MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'hospital systems'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:52:21 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169511&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwill-hired-executives-let-healing.html Hospital - noun, 1.  a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm or young  2.  an institution where the sick or injured are given medical or surgical care, Merriam-Webster             - noun.  1.  an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people, Oxford DictionaryTwo recent NY Times articles raise concerns that changes in leadership may cause hospitals to stray from their original purpose.  Cook County Health and Hospitals SystemThe first NY Times article discussed leadership of Cook County Health and Hospitals System (in the Chicago, IL area). This is a public health system whose mission was traditionally "to serve Cook County... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169511 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:20:00 +0100 5169511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008077&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F07%2Fbeing-non-profit-hospital-ceo-means.html When my arm was twisted heartily to see the movie "Love Story" a very long time ago, I could never understand why so many audience members sighed upon hearing that immortal line, "love means never having to say you're sorry."  I could not understand it then, and still cannot.However, it seems that for reasons that are not any more clear, being the CEO of a not-for-profit hospital or hospital system also means never having to say you are sorry, as shown in some recent stories from the media. Not Sorry for LeavingOriginally published in the Fargo (ND) InForum:The merger 1½ years ago of Sanford Health and MeritCare created a new entity that doubled in size and covers a service area of more than 130,000 square miles.But the unified health care giant needed only one top executive, and the... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008077 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:59:00 +0100 5008077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893342&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fshould-phenomenal-1-million-ceo-be.html A recent story with some local color once again illustrates the cognitive dissonance evoked by current patterns of compensation of health care leaders.Let me start chronologically. The Stratospheric Compensation of the CEO, and Its JustificationIn 2009, the compensation given to the CEO of the Palomar Pomerado Health, a public health system in the vicinity of San Diego, California, provided some headlines. As reported then by the San Diego Times-Union,Palomar Pomerado Health CEO Michael Covert has received a 26 percent — or $154,000 — pay raise.The increase, approved by the hospital district’s board of directors last month, is retroactive to July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, board Chairman Bruce Krider said.The increase brought Covert’s pay from $582,000 a year to $736,000 ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893342 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:40:00 +0100 4893342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658348&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fhow-large-health-care-organizations-set.html In conclusion, I strongly support Supri and Malone's final sentiments:The sum of the 'rules of the game' devised by these organizations has resulted in a fragmented, haphazard and broken system of health care. Reform is long overdue, and demands root and branch transformation of the 'rules of the game' governing the US institution of medicine. This requires us to understand these rules, who is setting them, and how these rules are being used to exploit the system of medicine. Only then can we begin to heal our ailing health care system.Well said!But now almost 8 years since the publication of "A Cautionary Tale," we still have a long way to go.References1.  Poses RM. A cautionary tale: the dysfunction of American health care.  Eur J Inte Med 2003; 14: 123-130.  Link here.2.&... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658348 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:13:00 +0100 4658348 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464459&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fwhy-werent-existing-laws-about-hospital.html Public radio station KUOW reported on the generous compensation given hospital CEOs in Washington:KUOW has learned that 15 hospital executives in Washington made $1 million or more in 2009. That elite group includes 14 nonprofit executives and one head of a government hospital. CEOs at Multicare, Providence, Virginia Mason and Valley Medical each made more than $2 million.Those numbers can be found in the hospitals' latest tax filings and other public records. The pattern was more lopsided in the two prior years. Nobody working at a public hospital cracked the top 10 list of the state's highest hospital paychecks in 2007 or 2008.But then the story takes an interesting twist:Most of Washington's largest hospitals are nonprofit organizations. The state gives the nonprofits a break on th... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464459 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:19:00 +0100 4464459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294628&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fstick-to-one-er-avoid-unnecessary-tests%2F2010.12.28 Via Kaiser Health News: On a recent Friday night at the Boston Children’s Hospital ER, Dr. Fabienne Bourgeois was having difficulty treating a 17-year-old boy with a heart problem. The teen had transferred in  from another hospital, where he had already had an initial work-up — including a chest X-ray and an EKG to check the heart’s electrical activity. But by the time he reached pediatrician Bourgeois, she had no access to those records so she gave him another EKG and chest X-ray. He was on multiple medications, and gave her a list of them. But his list differed from the one his mother gave doctors, neither of which matched the list his previous hospital had sent along. This is excellent advice. Every ED has seen a patient, probably today, with “they saw me at the ER across t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294628 Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:00:10 +0100 4294628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4167924&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fabout-to-be-bought-out-non-profit.html A report from FloridaToday (in Brevard County) about the sale of a not-for-profit Florida hospital system to a for-profit corporation raises some interesting questions. The background is that the non-profit Wuesthoff Health System was bought by for-profit Health Management Associates (HMA):HMA, a for-profit hospital management company in Naples, bought the not-for-profit Wuesthoff Oct. 1 for $145 million. Wuesthoff lawyer William Kopit has said it was forced to sell because the hospital system lacked the capital to compete.The question is about the conditions of the sale:A foundation formed to manage the proceeds of the sale and continue providing indigent health care has refused to disclose the executive packages to the state, claiming it constitutes a trade-secret exemption under Florida... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4167924 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:22:00 +0100 4167924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082035&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fmore-on-hospital-market-dominance.html This week two more articles appeared describing how large hospital systems use market dominance to charge more.  Naturally, both were in news publications, not scholarly health services research journals.San FranciscoKaiser Health News (via the Contra Costa [CA] Times) discussed hospital market dominance in the San Francisco area.  The article documented how particular systems can command higher prices. Consider the example of John Muir Health vs San Ramon Medical Center:Often, a hospital's dominance in an area helps determine how much it can charge, experts say. Consider John Muir Health, a two-hospital nonprofit system in the East Bay. With campuses in Concord and Walnut Creek, John Muir has the biggest footprint in the local hospital market, accounting for 54 percent of all th... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082035 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 02:38:00 +0100 4082035 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3998926&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fhealth-care-leaders-in-maine-fail-to.html From down east Maine comes a telling story about the problems of contemporary health care leadership.  I assembled this case from three articles by Meg Haskell in the Bangor Daily News, links are below. (1-3)Complaints About the CEO's Clinical PoliciesThe story begins with complaints about clinical policies instituted by the CEO of Acadia Hospital.[Acadia CEO David] Proffitt has come under fire in recent weeks from current and former Acadia Hospital employees who say the incidence and severity of staff injuries have risen since he initiated a policy that essentially eliminates the use of mechanical and physical restraints with mentally ill patients who become violent. (2)The concerns were raised with government agencies:Since the end of July, the federal Occupational Safety and H... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3998926 Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:40:00 +0100 3998926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965366&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fsmall-hospital-system-loses-61-million.html As we have quoted many times, sunlight is the best disinfectant.  New US Internal Revenue Service requirements for reporting by not-for-profit organizations has resulted in more transparency about the finances of many health care organizations, and this transparency has shown that the culture of perverse incentives and management privilege has spread far and wide.How far and wide?  Consider this story in the (Harford County, Maryland) Aegis:Harford County’s Upper Chesapeake Health lost $70 million because of bad bets in the derivatives markets two years ago, but still paid its chief executive more than $900,000 in annual salary and bonuses.According to figures from their latest tax returns and from the state agency that regulates hospital rates, Upper Chesapeake Medical Center ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965366 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:47:00 +0100 3965366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3957869&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fgolden-parachute-for-captain-outrageous.html A year ago, I posted about leadership and governance problems at Northeast Health Systems, a small hospital system located in neighboring Massachusetts.  The colorful story included leaders who solicited money from the community but concealed what they were doing from the same community, an adolescent pregnancy pact after the hospital system refused to provide confidential birth control information at the high school clinic it ran, a hospital vice-president accused of art theft, various cuts, some concealed, of medical services, accusations of conflicts of interest affecting the board of trustees, and no-confidence votes by nurses and physicians. Finally, Stephen Laverty, the CEO held responsible for much of the mess, resigned and things quieted down a bit.  H... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3957869 Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:35:00 +0100 3957869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3913116&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fmore-examples-of-us-hospital-market.html Two recent stories from two different parts of the US continue the theme of ever increasing concentration of power in our health care system.ConnecticutThe Hartford Business Journal reported on growing interest in mergers among small Connecticut hospitals.Rising costs and reductions in government reimbursements related to health care reform could lead to consolidation among the state’s 29 acute care hospitals in the coming months and years, industry experts said.Indeed signs of consolidation in Connecticut are already taking shape. Danbury and New Milford hospitals, for example, recently signed an affiliation agreement that will put both organizations under the control of a single corporate parent.Meanwhile, the Central Connecticut Health Alliance, which is the parent company of the Hosp... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3913116 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:48:00 +0100 3913116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3872508&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fst-vincents-goes-bankrupt-executives.html St. Vincent's Hospital in the Greenwich Village section of New York City was a landmark institution which filed for bankruptcy in April, 2010, and then closed its doors.  BackgroundA New York Times article written earlier this year described an institution "threatened with extinction" because it stuck to its mission of "compassionate care" in a health care environment that values "fancy equipment and celebrity doctors."  Thus, "officials blamed a high rate of poor and uninsured patients as well as cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and the hospital's inability to negotiate favorable contracts with health insurance companies...."  Painting Another PictureHowever, a story this week in the grittier New York Post painted a different picture:St. Vincent's Hospital was looted by execs ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3872508 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:49:00 +0100 3872508 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585560&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2F78-million-golden-parachute-for-not-for.html These sorts of hits just keep on coming.  This story comes from the Baltimore Sun. The Golden ParachuteFirst, let us just review the financial details,Former University of Maryland Medical System CEO Edmond F. Notebaert, who resigned two years ago during a tumultuous time that included infighting and a board shakeup, is again the subject of controversy over his $7.8 million pay package.The package included $2.4 million in severance, about $639,000 in salary for seven months, deferred bonuses and contributions to a retirement plan that instantly vested when he left. By the way, Mr Notebeart did not actually go into retirement after he received this largess,A spokeswoman for Temple University, where Notebaert now heads the health system, said he was not available for comment.The Justifi... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585560 Thu, 20 May 2010 21:18:00 +0100 3585560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366160&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fcity-hospital-system-board-member-fined.html Sometimes I think I have now seen every type of conflict of interest that could afflict health care, but then some amazing new variation on the theme comes along...Last year, the New York Times reported on an unusual deal between the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and a proprietary (for-profit) Caribbean medical school that attracts US citizens who were not admitted to US medical schools:New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation has signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with a profit-making medical school in the Caribbean to provide clinical training for hundreds of students at the city’s 11 public hospitals.The unusual deal, proposed by a member of the corporation’s board who has long worked for the Caribbean school, has been met by an outcry from New York m... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366160 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:23:00 +0100 3366160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3246860&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fmore-settlements-christ-hospital-teva.html For the end of the week, a round-up of the latest legal settlements involving large health care organizations, in alphabetical order....Christ Hospital (Cincinnati, Ohio)As reported by the Business Courier of Cincinnati:Christ Hospital and the federal government have reached a settlement agreement on a whistleblower lawsuit that accused the hospital of defrauding federal health-care programs.The suit alleged that Christ Hospital and the Ohio Heart Health Center cardiology practice, which Christ Hospital has since bought, 'devised a scheme that provided cardiologists improper financial incentives in exchange for generating revenue for the hospital,' according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Potential liability was reported to be as high as $424 million across the Health Alliance and its f... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3246860 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:07:00 +0100 3246860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3235796&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fhospital-executive-pay-in-land-where.html In the US, it seems to be the season for news reports on the pay of hospital executives.  Here are reports from three states in the southeast, in alphabetical order.FloridaThe St Petersburg (FL) Times reported on the total compensation of local hospital executives:While many workers in the Tampa Bay area have had their wages frozen or reduced in the past few years, life has been kinder to chief executives at nonprofit hospitals in the Tampa Bay area.A bright light in a dim economy, most local tax-exempt hospitals have continued to post surpluses, despite losses on investments and the growing number of uninsured. And the executives at the helms of these organizations have been duly rewarded by their community-based boards, according to the federal tax filings required of such organizat... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3235796 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:48:00 +0100 3235796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231433&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fnoticing-elephant-in-room-bigger.html We recently discussed a report on hospital prices here in Rhode Island, which showed that hospitals that are part of hospital systems were paid more for the same services than independent hospitals.  The price differences could not be explained by quality of care or severity of illness.  The results suggested that market power determines the price of hospital services, and that increasing concentration of power in hospital networks is likely to further increase costs, without improving quality of care.  The end of last week, a similar report out of the neighboring state of Massachusetts was announced.  As reported by Liz Kowalczyk in the Boston Globe,Massachusetts insurance companies pay some hospitals and doctors twice as much money as others for es... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231433 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:07:00 +0100 3231433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3200404&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fprice-is-what.html Many in the US believe that a free market in health care is a good idea.  Some actually assert that the US health care system amounts to a free market.  More evidence against that assertion was provided this week by an article in our local paper, the Providence Journal, by Felice Freyer. For the first time ever, the Rhode Island state health insurance commissioner published a report comparing what insurers pay different hospitals for the same services:If you had surgery at Kent Hospital, your insurer would pay Kent significantly more than if you had the exact same procedure at South County Hospital –– even if the same doctor did the work. On average, Kent is getting paid nearly twice as much as South County for inpatient care, according to a new report from the health insuran... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3200404 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0100 3200404 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441289&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fhealthsouths-digital-hospital-from-era.html The trial for a civil law-suit against Richard Scrushy, the former CEO of for-profit rehabilitation hospital chain HealthSouth, is currently in progress. One bit of testimony provided a reminder about how supposed "innovations" in health care are uncritically accepted. As reported by the Birmingham (Alabama, US) News:HealthSouth Corp. Chief Executive Jay Grinney has concluded his testimony in the Richard Scrushy civil trial, ending with a devastating critique of the so-called 'digital hospital.''It was a very bad business decision that made no sense,' Grinney said of the half-completed Scrushy brainchild on U.S. 280 he inherited when he took over in 2004.Ending his sixth hour of testimony over two days, Grinney said the hospital had an original budget of $200 million, and that much had alr... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441289 Wed, 20 May 2009 20:11:00 +0100 2441289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2272569&cid=t_167863_113_f&fid=34621&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthcareGuy%2F%7E3%2FnutFSkpaL3M%2F503 Given all the attention being given to healthcare IT these days (especially because of the stimulus bill), many of my readers were wondering how to get into the market (jobs, contracts, etc). I asked Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of pharmacy technician online programs, to tell us what she’s seeing these days. Here’s what she had to say about the healthcare IT job market. There’s an inherent satisfaction in working in the healthcare field – you feel fulfilled because you’re helping people get better and get over ailments that get them down. But on the flip side, you’re exposed to suffering and pain on a continuous basis, and for some people, this leads to a great deal of stress. If you want to remain in the healthcare sector and yet avoid all the hardships ... The Healthcare IT Guy blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2272569 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:59:14 +0100 2272569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2256081&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fmore-gravity-defying-compensation-for.html Two recent articles featured more about gravity-defying compensation given to the leaders of not-for-profit health care organizations. We had recently posted about how the CEO of one not-for-profit health care insurer rose while the organization's revenue and enrollment fell. Similarly, from the Detroit News,Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan -- the state's largest insurer -- gave pay hikes to six top-level executives in 2008 and doled out generous retirement packages for four former senior vice presidents, despite the nonprofit organization's loss of $144 million last year.The organization's deteriorating financial health, a justification for Blue Cross officials wanting to raise rates on its line of individual insurance policies, had prompted widespread job cuts at the Detroit-based insu... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2256081 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:51:00 +0100 2256081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2060906&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fsuing-poor-patients-in-maryland.html The Baltimore Sun published a series of articles reporting how some Maryland hospitals have been zealous in their pursuit of money from poor patients, in spite of a state program that is supposed to make sure hospitals are fairly reimbursed for the care of the poor. The series opened with this case:Willie Mae White began worrying how she'd pay the $36,224 bill from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center a few weeks after having emergency brain surgery. She lived off Social Security and food stamps after decades working as a housekeeper. So she was thrilled when Bayview informed her in writing that her bill would be forgiven, at least in part. The hospital had little to lose, since it can recover its costs of free and unpaid care under a unique state program. Instead, the hospital sued her 15... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2060906 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:14:00 +0100 2060906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1883291&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fascension-healths-descent-away-from-its.html This week, the Wall Street Journal continued its series on US not-for-profit hospitals and health systems with a story about how Ascension Health is abandoning inner-city Detroit for the more affluent suburbs,Ascension Health, the country's largest nonprofit hospital system, says its mission is to serve all, 'with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable.' But in this city, where one in four people don't have health insurance, it's become harder for the poor and vulnerable to find Ascension.Last year, Ascension's local subsidiary closed Riverview Hospital, the third hospital it has shut down in Detroit in the past 10 years and the only hospital that remained on the city's blighted east side. Meanwhile, 30 miles away, in a suburb of multimillion-dollar homes, Ascension is open... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1883291 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:35:00 +0100 1883291 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1739036&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fmerger-mania-redux-case-of-carilion.html The Wall Street Journal published an article on how one not-for-profit hospital system came to dominate its market, and the effects of that domination on local health care.How the System Became DominantThe WSJ article documented how a hospital merger created a vertically-integrated health care system. Note that in the old days of "merger mania," there was a lot of buzz in the health care research and policy circles about how creating such integrated systems to benefit quality and access, and lower costs. This rationale appears below.In 1989, the U.S. Department of Justice tried but failed to prevent a merger between nonprofit Carilion Health System and this former railroad town's other hospital. The merger, it warned in an unsuccessful antitrust lawsuit, would create a monopoly over medica... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739036 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:30:00 +0100 1739036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1475124&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fhospitals-use-patients-personal.html The San Francisco Chronicle reported about how not-for-profit hospitals use information about individual patients for fund-raising:When patients check into hospitals or doctor offices, they presume their information will be kept in strictest confidence, but often, amid the pile of papers, they overlook fine print describing how their personal information can be farmed out for fundraising.Hospitals and other health care organizations widely use patient information, without patients' explicit permission, to raise funds. To the dismay of privacy-rights advocates and some in the medical field, fundraising to benefit medical institutions is allowed under federal law.Patients can opt out - after the fact.Typically in medical settings, patients are handed booklets called 'notice of privacy practi... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1475124 Wed, 28 May 2008 20:52:00 +0100 1475124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1436813&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fhospital-ceo-censors-internet-only-to.html The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram just ran a six-part series about the misfortunes of the JPS Health Network, a large county hospital network and health care system. The story had several twists. (See this page for links to the latter part of the series and related articles. The first three parts are here, here and here. )The series emphasized the overcrowding and long waits, problems with equipment and the physical plant, and jaded, demoralized staff that unfortunately fit stereotypes of underfunded public hospitals. Here are some quotes from the introduction to the first part of the series:The waiting room reeked. Along a crowded hallway, patients lay in beds, with only a thin curtain for privacy. Nurses readying for a new case in surgery noticed blood, bone and globules of fat on the... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1436813 Mon, 12 May 2008 21:32:00 +0100 1436813 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1198665&cid=t_167863_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Freal-estate-deals-conflicts-of-interest.html Last week, an article in Newsday raised concerns about conflicts of interest affecting one of the largest US health care systems.The Northshore - Long Island Jewish Health System claims to be the third-largest, not-for-profit secular health care system in the US. It has a $4 billion yearly operating budget, employs 37,000, and claims to be the ninth-largest employer in the New York City area.The Newsday article recounted a large real-estate transaction between the hospital system and a company lead by a prominent member of its board of trustees.The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System is paying about $300 million to lease a major facility from its own vice chairman's real estate partnership, leading some to question how Long Island's biggest nonprofit handles potential conflicts of... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1198665 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:05:00 +0100 1198665