Modern Healthcare articles from November 2004

Modern Healthcare archives from November 2004

Industry probe; Justice Department subpoenas dialysis providers.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Joseph Mantone The U.S. Justice Department appears to be investigating the dialysis industry in a probe that stretches as far back as 1996 and includes providers, a test kit manufacturer and drugmakers. At least three dialysis...

Got your DVD and goggles? It's time for your surgery.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)(digital video displayer)
November 1, 2004... So the next time you're having surgery, will it be "Finding Nemo'' or "You've Got Mail?'' Either might be fine, but probably not "Nightmare on Elm Street.'' A researcher has found that watching movies can be as effective as regional...

Good news, bad news; Hospitals' net profit margin up, operating margin down.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans U S. hospitals reported a slight gain in their overall financial health in 2003, despite sluggish growth from operating margins, yearly figures from the American Hospital Association show. Hospitals' aggregate net...

No gain-sharing in N.J. CMS won't try to revive pay-for-performance plan.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker The CMS last week quashed the New Jersey Hospital Association's beleaguered attempt to realign the competing economic interests of doctors and hospitals, raising questions as to whether physician "gain-sharing'' has...

Staffing strife; SEIU files nurse-patient ratio complaints in Calif.(The Week In Healthcare)(service employees international union)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans A California law that limits the ratio of hospital patients per nurse continues to spark public and sometimes bitter disputes between healthcare unions and hospitals, one of the most recent erupting in Los Angeles...

Shorter shifts, fewer errors.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano First-year residents committed fewer medical errors when working shifts limited to 16 hours rather than the traditional shifts of 24 hours or more, according to a study in the Oct. 28 New England Journal of Medicine....

Sky's the limit; Insurance industry reports increased profit margins.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko Some analysts are warning that the health insurance industry has peaked. Tell health insurers that. The third quarter continued to be one of soaring profits and expanding margins for health plans nationwide, a...

Bad-debt woes grow at chains.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro Some investor-owned hospital chains have the same relationship with bad debt that Florida has with hurricanes: They keep getting hit over and over. Two of the five for-profit hospital operators that reported...

Rurals may lose in quality quest.(Late News)
November 1, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey The Institute of Medicine cautioned in a new report that rural healthcare could be left behind in the national campaign for quality-improvement and payment incentives unless rural hospitals' unique needs and fragile...

Evangelism and antagonism; Integris CEO sees healthcare as near-spiritual calling, but woe unto those supporters of specialty hospitals.(Healthcare Profile)(Integris Health's chief executive officer Stanley Hupfeld )
November 1, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano Stanley Hupfeld, who helped create sprawling Integris Health in Oklahoma City nearly a decade ago, is the kind of bold, no-nonsense hospital executive who rarely hesitates to speak his mind. The 60-year-old Texas...

An unmistakable approach; At Ascension, it's not about preventing mistakes but avoiding patient harm.
November 1, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey Ascension Health's systematic approach to reducing preventable inpatient complications and deaths has paid off big at selected hospitals, in some cases dialing down serious dangers to zero in less than a year. ...

Panel slams niche facilities.(Late News)(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman General, acute-care hospitals are saying a new report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission bolsters their argument that physician-owned specialty hospitals take the most profitable cases away from their...

Too many cooks; FTC, Justice Department call consent decrees ineffective.(The Week In Healthcare)(federal trade commission)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor Despite recent criticism by federal antitrust regulators, a recent Pennsylvania antitrust case demonstrates that state attorneys general will continue to occasionally intervene in hospital mergers and competition...

Calif. docs grab more pie.(The Week In Healthcare)(health care industry )
November 1, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano The largest medical group in Northern California has just gotten a little bigger, casting its net across one more county in an effort to boost market share and negotiating clout. Hill Physicians Medical Group in...

Now accepting nominations.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Modern Healthcare is accepting nominations for the annual Trustee of the Year competition. The awards-co-sponsored by healthcare executive search firm Witt/Kieffer-honor two outstanding trustees for their contributions to healthcare...

Kickback trial opens for Tenet.(The Week In Healthcare)(Tenet Healthcare Corp.)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro The criminal trial alleging that a Tenet Healthcare Corp. hospital in San Diego violated the antikickback statute with its physician relocation agreements got under way in earnest last week. Lawyers for the...

The rules we follow; An updated ethics code for our staff.(Opinions)
November 1, 2004... Byline: David Brda, Editor A few weeks ago, I participated in a focus group with a number of healthcare executives. One executive said that when he reads Modern Healthcare, he knows that what he's reading is accurate. He said he never...

