Modern Healthcare articles from November 2003

Modern Healthcare archives from November 2003

ACHE follows own advice; Nominates black for chairmanship in diversity move.(Late News American College of Healthcare Executives)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly The American College of Healthcare Executives has taken a page from its own efforts to promote diversity in healthcare management by nominating a black candidate as chairman-elect. Samuel Odle, 54, senior vice...

Late News; Outpatient update announced.
November 3, 2003... The CMS announced it is increasing payments for outpatient department services by an aggregate 4.5% for 2004. The agency's final rule was higher than an initial projection of a 3.8% increase. An across-the-board reduction in temporary...

Not adding up; Catholic health system admits misstating earnings.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Accountants are poring over financial statements at Bon Secours Health System after it revealed last week that it misstated earnings in fiscal 2003 by inflating revenue and expenses at one of its Michigan hospitals....

A (not-so) elder-care experiment; One hospital's effort to coordinate services for a town's aging population.(Opinions-Commentary)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Stephen Jones Almost every physician and hospital administrator wants to help the elderly with their healthcare needs, but the task is difficult. Seniors have far greater comorbidities, and their special needs generally require a...

Silent treatment; Report: Hospitals not telling patients about free care.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong Against a backdrop of a rising uninsured population and more aggressive debt collection practices by hospitals, a report released last week faulted facilities for not telling patients about free-care programs. The...

Doc's Medicare fees to fall; AMA seeks congressional relief after 4.5% cut.(Late News)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Unless Congress comes to their rescue, physicians will see their Medicare payments slashed by 4.5% for 2004, an increase from the 4.2% cutback proposed in August, the CMS said in the final rule it issued last week. ...

New rewards? Plan would link payment hikes to quality reporting.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman A voluntary initiative to report hospital quality data would become de facto mandatory if congressional Medicare reform negotiators approve a plan they were considering last week. The proposal to link hospital...

On merger, the point is what's next; Would biggest health plan seek better care or focus only on the bottom line?(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed Last week's announcement of a managed-care mega-deal is a stunner not only because of its size but also its potential effects on healthcare stakeholders. The new WellPoint clearly isn't...

Briefly: Finance; GE announces alliance.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... * GE Healthcare Financial Services and GE Medical Systems last week announced a seven-year strategic alliance with Kaleida Health, Buffalo, N.Y., that would include $67 million in financing for the five-hospital system. Some $47 million of the...

Assumed HHS heir is retiring.(The Week in Healthcare HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor A reported replacement for departed HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist is retiring from government service, leaving the acting chief of the office, Dara Corrigan, as a possible heir apparent. Jim Huse, inspector...

Radical possibilities; Chapman's book says the patient should be everyone's focus.(Publisher's Letter)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I have known and admired Erie Chapman, now the president and chief executive officer of Baptist Healing Hospital Trust in Nashville, for about 20 years. I have always been impressed by his intellect, candor and...

Chains see rising bad debt.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Concern about writing off bad debt continued for investor-owned chains last week, as two rural hospital operators, LifePoint Hospitals and Province Healthcare Co., reported large increases in provisions for bad debt,...

Meet the new WellPoint; Providers wonder how they and their patients will have to change to cope with the biggest managed-care merger to date.
November 3, 2003... Byline: Laura Benko The financial outlook for Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Va., took on a decidedly cloudy cast last week but not of its own doing. In a single day, the 143-bed, not-for-profit facility was rocked by...

GOP congressman calls for probe of the Medicare blimp.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
November 3, 2003... Next time you go to a college football game, be on the lookout for the Medicare blimp, which is busy advertising the program to seniors while trying to dodge political arrows. In a letter last week to CMS Administrator Tom Scully, Rep. Mark...

Healthcare's Maine man; Gov. Baldacci delivers on promise of expanded coverage for the state's uninsured population.(Healthcare Profile)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly On a sparkling clear morning in Maine this past summer, John Baldacci and Murphy Brown took a stroll stride by stride, just like countless masters and their dogs do every day. On this particular day, however,...

Full disclosure; Teaching hospitals to provide contract terms to prospective residents.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano For decades, medical school graduates entering a residency program only had a vague idea about what to expect in the way of benefits, hours and salary when they selected a site for their advanced clinical training....

