bill that makes it illegal for employers and insurers to deny coverage to a person based on their genetic makeup. The legislation, called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed on a 414-1 vote and now goes to...

Former UCLA employee indicted for HIPAA violations over celebs.(Late News)
May 5, 2008... A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted a former administrative specialist at UCLA Medical Center for allegedly disclosing health records of celebrity patients to an unnamed "national media outlet" in exchange for money, according to the...

Nursing homes say Medicare change will cost them $5 billion.(Late News)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Critics charge that a proposed change to the way Medicare pays for nursing home and skilled-nursing care will result in a $5 billion loss over the next five years and leave many elderly patients with fewer provider options. The American Health...

CMS raising LTAC rate 2.7% for 2009 to $39,114.(Late News)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(long-term acute-care hospitals)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... The CMS published a final rule that establishes the 2009 federal payment rate for long-term acute-care hospitals, a measure the agency said will save money for the Medicare program in the future. For the rate year July 1, 2008, through Sept....

On the move...(News Makers)
May 5, 2008... GROUP PURCHASING Novation, Irving, Texas, appointed Jack Langenberg, 40, CFO. Langenberg took over the newly created position in March, according to a Novation spokeswoman. He was vice president of finance for the global staffing company...

Crackdown urged on doc gifts.(The Week in Healthcare)(Report)
May 5, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks A new report issued last week by an Association of American Medical Colleges task force could result in major changes in how drugs and medical devices are marketed to physicians, if the report is approved by the...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... "In spite of the need, geriatric medicine is not a popular specialty, in part because it requires an extra year or more of medical school. Because geriatric cases can be complicated and take longer to evaluate, geriatricians see fewer patients...

Tenet numbers rising; Chain reports slight financial upswing.(The Week in Healthcare)(Financial report)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, posted its third straight quarter of decent results last week and even has turned around its toughest critic among stock analysts, but Trevor Fetter acknowledges that the company still...

BREAKING THE CODE; When bill barring genetic discrimination is signed into law, 'fear of repercussions' will dissipate among patients: expert.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely The passage of a landmark bill that prohibits discrimination by employers and health insurers based on genetic-test outcomes will pave the way for greater participation in genetic testing with providers playing an...

Healthcare's revenue-cycle rush; More deals likely as margins get squeezed: source.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker A flurry of deals in recent weeks in which established healthcare companies scooped up consulting firms with expertise in revenue-cycle management may signal that hospitals are perhaps entering a "squeeze blood from a...

Learning to share; Hospitals, health systems take advantage of IRS' nod allowing IT subsidies to docs.(Information Edge)(Internal Revenue Service)(information technology)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch Although still cautious with their money, not-for-profit hospitals and systems have proven more comfortable subsidizing electronic health records for the practices of staff physicians since the Internal Revenue Service...

TURNING TALK INTO ACTION; Clinical performance-and transparency with the data-help earn Baylor the annual National Quality Healthcare Award.(Special Feature)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Elizabeth Gardner Inpatients at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas don't have to wait until they're in crisis to get a visit from a rapid response team. The team, made up of a nurse, a respiratory therapist and sometimes a...

Men could fill nursing gaps.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans The ongoing shortage of nurses, despite new data that show improved supply, has a leading workforce analyst looking to an uncharacteristic source for more nurses: men. Projections from researchers at Vanderbilt...

Allegheny General COO to become Good Shepherd CEO.(Late News)(Chief Operating Officer)(Chief Executive Officer)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, said Edward Banos, the facility's senior vice president and chief operating officer, will resign from his position on June 10 to become president and chief executive officer at Good Shepherd Health Care...

Minus interest, MedErr looks to ad; Associations upset over patient-safety startup's tactic.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch A startup company vying to pitch patient-safety software to hospital executives blanketed state hospital associations with a novel marketing message that was heard as a threat: Unless member hospitals were encouraged...

Past winners of the National Quality Healthcare Award.(Opinions Letters)(Awards list)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... 2007: HealthPartners, Bloomington, Minn. 2006: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston 2005: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago 2004: Trinity Health, Novi, Mich. 2003: Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, Allentown,...

HCA's, Tenet's chain reaction.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Vince Galloro This spring, it seems that for-profit hospital chiefs' thoughts are turning to acquisitions. A week after LifePoint Hospitals said that it was a buyer again (May 5, p. 22), chief executive officers from two of the...

Ron Paul's lonely opposition; Congressman is only rep to say `nay' to GINA.(Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Matthew DoBias Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican congressman and presidential candidate, may want to change his campaign refrain to "one is the loneliest number.'' Paul, who has gained a reputation for being the contrarian...