The power of will; Determination can surmount obstacles in any field of activity.(Publisher's Letter)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer A good friend recently sent me a news clipping about the importance of determination. The piece began: "A professor who studied the lives of his students over more than 20 years concluded that there was one quality...

Patient safety proves elusive; Five years after publication of the IOM's 'To Err is Human,' there's plenty of activity on patient safety, but progress is another matter.(institute of medicine)
November 1, 2004... Byline: John Morrissey Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria, registered about five adverse events per 10,000 doses of medication before it mobilized all its doctors, nurses and information technology personnel to get that rate...

HHS report hits drugmakers ... or, on the other hand, not.
November 8, 2004... HHS' inspector general's office has raised eyebrows for quietly withdrawing a tough report on Medicare overpayments to pharmaceutical companies, the first time in more than 20 years that a report has been rescinded, Outliers has learned. ...

Making the leap; When hospitals look to insurers for executive talent.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans Finding an executive who can juggle a hospital's constant challenges often leads trustees to scour for a candidate with firsthand knowledge of hospital or health system operations. Often, but not always. On...

Too much of a good thing? Fine line between improving reimbursement and taking advantage of the system.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong In 2001, Wisconsin officials managed to increase federal matching funds for the Medicaid program to 68% from 59% the year before. Good for them, right? Not from the federal government's perspective, it wasn't. The...

The prognosis is a bit mixed.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman A second term for President Bush is likely to be a mixed bag for hospitals when it comes to Medicare and other health policy issues, industry officials and observers said last week. In the plus column, Bush will...

The shadowlands of PBMs; Seek out the experts to navigate the gray territory of drug-benefits managing.(Pharmacy Benefits Managers)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker With three pharmacy benefits managers dominating the nation's $200 billion in annual drug spending, the best way to choose the right one for your employees or health plan may just be a dart board-especially if you are...

Communication is key; Keeping everyone informed can help an executive win over employees.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Joseph Mantone Richard Peterson knew that communication was the key to dealing with staff relations before and after physicians at Seattle's Swe-dish Medical Center cast their no-confidence ballot for the system's leader. But...

Better, but not good enough.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong A host of challenges-from costs to inertia to data-measurement problems-continues to plague the healthcare industry's efforts to improve safety and quality, according to speakers at a conference held last week to mark the...

Briefly Executives.(The Week In Healthcare)(Somerset Medical Center)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... ACHE picks Schoenhard * The American College of Healthcare Executives said last week that William Schoenhard, executive vice president and chief operating officer at SSM Health Care, St. Louis, was nominated as chairman-elect of the...

Welcome to the club; IOM reports on quality improvement of rural care.(Institute of Medicine)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Joseph Mantone Rural health industry experts said they were delighted that they are starting to be included in national quality-improvement discussions and are optimistic that they can help their urban counterparts improve quality...

Weighing need against want.(certificate of need)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor The new chairman of Illinois' certificate-of-need agency put hospital officials seeking CON approval for new hospital projects on notice last week. "It's a certificate of need, not a certificate of convenience,''...

A bigger piece of the pie; For-profit facilities climb to 16% of all community hospitals, as not-for-profits struggle with access to capital, rural challenges.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro Hillcrest HealthCare System wasn't at the bottom of a hole, but it wasn't where Don Lorack wanted it to be either. Lorack, president and chief executive officer of the Tulsa, Okla.-based 13-hospital system, said...

Another shot at reform; Washington has hope after Calif. defeats Prop. 72.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko Even as California's healthcare community mourned last week's defeat of Proposition 72, the razor-thin margin on the sweeping health insurance mandate gave hope to advocates in at least one other state with plans for...

Feeling the heat; State hospital associations settle with IRS.(Internal Revenue Service)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Paul Barr Two Florida bond authorities offered a total of $1.25 million to settle an Internal Revenue Service investigation into the tax-exempt status of hospital bonds the authorities had issued, said Brad Waterman, a Washington...

Fighting words; Calif. nurses will challenge relaxing of staff ratios.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans The California Nurses Association promised to fight California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to relax a 10-month-old law that limits the ratio of hospital patients per nurse. "We're furious,'' said Deborah...

Other Voices.(health insurance costs)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... "The cost of health insurance has risen more than 10% in each of the past four years, prompting companies to cut or drop health insurance and forcing some 45 million people to go without coverage. Seventy percent of voters polled Tuesday said...