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials health policy)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... "Some U.S. senators and state lawmakers are worried that the growth in specialty hospitals-which is taking off like a bullet-will strip full-service hospitals of money they depend on. These lawmakers argue that there's a limit to how many...

Firms turn a nice profit.(Special Report)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Normally healthcare turnaround firms don't disclose their finances. But last year's acquisition of the Hunter Group by publicly traded Navigant Consulting affords a glimpse at their profit pictures. Data in...

All aboard the healthcare wagon; Candidate Clark reveals his $695 billion health plan.(The Week in Healthcare presidential candidate Wesley Clark)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong A year from the presidential election, Wesley Clark unveiled a 10-year, $695 billion health plan last week, becoming the latest Democratic presidential candidate to outline a plan to tackle the problem of the uninsured...

USDA to the rescue; Good loan terms help Miss. hospital rebuild for less.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano When Newton Regional Hospital in central Mississippi began shopping for ways to underwrite a replacement facility, the first stop was the Federal Housing Administration's Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance...

Reaching a dead end; Hospitals are finding it harder to sustain turnaround efforts as years of cost-cutting have left executives with little room to maneuver.(Special Report)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Shortly after Detroit Medical Center recorded a big operational improvement for 2001, reducing losses to $6 million from $34 million in 2000, its management and its bankers pressed ratings analysts for an...

Straight Talk: Community Hospital Success Stories.(Straight Talk: New approaches in healthcare)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Modern Healthcare and PricewaterhouseCoopers Across the country, 19% of community hospitals are struggling to stay open. Discouraged, many board members and administrators settle for only mediocre financial, operational and clinical...

Changes sought in exec training.(Late News)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Changes are needed in the accreditation process for university healthcare management programs so that future executives can be better prepared for their responsibilities, the National Center for Healthcare Leadership...

Briefly: Hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... Former Ala. CFO charged * A former executive was charged last week by the FBI with embezzling nearly $2 million from 55-bed North Baldwin Infirmary, Bay Minette, Ala., less than two months after he pleaded guilty to unrelated healthcare...

Putting pricing in the picture; Shielding consumers from true costs of healthcare diminishes their responsibility.(Opinions-Commentary)(Editorial)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Ben Cutler How confident would you be in an economic market where those consuming the product or service had no idea of the costs? You'd probably think that a market like this would be a disaster. Unless consumers are...

HealthSouth's most wanted; Founder and former chairman and CEO Richard Scrushy is indicted for 85 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski The indictment of Richard Scrushy is one of those landmark events that can be seen either as a wake-up call for an industry or an isolated if spectacular example of alleged corporate chicanery. As reaction shows,...

Reform in the balance; Medicare conferes hit obstacles as deadline nears.(Late News)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Healthcare provider issues took a back seat last week in the sputtering but still moving vehicle called Medicare reform. Stepping up the pace to beat an anticipated adjournment of Nov. 21, congressional negotiators...

New life for HMOs; Publicly traded Coventry has turned a stable of troubled health plans into one of the nation's largest insurers.(Special Report)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Coventry Health Care has become the nation's foster parent to orphaned HMOs. Since pulling itself up by its bootstraps in the mid-1990s, the Bethesda, Md.-based health insurer has built a thriving business by...

Casualty of court; Oregon verdict sends message: 'Watch out for juries'.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor A huge jury verdict in an Oregon antitrust case may send shivers down the spines of health system executives engaged in mergers that involve significant market control and weaker competitors. On Oct. 31, a federal...

Spine-tingling prospects; Artificial disc implants are among the new technologies expected to revolutionize the outcomes of back surgery.(Medical Advances)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker Technological advances in healthcare mean we should last longer than our forebears did, but will our aching backs endure? When Scott Blumenthal was beginning his career as a spine surgeon nearly 20 years ago,...

Building new leaders; From golf to music, lessons of leadership can be learned in many activities.(Publisher's Letter)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Like many people, I enjoy the game of golf. Like any sport, golf is not easy and requires a certain measure of practice and patience to excel. In a recent edition of the Chicago Tribune, an article caught my...

HealthSouth still standing.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro As Richard Scrushy faces his 85-count indictment, the management team that replaced him tries to resurrect his life's work, HealthSouth Corp. Eight months after the HealthSouth accounting scandal became public,...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
November 10, 2003... "The FBI (recently) released its annual `Crime in the United States' report, a useful but grizzly compendium of all the murders and thefts and rapes across the country and their costs.... The report contains no statistics on the accounting and...