Sales tactics targeted; Medicare Advantage reforms not enough, Stark says.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Matthew DoBias and Jennifer Lubell CMS officials initiated a clampdown on the Medicare Advantage program by proposing new marketing rules last week, while Congress made little progress on a legislative fix to the way that Medicare...

Medicaid, doc-ownership addressed in draft legislation.(Late News)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... A measure to effectively kill seven Medicaid regulations and another to restrict physician ownership of hospitals were added to preliminary drafts of legislation meant to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, though it's unclear whether...

SSM Health Care finds taker for St. Francis Hospital in Illinois.(Late News)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... SSM Health Care, St. Louis, announced a deal to unload a struggling suburban Chicago hospital that the system previously announced it would close. SSM said an agreement was signed to transfer ownership of 282-bed St. Francis Hospital & Health...

Minn. gov. vetoes bill barring collecting info on medical debt.(Late News)(Minnesota)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... Minnesota's governor vetoed a bill that would prevent healthcare providers from collecting and using financial and medical debt information prior to caring for patients. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, in his veto message, described the bill as "extremely...

FTC seeks to block Inova deal to acquire Prince William system.(Late News)(The Federal Trade Commission)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative antitrust complaint challenging Inova Health System's planned acquisition of Prince William Health System. The commissioners also authorized the FTC lawyers to seek a preliminary injunction...

THE GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT.(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... What it is: Known as GINA, the bill prohibits discrimination by health insurers and employers based on a person's genetic information or disease predisposition. Employers and insurers also cannot require applicants to submit to genetic tests....

Partnership tests care processes.(Physician Affairs)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Barbara Kirchheimer In a twist on an arrangement typically used to align hospital and physician interests in specialty service areas, SSM Health Care, St. Louis, is testing new inpatient-care processes through a company jointly...

LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)
May 12, 2008... The rich can lead the way The fact that Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Pete Stark (D-Calif.) don't like health savings accounts shouldn't discourage the rest of us ("Health savings accounts mostly used as tax shelter for rich: GAO,''...

Outliers; Asides & insides.(tar-Telegram.com)(briefs)
May 12, 2008... NCFE exec may find posse that's looking for her is getting larger In a sure sign of true notoriety-and a rare event in healthcare-former National Century Financial Enterprises executive Rebecca Parrett has made the list of "America's Most...

The real lessons; Kids need to hear some no-nonsense advice.(Charles S. Lauer)
May 12, 2008... Byline: Charles S. Lauer A friend of mine recently sent me some quotes from a talk that Bill Gates supposedly made some years back to a group of high school students. He was alleged to have given the kids some seriously tough love,...

Systems style.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... It has long been Modern Healthcare's style to include only general acute-care hospitals when counting the numbers of hospitals within a health system. However, over the years this has sometimes caused confusion with sources, readers and even...

Honors list; A podcast with HHS' Leavitt and a cache of awards leave our plate full.(Opinions Editorials)
May 12, 2008... Byline: David Burda Usually when the U.S. Secret Service shows up at our newsroom in Chicago, a third of the editorial staff opens the window and climbs down the fire escape. But earlier this month, they stuck around to enjoy a personal...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... State "House Republicans have joined the growing list of officials seeking to find a solution to the state health-insurance crisis. The announcement by GOP leaders comes on the heels of new national study results that show health insurance...

National Quality Forum award judges.(Special Feature)(Awards list)(Brief article)
May 12, 2008... George Isham - (Chairman) Plan medical director and chief health officer, HealthPartners, Bloomington, Minn. Gary Gottlieb - (Vice chairman) President and chief executive officer, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston Rhonda Anderson -...

Savings in gain-sharing: report; Project implementation is moving slowly, however.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Andis Robeznieks A new report indicating that physician-hospital gain-sharing programs could save millions of dollars without compromising care may not be enough to push the government into implementing such projects. The...

Providers prep for RAC clash; Hospitals, docs say auditing program too costly.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Hospitals and physicians are girding themselves for a battle over a CMS auditing program that they believe will rack up huge costs, administrative burdens and lost time with patients. For several years, the CMS...

GUIDANCE ON LEGAL EHRs; Selected recommended criteria from standards group Health Level 7.(Special Report)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Provision: Auditable records Statement: Provide audit capabilities for system access and usage indicating the author, the modification (where pertinent), and the date and time at which a record was created, modified, viewed, extracted or...

LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)(Letter to the editor)
May 19, 2008... `Lucrative' a subjective term I enjoyed Jessica Zigmond's article on the building of replacement critical-access hospitals ("Bound by bureaucracy,'' May 5, p. 28), but the statement, "By definition, critical-access hospitals cannot have...