Still a priority; Health system needs didn't go away on Election day.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Todd Sloane Now that President Bush has won a second term, there's a temptation to say the status quo prevails in healthcare, but don't be fooled. Healthcare needs are big enough to bully their way into the Oval Office and the...

When the FTC calls; Be sure to get an experienced lawyer, cooperate fully and don't be afraid to settle.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor So the Federal Trade Commission sends you a letter requesting records of all your payer contracts and documents from physician members of your physician hospital organization or independent practice association? ...

CMS rejiggers outlier rules.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman CMS officials hope a new policy to compensate hospitals for high-cost outpatient cases will direct resources to where they are most needed and prevent money from being wasted. In its final outpatient payment...

Late News; NCQA to accredit PPOs.(National Committee for Quality Assurance)(Preferred Provider Organization )
November 8, 2004... The National Committee for Quality Assurance received authority to accredit PPOs in the Medicare Advantage program, creating new competition for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the Accreditation Association...

Making age an asset; Years of experience, combined with enthusiasm, can be a winning combination.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans It's a question directors and trustees ask when faced with a late-career executive vying for a CEO job among a field of eager younger candidates. How soon will the search to fill the top office begin again? Or,...

A valuable commodity; Medical office buildings offer hospital systems an additional form of revenue.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Susanna Moon More than $1 billion worth of medical buildings were sold last year, and real estate experts say the key to success is a detailed knowledge of what is involved in the sale. Advocate Health Care Vice President...

Surviving a no-win situation; CMS, HHS offer guidelines, direction on how to bill uninsured patients.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Paul Barr You can find plenty of horror stories regarding uninsured patients who got whacked with an outsized hospital bill for a procedure that an insurance company or Medicare paid much less for at the very same hospital. ...

Show them the money; Requiring payment upfront protects hospitals from getting stuck with the bill.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko By late 2003, Grady Memorial Health System in Atlanta knew something had to give, and fast. The state's largest public hospital had lost $50 million in the prior two years due to rising bad debt, and could no longer...

Slow and steady wins the race; Complementary missions can lead to matches made in healthcare heaven.(survival guide for healthcare executives)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Vince Galloro George Garrett and Eb LeMaster are evangelists for the gospel of Ardent Health Services. Garrett and LeMaster lead the investor-owned chain's development department. They are its dealmakers, but put aside any...

From patients to policies; Why do physicians think they can make the jump from running practices to running multibillion-dollar insurance companies?
November 8, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko Anthony Marlon, a cardiologist turned founder of insurance giant Sierra Health Services, is the first to admit that he is an odd duck. It's a given, he says, that physicians don't make good businesspeople. "The...

Editor's Letter.(Survival Guide for Healthcare Executives)
November 8, 2004... Byline: David Burda, editor Welcome to Modern Healthcare's second annual Survival Guide for Healthcare Executives. A lot has happened since our first Survival Guide appeared in the Nov. 24, 2003 issue, and much of what's happened has made...

He set our toes a-tappin'; Bandleader Lester Lanin left a legacy on and off the dance floor.(Publisher's Letter)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer I have always loved to ballroom dance. It's just plain fun. I have done it since my early teens. My mother, who trained in ballet when she was young, would teach me various steps so that when I went to school...

Done deal; Vista Health to consolidate services, close facility.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor In July 2003, the Federal Trade Commission indicated it would not challenge a merger between the only two acute-care hospitals in Waukegan, Ill., a suburb located about 40 miles north of Chicago. The system, called...

The hot seat; When making your case, it's important to know the purpose of the hearing.(Survival Guide for Healthcare Executives)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Jeff Tieman and Elizabeth Thompson Beckley It's not exactly the most relaxing setting one can imagine. Witnesses are seated in the oft-intimidating hearing room before a panel of lawmakers asking tough questions and cross-examining...

Death of a heart hospital; The Heart Hospital of Milwaukee is closing after 13 months. Is this an aberration or a sign of what's in store for other specialty facilities?
November 15, 2004... Byline: Michael Romano When MedCath Corp. pulled the plug last week on the Heart Hospital of Milwaukee, it marked the first failure in the brief and almost universally profitable history of U.S. specialty hospitals. But the demise of...

Docs lose in Texas; Ruling in FTC's favor not expected to alter IPA model.(The Week In Healthcare)(Federal Trade Commission)(independent practice association)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor An administrative law judge's decision last week favoring the Federal Trade Commission over a Texas physician independent practice association has provided the agency with a rare litigation triumph, but it is unlikely...

