Modern Healthcare articles from May 2009

Modern Healthcare archives from May 2009

Preparation will pay off; Regardless of what happens with swine flu, pandemic bound to strike.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Elisabeth Belmont, Peter Leibold and Michael Osterholm According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. had 109 laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in 11 states with one fatality as of the morning of April...

Under the influence? IOM conflict-of-interest report raises concerns.(Institute of Medicine)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Shawn Rhea An Institute of Medicine report aimed at reining in financial relationships between physicians and industry is expected to exercise significant influence among lawmakers drafting legislation and policymakers at academic...

Were we truly prepared? Time will tell if flu preparedness was adequate, but more still needs to be done.(Report)
May 4, 2009... Byline: David May When public health alarms started ringing over an influenza outbreak, the scenario was supposed to involve the avian flu, not the swine variety. Regardless, as the confirmed flu cases started mounting quickly last...

AHA tracking RAC impact.(American Hospital Association)(Recovery Audit Contractor)(Survey)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Lubell The American Hospital Association has developed a new tool that seeks to bulk up its lobbying power in proposing any changes to Medicare's controversial Recovery Audit Contractor, or RAC, program. The AHA in...

Hospitals' borrowing harder; Variable-rate-demand bonds preferred as credit.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Melanie Evans Bank distress continues to hinder access for healthcare borrowers and threatens costly volatility for those already in the market, despite demand from short-term investors for municipal bonds. One major player...

Private vs. public; In good times and bad, issues involving capital structure remain the same.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Vince Galloro When times were good and credit was cheap, going private was all the rage. Healthcare services were a little slow to come around, but, eventually, a solid handful of companies took the plunge. HCA made headlines...

Make your Up & Comers nominations.
May 4, 2009... Nominations are now open for Modern Healthcare's 23rd 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...

Supplement wins Lisagor.(Chicago Headline Club)(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... 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 graphics/nondaily...

An energetic bunch; Energy coalition formed to promote efficiency.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Andis Robeznieks Some big names have been recruited into the Hospital Energy Alliance, a U.S. Energy Department-led coalition seeking to promote energy efficiency and renewable technologies in hospitals, but it could be one of the...

Outliers Asides & Insides.(briefs )
May 4, 2009... Characters welcome: This is your brain on Twitter So it seems anyone who is anyone tweetsOprah Winfrey, San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson and skateboarder Tony Hawk, according to a quick pass at the latest newsbut how many tweet...

Monitoring temps; As healthcare agencies wait for permanent leaders, acting heads take on H1N1 flu virus.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Jessia Zigmond A day after HHS declared a public health emergency in the U.S. because of the global flu outbreak, Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made a comment that he repeated...

Critical access to IT; Because Medicare incentives under teh federal stimulus law vary by type of hospital, rurals expect to see fewwer dollars for health IT.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Jessica Zigmond Soon after Congress allocated upward of $19 billion in health information technology funding as part of the economic recovery package, a commentary from the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative of 35 free-standing...

Medical home blueprint; Four doc groups release guides seeking consistency.
May 4, 2009... Byline: Rebecca Vesely The term "medical home'' has become a catchphrase, tossed around by lawmakers, insurers and health policy experts. Meanwhile, countless medical-home demonstration projects are being launched by public and private...

Late News.(brief)
May 4, 2009... Medicare Advantage plans will receive $11.4 billion extra: report Medicare Advantage plans this year will receive $11.4 billion in extra payments above the cost of traditional fee-for-service Medicare, a 34% increase over 2008, according to...

Not-for-profits in no hurry ... ... to voluntarily file Schedule H information to IRS.(Internal Revenue Service)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Joe Carlson Despite exhortations to precisely justify their tax exemptions, many not-for-profit hospital systems are not planning to voluntarily submit information for the 2008 tax year that would disclose under penalty of perjury...

MH announces IT Case Study Contest.
May 4, 2009... Modern Healthcare is now accepting submissions for its first-ever IT Case Study Contest. The program recognizes healthcare information technology implementation projects that have improved patient care and that also may be eligible for funding...

You're not in Kansas anymore; Newly confirmed HHS Secretary Sebelius takes over amid talks of healthcare reform and potential flu pandemic.(Kathleen Sebelius appointed secretary of Department of Health and Human Services)
May 4, 2009... Byline: Matthew DoBias Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius took over as HHS secretary last week amid the country's biggest test of its pandemic-fighting capabilities since at least 2005, and as Congress takes the first steps to try to...

Essays on reform.(Brief article)
May 4, 2009... "Some argue, perhaps because employment-linked insurance has been around for so long, that the relationship `works' and is a good one.... But employment-linked health insurance introduces its own set of perverse consequences. Implemented...

Safe and secure? Data encryption just one option under security law.
May 11, 2009... Byline: Joseph Conn For now, providers have two choices under a new healthcare data privacy and security law: data encryption or breach notification. But HHS also opened the door for future discussion about a possible third choice,...

Reform, not status quo; Public plan could be just the competition needed to drive down health system costs.
May 25, 2009... Byline: David May As the healthcare reform debate has sharpened in recent months, few issues have become more pointed than the "public option''mandating some form of government health plan as part of a revamped system. The insurance...

Seventh annual report on the healthcare workforce.(Brief article)
May 25, 2009... Once again Modern Healthcare presents its annual up-close look at key issues involving the healthcare workforce. This year we focus on the ongoing drive by nurses unions across the countryalong with allies in Washingtonto implement new...

Reduce more errors: experts; National successes in past 10 years minor, panel says.
May 25, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Lubell Hospitals and other providers have made progress on an incremental scale to reduce patient errors since the release of a landmark report 10 years ago, but national interventions are still falling short, a panel of...

Kuhn taking over in Mo. Exec brought in to solve Wash. puzzle.(appointment of Herb Kuhn )(Brief article)
May 25, 2009... Byline: Vince Galloro Herb Kuhn hopes that he can be the detective who solves the mystery of healthcare reform for the Missouri Hospital Association. Kuhn, 52, was named last week to be the association's fifth president and CEO, effective...

Still marching along; As construction spending slides, stimulus money fuels military projects.
May 25, 2009... Byline: Vince Galloro The last time healthcare construction spending stagnated, providers were struggling with the Medicare cuts from the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. That led to three years of flat construction spending, according to one...

Late News.(brief)(appointment of Marc Miller )
May 25, 2009... IOM's advice would cost teaching hospitals extra $1.6 billion: study Teaching hospitals would have to pay a total of $1.6 billion a year in additional labor costs if recent Institute of Medicine recommendations for limiting resident work...

Does it compute? Some call technology key to delivering remarkable improvements in productivity; others say it's confusing, overly expensive and hard to implement.
May 25, 2009... Byline: Jean DerGurahian With speed and accuracy the name of the game for laboratory results, Great Basin Scientific hopes its new diagnostic tool will help providers find infections quickly and efficiently so that care delivery can be...