National Quality Forum approves 48 new measures for hospitals.(Late News)
May 19, 2008... The National Quality Forum gave final approval to 48 new measures for acute-care hospitals through its National Voluntary Consensus Standards program, boosting the number of its endorsed measures to 373. The measures-mostly in the areas of...

SEIU, providers join those urging court to squash Sierra deal.(Late News)(UnitedHealth Group Inc. plans to acquire Sierra Health Services Inc.)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Opponents of UnitedHealth Group's plan to acquire Las Vegas-based Sierra Health Services asked a federal court to reject the Justice Department's decision to allow the deal to go forward. Separate comments were filed in U.S. District Court in...

AHA outlines concerns over Form 990, Schedule H to IRS.(Late News)(American Hospital Association)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... In a comment letter to the Internal Revenue Service, the American Hospital Association addressed its concerns over the draft instructions for Form 990 and Schedule H, although it acknowledged the IRS' willingness to work with the hospital...

Medical specialties board seeks more public input on certification.(Late News)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... The American Board of Medical Specialties aims to beef up public input regarding its physician specialty certification with the planned May 19 launch of a three-year program called the ABMS 2008-2011 Enhanced Public Trust Initiative. For 75...

Well-versed in diversity; Adapting a workforce to the melting pot it serves.(From the C-Suite)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gail Donovan Never before have the communities we serve been as culturally diverse as they are today. Nor have we ever employed such an equally multicultural workforce. That is why my organization felt it was critical to adapt to...

Individually speaking; Insurers under fire over how they rescind policies.(Payers and Purchasers)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely The race is on to reshape the individual health insurance market, as health plans increasingly come under fire from state regulators, patient groups and the courts for revoking policies after customers fall ill. ...

A CHANGE IN PLANS.(Payers and Purchasers)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Highlights of AHIP's reform plan for individual insurance coverage: * States should create guaranteed-access plans for the uninsured with the highest medical costs who don't qualify for the private individual market. * Health plans...

Northeast.(Regional News)(Excela Health and Conemaugh Health System forms MedCare Equipment Co.)(hospitals in Pennsylvania grew)(NYU Medical Center renames to NYU Elaine A. and Kenneth G. Langone Medical Center )
May 19, 2008... NEW YORK-NYU Medical Center last month said it is renaming itself the NYU Elaine A. and Kenneth G. Langone Medical Center in honor of the chairman of its board of trustees and his wife, who gave an unrestricted $200 million gift to the 873-bed...

Federal appeals court affirms FTC ruling on Texas price-fixing.(Late News)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 2005 Federal Trade Commission decision that North Texas Specialty Physicians, an association of independent practices in and around Fort Worth, engaged in illegal price-fixing. The FTC initiated...

Growth ahead for 'haves'; Investors conference paints rosy picture after turmoil.(The Week in Healthcare)(Non-Profit Health Care Investor Conference )(Conference news)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Cinda Becker Some of the wealthiest not-for-profit health systems in the country put on their lipstick and powdered their balance sheets, reporting at last week's ninth annual Non-Profit Health Care Investor Conference in New York...

Index addresses gay issues; Study could help measure expectations: AHA.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Jessica Zigmond A new study that measures how equitably hospitals treat their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients and their families could be an effective tool for providers to learn what this patient population expects...

FTC back on health kick; For the first time since the '90s, the FTC has asked a federal judge to delay a hospital deal, which some say may be just a start.(optics)(Federal Trade Commission)(Inova Health System)(Northwestern Healthcare Network)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch The Federal Trade Commission's first attempt in a decade to persuade a federal judge to delay a hospital deal may signal the beginning of a drive to build on its groundbreaking work in the suburbs north of Chicago. ...

ENH ready to buy again.(Northwestern Healthcare Network acquires hospitals)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch A case of cosmic timing? Evanston (Ill.) Northwestern Healthcare last week initiated a bid to buy a fourth hospital a few weeks after the Federal Trade Commission wrapped up its antitrust challenge of the system's last...

FTC taps one of its own.(The Week in Healthcare)(Inova Health System plans to acquire Prince William Health System)(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Gregg Blesch In a highly unusual move, the Federal Trade Commission named one of its commissioners to preside over its challenge of Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health System's planned acquisition of Prince William Health System,...

Another reform proposal ... Commonwealth uses ideas of Calif., Dem plans.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Rebecca Vesely The Commonwealth Fund laid out a new proposal to cover 44 million uninsured nationwide, or roughly 92%, and save $1.6 trillion over 10 years, but stakeholders expressed skepticism, saying it doesn't offer enough...