In memoriam.(News Makers)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Joseph Conn The first president of the American College of Emergency Physicians has died after an automobile accident in Florida on Oct. 28. John Wiegenstein, 74, and a passenger, his 6-year-old grandson, Parker Meyer, both of...

Late News; `Pockets of progress' not enough.
November 15, 2004... Five years after the Institute of Medicine's landmark report on medical errors, there are "pockets of progress,'' but significant clinical and policy changes await, industry experts said. "There is no national commitment to studying safety as a...

In line for concessions? Markup possible in Anthem-WellPoint merger plan.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko Anthem's long-delayed merger with WellPoint Health Networks could close as early as this month, some industry observers said, though the final price tag may rise if insurance regulators in other states demand...

A little innovation; Baylor launches biotech firm to sell cancer therapy.(The Week In Healthcare)(ODC Therapy)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Paul Barr You can license a medical advancement to a drug company, but you can't make it sell it. That belief led executives for Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, to fund and launch its own private biotech company, ODC...

HIPAA violator will serve time.(The Week In Healthcare)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor The sentencing of the first person convicted of violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act isn't likely to deter similar misconduct, health lawyers said, but it offers government prosecutors...

Other Voices.(Opinions)
November 15, 2004... "When he outlined his priorities after winning re-election last week, the president was still more obsessed with screwing personal injury attorneys than getting Americans healthcare. Malpractice caps assume that jurors are too stupid to...

Just leave it blank for now; Revision of healthcare accounting guidelines placed on hold as standard-setting agency FASB undergoes restructuring.(Special Report)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Paul Barr An effort to make it easier for healthcare organizations to keep their books straight has been derailed-at least temporarily-by major organizational changes taking place at the leading financial accounting standards...

The essentials of good governance; Financial literacy, organizational skills and access to the right data are critical.(Opinions; healthcare industry)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Dennis Pointer and Dennis Stillman The crossbar has been raised. Because of an avalanche of organizational debacles caused in part by problematic governance financial oversight, much more is expected of healthcare boards. The...

Called to lead; Trinity Health, Bon Secours name new chief execs.(The Week In Healthcare)(Bon Secours Health System Inc.)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans In back-to-back announcements last week, two Catholic health systems named chief executives to replace retiring officers. Trinity Health, Novi, Mich., selected Joseph Swedish to replace outgoing President and...

Not for the faint of heart; Milwaukee not big enough for 13 cardiac facilities.(News)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Joseph Conn An oversupply of heart programs-even for cheese-rich Wisconsin-and clannish physician referral patterns ultimately led to the demise of the Heart Hospital of Milwaukee after just 13 months of operation, according to two...

Defibrillator training a lifesaver at N.Y. hospital group's HQ.(Outliers: Asides & Insides)
November 15, 2004... The hardworking employees at the Greater New York Hospital Association are going home to their families a little earlier these days. What was a life-threatening event for Jenifer Fergusson, one of the association's most beloved employees, was a...

Booming industry; Faith-friendly hedge funds offer new investment options.(The Week In Healthcare)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Paul Barr The hedge fund boom sweeping the investment industry has left many faith-based healthcare investors standing on the sidelines, but that could change with the arrival of new hedge funds designed to meet their investment...

RWJ's Holzberg set to retire.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker Harvey Holzberg, president and CEO of 482-bed Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, N.J., announced he would retire after "an orderly transition'' to new leadership, probably by the end of the year....

Not just a number; AMIA supports patient identification numbers.(Physician Affairs)(American Medical Informatics Association)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Modern Physician The American Medical Informatics Association has come out in support of a proposed government-sponsored patient identification number to ease use of electronic medical records. The board of the 3,200-member...

Natural selection; As for-profits thrive, not-for-profits need to adapt to meet community needs.(Opinions)
November 15, 2004... Byline: David Burda Let's see. There are fewer hospitals, but in aggregate, they are making more money. For-profit hospitals are making up a larger share of all hospitals. Coincidence? There is a subtle but important change taking...

Blues keep pulling in lots of green.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Laura B. Benko The nation's Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans continued their wildfire profit and enrollment growth during the first half of 2004. According to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, combined net income for its...

The next generation; RFID could save millions of dollars: HDMA study.(The Week In Healthcare)(radio frequency identification)(Healthcare Distribution Management Association)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker As hospitals get comfortable with the idea of bar-coding at the bedside, a long-awaited study has made a compelling business case for next-generation technology: electronic product codes with radio-frequency...