Late News; Tax case heads back to trial.
November 10, 2003... A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans vacated a lower court decision that reinstated the tax-exempt status of six-hospital St. David's Health Care System in Austin, Texas. The system is a joint venture...

If you have it, you use it; Latest Blues association study finds new technology not only drives demand but also increases spending.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Cinda Becker The healthcare industry's unchecked appetite for new technologies was brought to the forefront again last week by the release of a study that found that supply drives demand and in turn helps fuel greater spending. ...

Richard Scrushy's opinions are just a mouse click away.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
November 10, 2003... Think you're not hearing Richard Scrushy's side of the story in the current HealthSouth Corp. legal tangle? Well, the recently indicted founder of the rehabilitation hospital chain (See related story, p. 6) is using the Internet to reach out...

Final appeal; High court to rule over right to sue for failure to cover doc-ordered care.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on a key healthcare debate that Congress has failed to settle: whether patients have the right to sue for damages when their HMOs refuse to cover medical care recommended by a...

Quaking in California; Tenet's legal, financial aftershocks keep on coming.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Right now, Tenet Healthcare Corp. seems like an old car at a service station-there are so many mechanics looking under the hood that they're bound to find something wrong. A little more than a year after the Santa...

(Prospective) docs are in; Rise in medical school applications counters trend.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong The number of medical school applicants has risen for the first time in six years, spurred on by a rise in the number of applications from women and blacks, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported last week....

Giving choice a chance; CMS extends its mandated quality data campaign to include home care.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong The CMS has brought home the idea of giving patients access to healthcare quality data-literally. The new nationwide home health quality initiative announced last week expands the agency's overall healthcare quality...

True crime, true stories; Tales of executive misbehavior educate and entertain--as readers want.(Opinions-Editorials)
November 10, 2003... Byline: David Burda, Editor Do newspapers and magazines run crime stories because readers demand them or do they run crime stories to attract readers? Our job at Modern Healthcare is to inform, educate and entertain our readers. In our...

Quality vs. quantity; IOM report: Hospitals must cut back workload and hours of nurses to maintain patient safety.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 10, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Despite a nurse shortage that worsens each year, hospitals must find ways to scale back the workload of their staff nurses, send them off to training sessions more often and avoid using agencies for fill-in nurses,...

Corrections.(The Week in Healthcare)(Correction Notice)
November 10, 2003... * Dallas-based RTKL was a project architect for the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Denton A. Cooley Building, Houston. The firm was omitted from a listing in the 2003 Design Awards (Oct. 6, p. 24). * An Oct. 27...

Storm warning; 'Rainmaker' doctors bring in big bucks for hospitals, but when oversight goes awry, they also can bring a deluge of legal problems.(Special Report)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Jeffrey Askanazi performed invasive nerve-blocking pain procedures on hundreds of patients after arriving at United Memorial Health Center, Greenville, Mich., in 1994. Chae Hyun Moon and Fidel Realyvasquez Jr....

Late News; Medicare payment errors drop.
November 17, 2003... The annual Medicare payment error rate dropped to 5.8% in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, compared with 6.3% in the previous fiscal year, and 13.8% in fiscal 1996, according to an annual CMS study. The error rate translates to an estimated cost...

Futurist Coile dies at age 60.(News Makers Russell Coile Jr.)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Russell Coile Jr., the author and futurist who became a fixture as a speaker at healthcare conferences across the nation, died Nov. 10 of complications from brain cancer. He had marked his 60th birthday just five...

GE enters doc capital market.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic The sizzling physician capital market gained a new competitor last week as GE Healthcare Financial Services announced it would acquire medical and dental practice financier HPSC. It's the latest conquest for...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2003... * Michael Jhin, 53, president and CEO of St. Luke's Episcopal Health System, Houston, announced that he will retire at year-end but retain the title of CEO emeritus, assisting the board of directors with strategic initiatives. "The timing...

Rebuilding an empire; Once a crown jewel of healthcare in the Middle East, Iraq's system needs a complete overhaul, everything from equipment to staff.
November 17, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Imagine what it would be like to create a new national healthcare system from the ground up-invent a financing mechanism, plan and build a delivery network, and educate managers and clinicians who come to the enterprise...

