Author's posts
Tenet, Trinity among the 1,300 joining latest bundled-pay model
Around 1,300 providers, including 832 hospitals have joined the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement advanced payment model. The CMS will pay providers a known fixed price for an episode of care. Participants will be at risk for up to 20% of costs…
Therapy dogs could spread antibiotic-resistant bacteria, so is it time for hospitals to examine protocol to ensure patient safety?
Hospitals might want to reexamine their policies around therapy dogs in order to ensure patient safety.
Mayo complete $1.5 billion Epic EHR implementation
At nearly a tenth the cost of the VA’s Cerner EHR project, the Mayo Clinic Epic implementation was huge—one of the largest projects the health system has ever undertaken, according to outgoing CEO Dr. John Noseworthy.
Private equity interest in orthopedic practices expected to balloon
A new report from Edgemont Capital says private equity investment in orthopedic practices will increase in the next five years. The author knows of four or five such deals in the works.
Recovering addicts sue rehab boss for unpaid labor
A federal lawsuit contends the operators of a North Carolina drug rehab program farmed out recovering addicts to work in adult care homes and restaurants and pocketed the wages for the labor they performed.
CMS preparing rules for nursing home staff fines, home personal care oversight
The CMS is in the process of implementing federal laws giving it authority to impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines on nursing home staffers who don’t report crimes and to require state Medicaid agencies to launch systems tracking…
Summa Health could be an intriguing partner for UPMC, HCA
As a wave of healthcare mergers and acquisitions sweeps the country (just last week, Cleveland Clinic announced it acquired a three-hospital health system and a separate medical center in Florida), news of Summa looking for a partner didn’t come as…
Medicare Advantage plans shift their financial risk to doctors
This model—known as “full-risk” or “global risk”—is increasingly used by Medicare plans such as Humana and UnitedHealthcare to shift their financial exposure from costly patients to physician-management companies.
Detroit Medical Center’s cardiology program faces problems
Hospital insiders say Detroit Medical Center’s cardiology department is facing problems that have roots to old issues; difficult production goals for heart and vascular procedures and high profit expectations by its parent company Tenet.
FDA expands use of cervical cancer vaccine up to age 45
U.S. regulators Friday expanded the use of Merck’s cervical cancer vaccine to adults up to age 45.