Speaking engagement; How to have an audience hanging on your every word.(Publisher's Letter)(Column)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Charles S. Lauer Healthcare executives go to a lot of meetings, so many in fact that sometimes it all seems like a blur. At meetings, conferences and conventions, they hear many speakers on a myriad of topics. Most of the...

Where they come from.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Of the 23,681 physicians entering residency training programs in 2003, one-fifth were non-U.S. citizens, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges' Center for Workforce Studies. The number of non-U.S. citizen...

On the move ...(News Makers)(health care appointments)
November 15, 2004... HOSPITALS New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester has replaced its president, Roberto Rodriguez, with a consultant from Kurron Shares of America, a management consulting firm run by some former HCA executives. Phillip...

By the numbers.(The Week In Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Ethnicity and location of birth seem to play a role in whether someone will be uninsured in the U.S. in 2003, Hispanics and blacks were at the greatest risk of being uninsured. That same year, 13% of native-born Americans lacked insurance,...

Corrections & Clarifications.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
November 15, 2004... * The Vein Center Houston's expansion project, a notable but nonwinning entry included in this year's "Design Awards" story (Oct. 18, p. 42), was completed in 2003. Because an incorrect completion date had been submitted, the project was...

High premiums force Fla. docs to cut services: study.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Modern Physician More than half of the rural Florida physicians who took part in a survey last year said they had decreased or eliminated healthcare services over the previous year, according to a new study in the Nov. 8 issue of...

Osteopathic association, Snomed agree to encoding.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... Byline: Modern Physician The American Osteopathic Association and clinical-terminology code developer Snomed International have reached an agreement to encode into the Snomed Clinical Terminology hundreds of procedures, diagnoses and...

Contribution retribution; Health system, CEO must pay excise taxes after pressuring workers to help fund state association's PAC through payroll deductions let employees use payroll deductions to fund political committee.(Political Action Committee )
November 22, 2004... Byline: Mark Taylor Just weeks after one of the most divisive presidential elections in memory, an increasingly aggressive Internal Revenue Service has reminded not-for-profit health systems and their executives that politics and...

Quality gurus finding homes.(News Makers)(health care quality)(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Quality improvement as a healthcare career option seems to be on a growth curve, recent hires are showing. Minnesota's not-for-profit health plans have announced the formation of a new organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality...

In memoriam.(News Makers)(Obituary)
November 22, 2004... Byline: Melanie Evans * George Longshore, vice president of organizational effectiveness and human resources at Catholic Health Care East, was fatally shot Nov. 13 in a robbery on a northeast Washington street. He was 58. Two men...

On the move ...(News Makers)
November 22, 2004... HOSPITALS/SYSTEMS St. Joseph Health System in Orange, Calif., has named Deborah Proctor, 52, to replace outgoing President and CEO Richard Statuto. Statuto has been named CEO of Bon Secours Health System, Marriottsville, Md. (Nov. 15, p....

Other Voices.(Opinions)
November 22, 2004... "The government is living far beyond its means. The deficits it racks up year after year impede economic growth, burden future generations and force the United States to rely on foreign governments and investors. Since Mr. Bush took office,...

German leaves hospital to focus on St. Thomas system.(Physician Affairs)(Brief Article)
November 22, 2004... Byline: Modern Physician Physician executive Deborah German, M.D., is stepping down as president and chief executive officer of the 515-bed St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville to focus her attention on medical programs in her new position as...

A veteran IT system; The VA's Vista software package may have shortcomings, but its price tag isn't one of them.(Information Edge)(Column)
November 22, 2004... Byline: Joseph Conn At Southeast Mental Health Center, money is too tight to mention. Just ask Gene Lawrence, the chief executive officer. The facility runs lean because it has to, he says. The not-for-profit corporation operates a...

Late News; Few hospitals plan succession.
November 22, 2004... Eight in 10 free-standing hospitals surveyed said they didn't routinely prepare for turnover among midlevel and top leadership, according to a survey by the American College of Healthcare Executives. Larger hospitals and those with older chief...

RFID gets push from feds.(The Week In Healthcare)(Radio Frequency Identification)(Brief Article)(Column)
November 22, 2004... Byline: Cinda Becker The Food and Drug Administration announced an initiative last week to stimulate use of radio frequency identification, or RFID, to secure the nation's drug supply, bringing the industry a step closer to a 2007 target...

So close, yet so far away; Opinions differ on post-report safety, quality.(The Week In Healthcare)(Column)
November 22, 2004... Byline: Tony Fong When Mark Neaman first saw the 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err is Human, he was horrified, he said. According to the report, as many as 98,000 Americans die each year from unnecessary medical errors, and like...