Partnerships get scrutiny.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Who actually controls a joint venture between a not-for-profit hospital system and a for-profit partner may become the deciding factor in determining whether such partnerships are tax-exempt or subject to tax under a...

Exhibit honors the greatest generation of military medics.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
November 17, 2003... From the battlefields of Iraq to stretches of U.S. highways, today's trauma victims are benefiting from techniques perfected by doctors during World War II, when the level of carnage surpassed anything seen by American combatants in recent...

AHA links with 'U.S. News'; Hospital directory to be separate from rankings.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly The American Hospital Association is partnering with U.S. News & World Report, author of the annual "America's Best Hospitals'' ranking, to offer an online directory of hospital information tailored to consumers. ...

Briefly: Hospital News.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2003... Baptist loses interim CEO * Daniel Rissing, hired just over a month ago as interim chief executive officer at Baptist Health System, Birmingham, Ala., abruptly quit the top job last week, officials said. Rissing was expected to serve as...

He's the man; Gail Warden represents the best of healthcare leadership.(Publisher's Letter)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Gail Warden recently stepped down as president and chief executive officer of Detroit's Henry Ford Health System. From talking with him and others who know him, it seems he will still be very much involved with a...

On the move...(News Makers)
November 17, 2003... Gregg Zoller, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, left without explanation recently after four years with the three-hospital system. J. Penn Krause, Mercy's executive vice president of operations, will fill the vacant position...

Still seeking a defined benefit; Blues study details the costs of medical devices, but not their value.(Opinions-Editorials)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed The latest Blues association-backed analysis of rising healthcare costs is a far more nuanced study than one issued a year ago on the same general topic, which tried to pin the blame for...

Good news, bad news; Tenet, Ardent, Iasis report earnings results.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Vince Galloro Tenet Healthcare Corp. released some hard numbers on all the bad news the company has been warning investors about, while Ardent Health Services released its first set of public numbers last week. Tenet reported a...

Extracting payment; Hospitals try collecting before patients leave ER.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly Even as they face increased scrutiny over aggressive billing practices and are being urged to put a kinder, gentler face on collections, hospitals are trying new ways to get emergency patients to pay before they head...

Rising by degrees; Management titles, diplomas lead to higher salaries for physicians, survey shows.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 17, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Like almost everyone else in the nation's increasingly sophisticated workforce, doctors who have the longest string of degrees or titles after their name tend to earn the highest salaries. And the more letters the...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2003... "Taxpayers should be fed up with footing the bill for Medicare fraud, which the government estimates costs us about $12 billion a year.... While there are no clear statistics to illustrate the full extent of the problem, Harvard healthcare...

The Medicare follies; Blitz for reform a staggering spectacle of unlikely co-stars, shifting alliances.(Opinions-Editorials)(Editorial)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Todd Sloane, Assistant Managing Editor/Op-Ed You have to hand it to Karl Rove and his allies on Capitol Hill. They managed to tweak their crazy quilt of Medicare reform just enough to land a huge endorsement from the AARP, entice a...

Winning big in reform bill; After a year of lobbying and much debate, Congress reaches a compromise Medicare agreement that pleases providers.
November 24, 2003... Byline: Jeff Tieman Seniors may have a tough time deciphering Congress' Medicare reform plans, but for healthcare providers who have lobbied hard to get their pet provisions included, the legislation paints a somewhat clearer picture-and a...

In the spotlight.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2003... * Turmoil created when physicians and nurses forced the resignation of the administrator of Wyoming Medical Center in Casper has led to a registered nurse being named its new president and CEO. Pam Fulks, 52, who had held the job on an...

Beyond the glitz; Make sure an architectural firm fits your goals before making a commitment.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Susanna Moon Steve Dibble, a trained architect himself, can spot a phony sales pitch from an architectural firm trying to win his healthcare system's business. They've got "selling down to a fine art,'' Dibble says. With more...

In need of nurses; Illinois hospital makes name for itself through RN retention, recruitment.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly When Linda Deering took the top nursing job at Delnor-Community Hospital, the turnover rate for registered nurses was 26% amid a less-than- positive work culture at the Geneva, Ill., facility. One of of Deering's...

Looking at the big picture; It's important to know what you want technology to help your group achieve.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski Healthcare historically has lagged behind other industries in technology spending. But the convergence of market forces-which include the rising cost of providing care along with regulatory pressures and the need...