'Best Places to Work' awards.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Healthcare employers have one month left to register to participate in Modern Healthcare's new awards and honors program: Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare. The new program, which was announced in January, recognizes...

West.(Regional News)(Alta Bates Summit Medical Center facility opened)(Kaiser Permanente opened a medical center)(Gary Campbell appointed at Centura Health )
May 19, 2008... OAKLAND, Calif.-Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, a 509-bed facility, opened its $13 million Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center designed to be a national model in community-based patient care, diagnosis and treatment. The 11,000-square-foot,...

South.(Regional News)(Methodist Health Systems Inc. constructs more facilities)(Duke University Health System)(Baptist Health Systems Inc. into false claim act)
May 19, 2008... MCKINNEY, Texas-Dallas-based Methodist Health System began construction early last month on Methodist McKinney Hospital, a 65,625-square-foot facility that will be a joint venture among Methodist, Nueterra Healthcare and 26 physicians in the...

... and another ... Health industry CEOs propose market solutions.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Melanie Evans On the same day that a leading advocacy group introduced a plan to reform healthcare using insurance coverage requirements and employer mandates, a healthcare executive group released its own plan based on market...

Midwest.(Regional News)(Indiana issues health insurance plans)(The Orthopaedic Hospital under construction)(Shriners Hospital for Children)
May 19, 2008... INDIANAPOLIS-The CMS gave Indiana the green light to expand its State Children's Health Insurance Program to families with incomes up to 21/2 times the federal poverty level-roughly $53,000 for a family of four-a move state officials said would...

Outliers; Asides & insides.
May 19, 2008... Researcher on medical tourism gets close-up look in Singapore Medical tourism expert Michael Horowitz isn't one to outsource his research, though he usually doesn't go to the extremes that he did earlier this year while inspecting Singapore...

Wait 'til next year; Feds kick a can of worms down the road for the next president to deal with.(Opinions Editorials)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Todd Sloane While efforts to craft a system of high-quality, cost-efficient healthcare in this country are making some headway, progress is incremental and is taking place in small silos. The tectonic pressure from growing costs...

The challenge of our times; Solving the Medicare funding issue is key to our future economic viability.(Opinions Commentary)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Mike Leavitt Generations of Americans have grown up believing that the economy can only grow and that Social Security and Medicare will always be there when they retire. But healthcare costs are rising so much faster than the rest...

Improving patient safety; Conference focuses on communication.(The Week in Healthcare)(Conference news)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Jean DerGurahian The healthcare industry's effort to improve safety is being held back by a lack of communication with patients and a need for better standards for measuring safety. Those were among the messages delivered to...

ON THE RAC; An overview of the CMS' Recovery Audit Contractor program.(The Week in Healthcare)
May 19, 2008... Purpose: To identify and correct improper Medicare payments to healthcare providers in fee-for-service Medicare. Began as a demonstration project in 2005, and ran for three years, eventually expanding into five states. What's next: The CMS...

Other voices.(Opinions Editorials)(Editorial)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... "The Legislature has elevated spending other people's money to an art form, but a proposal to force hospitals into spending more, simply so lawmakers can satisfy the demands of one union in an election year, is about as shameless as it gets....

Making IT legal-size; As electronic health-record systems become more complex, so do the issues involving the legal status of those records.(Special Report)
May 19, 2008... Byline: Joseph Conn Issues surrounding the law and medical records always have converged, but the advent of powerful electronic health-record systems in healthcare have added whole new levels of complexity to that relationship. "I...

The rise of foreign agents; Drugs and other medical products from offshore suppliers can offer tremendous savings, but safety has become an increasing concern.(Special Report)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Shawn Rhea Until recently, U.S. hospitals purchasing the chemotherapy drug irinotecan had to pay hundreds of dollars per dose for Pfizer's brand-name version, Camptosar. But when the drug came off patent early this year, group...

On the move...(News Makers)
May 26, 2008... HOSPITALS, SYSTEMS Lee Penrose was promoted to president and CEO of St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Calif., effective May 19. Penrose, who was senior vice president and CFO of the hospital for eight years, succeeds Robert Fraschetti,...

My year inside Maimonides; A hospital with a polyglot patient body learns the importance of communication.(Opinions Commentary)(Column)
May 26, 2008... Byline: Julie Salamon In the spring of 2005, I made an impudent proposal to the president and board chair of Maimonides Medical Center in New York: Let me spend a year roaming free in your hospital and then write about what I learned....

LETTERS.(Opinions Letters)
May 26, 2008... NCFE case echoes credit chaos There are parallel situations with the National Century Financial Enterprises case in today's credit market turmoil. There is the criminal intent at the original source of the transaction, on the parts of NCFE...