Getting in step with integrity pacts; Healthcare providers should try to negotiate from a position of strength.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Mark Taylor Healthcare attorneys who have negotiated them liken the process of signing a corporate integrity agreement to an awkward first dance. The government, with moral high ground and greater resources, will probably lead, but...

Late News; Vt. hospital CON approved.
November 24, 2003... Vermont approved an amended certificate-of-need application from Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vt., for a $364.2 million expansion project, but regulators will be watching the project closely. As part of the approval, the state...

Do the right thing; New reports show managers must take responsibility for creating a culture of safety.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 24, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey The healthcare industry was rocked by yet another series of studies and reports saying that everything from hospital-acquired infections to medication errors are killing thousands of patients each year-but this time...

Briefly: Hospitals.(The Week in Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2003... Advocate subject of suit * Advocate Health Care, Oak Brook, Ill., said last week that it is the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of uninsured patients. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County (Ill.) Circuit Court, contends that...

Overdue update; CMS to use PPS to reimburse psychiatric facilities.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Tony Fong Psychiatric providers guardedly supported the CMS' announcement last week that it would begin paying inpatient psychiatric facilities prospectively, bringing them in line with how other types of healthcare facilities are...

Doc groups add lobbying clout.(News Makers)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano The American Medical Group Association, which represents many of the nation's largest medical practices, has beefed up its political presence by hiring Chester Speed, a former government official and longtime...

Going back in time; Citing cost efficiency, plans offer narrow networks.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Laura B. Benko Managed care may be coming full circle. After years of expanding their networks to meet customers' demand for greater choice, health insurers once again are starting to battle rising healthcare costs the...

Nominations due for Hall of Fame.(News)
November 24, 2003... Modern Healthcare is inviting readers to submit nominations for the 2004 Health Care Hall of Fame induction. The program honors those who have made outstanding contributions to healthcare in this country and around the world. More than 60...

Switch pitch; Companies mull when and how to select a different auditing firm.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Mary Chris Jaklevic Should a company change auditing firms just for the sake of change? It's a hotly debated question between corporate reformers-who would like mandated audit firm rotation for public companies-and the Big Four...

Ruling expected; Judge mulls HealthSouth shareholder meeting.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Julie Piotrowski A Delaware judge may rule this week on whether to force HealthSouth Corp. to convene a shareholder meeting, which could lead the company down a path to bankruptcy, according to one of its board members. ...

Editor's Letter.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Welcome to Modern Healthcare's first annual Survival Guide for Healthcare Executives. Our readers tell us it's a jungle out there with danger lurking behind every tree-or specialty hospital! As a service to our readers, we thought we would take...

Kennedy remembrance gets low-key response at Parkland.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
November 24, 2003... The 40th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination was met with nonchalance at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas, which planned no event to mark the occasion last week, according to a spokeswoman. Despite its import as a top...

On the move...(News Makers)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2003... Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif., hired Robert Smith as senior vice president of operations, overseeing the company's 13-hospital Texas region. Smith, 52, is leaving a job as divisional vice president at Universal Health Services,...

Change of plans; Keeping trend, Ky. providers shed insurance business.(The Week in Healthcare)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Michael Romano Hospitals and doctors in Louisville, Ky., have joined the growing national parade of providers who have shed money-losing insurance plans to concentrate on what they say they do best-caring for patients. ...

Opening the door; Fla. proposes softening its certificate-of-need- process.(Late News)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Patrick Reilly A proposal by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and Gov. Jeb Bush would soften the state's certificate-of-need process, opening the door for hospitals to expand bed counts and establish hospices...

Other Voices.(Opinions-Editorials)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2003... "After three years of partisan bickering, Congress is poised this week to approve a $400 billion, 10-year compromise plan to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare.... It ought to pass, if for no other reason than to end years of...

Targeting objectives; Outsourcing saves little money on IT but can help reduce wasteful spending.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: John Morrissey Don't expect to save money on information technology operations and capital expenses when considering the merits of outsourcing IT-related functions. That's not the point, according to some who've been there and seen...

Letting someone else do it better; Outsourcing business functions can mean higher revenue, but not costs.(Supplement: Survival Guide Healthcare Executives)
November 24, 2003... Byline: Joe Mantone Jesse Ford wasn't planning to hire an outsourcing company when he took over as vice president of finance at 296-bed Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center of Chicago. Before Ford was placed in that position, the...