February 22, 2010 Physician groups and other industry stakeholders say they're ready to work with the Food and Drug Administration on its newly announced initiative to reduce patient exposure to excess radiation during imaging procedures. But some expressed uncertainty about whether one or more of the agency's... ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea February 22, 2010 The reactions were swift, vocal and emotionally charged last November when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force uprooted years of firmly entrenched advice that women 40 and older receive annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer. ... FULL STORY
December 28, 2009 The Food and Drug Administration's expanding investigation into why some patients undergoing CT perfusion brain scans have received excessive amounts of radiation highlights a need for tighter, more uniform dosage guidelines and equipment standardization, say some imaging experts familiar with the... ... FULL STORY
By Jean DerGurahian August 24, 2009 In the past year, Wellmont Health System has taken a hard look at its operating numbers, and decided things aren't adding up. After conducting audits and restating some previous financial reports, the health system is initiating cost-saving measures to improve performance. ... FULL STORY
February 23, 2009 Plans to funnel $1.1 billion through a stimulus provision to federal health agencies in an effort to compare drugs, medical devices and even procedures have come under fire by some policy analysts who say the government is ill-equipped to lead such efforts. ... FULL STORY
February 09, 2009 A report suggests that the use of the World Health Organization's pre-surgical safety checklist leads to an 11% decline in the number of post-surgical complications—including a 1.5% drop in the ultimate complication: death. ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea January 26, 2009 A CMS proposal to expand Medicare coverage of PET scans that are used to diagnose and determine stages of cancer may provide a clinical boon to patients and some increased reimbursement opportunities for physicians and hospitals, but providers aren’t likely to rush out and buy the equipment if the... ... FULL STORY
December 17, 2007 Medical-profession associations appear on payment-disclosure lists posted on orthopedic-device makers’ Web sites, prompting some policymakers to suggest the payments are further evidence of how far-reaching industry influence is on medicine. ... FULL STORY
December 03, 2007 Some critics of vendor-marketing practices are questioning whether a $311 million settlement to end a long-running physician-kickback case will do much to curb influence-peddling between devicemakers and docs. ... FULL STORY
November 19, 2007 A study showing medical institutions are as likely to sign up for financial relationships with industry as individual docs and researchers will likely spur greater scrutiny of those arrangements, but experts say a wholesale ban is unlikely. ... FULL STORY
October 05, 2007 The National Children’s Study, a joint effort between HHS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, awarded contracts to 22 new study centers to manage participant recruitment and data collection nationwide. The study was developed in response to the Children’s Health Act of 2000, when Congress... ... FULL STORY
April 02, 2007 The growing trend toward "at home" care and the technology that enables will affect a broad swath of healthcare workers. While the first impact will be on geriatric-care managers, it will spread to home healthcare agencies and chains, disease management specialists, physicians and... ... FULL STORY
By Joseph Mantone August 09, 2006 In a notice to be published in the <i>Federal Register</i> on Aug. 11, the Food and Drug Administration will seek comment on the implications of an identification system for medical devices. ... FULL STORY
By Jessica Zigmond January 25, 2006 Healthcare purchasers in three cities with significant development of physician-owned specialty hospitals generally believe such hospitals are contributing to a medical "arms race" that is driving up healthcare costs without a significant improvement in quality, according to an issue brief by the... ... FULL STORY
By Tony Fong October 21, 2005 It would be illegal for physicians with ownership in new specialty facilities to refer patients to the facilities under a budget reconciliation bill released by the Senate Finance Committee. ... FULL STORY
By Paul Barr August 09, 2005 The CMS could ease some pressure placed on acute-care hospitals by specialty hospitals by correcting inaccurate Medicare relative prospective payment rates, according to a Health Affairs article. ... FULL STORY
By Tony Fong August 01, 2005 Three leading House Democrats asked the CMS to determine why specialty hospitals treat fewer minorities than general acute-care hospitals and to continue a moratorium on certifying new physician-owned specialty hospitals until it does so. ... FULL STORY
By Other News Source July 29, 2005 I am writing in response to Cinda Becker's July 12 article, "Specialty cardiac hospitals treating less ill patients." I guess we must remind our readership that hospitals are communal goods. ... FULL STORY
By Other News Source July 28, 2005 The July 21 letter written by Dave Rogers, M.D., regarding Cinda Becker's article, "Specialty cardiac hospitals treating less ill patients," suggested that the title is a self-evident presumption. I respectfully disagree, and found the article worthwhile. ... FULL STORY
By Other News Source July 21, 2005 With regards to Cinda Becker's July 12 article, Specialty cardiac hospitals treating less ill patients, of course they treat less ill patients. ... FULL STORY
By Cinda Becker July 12, 2005 Specialty cardiac hospitals are treating patients who are less severely ill than patients undergoing bypass surgery or angioplasty at nonspecialty hospitals in the same communities, according to research by Solucient. ... FULL STORY
By Michael Romano June 10, 2005 A new federal study says that as many as 37 new specialty hospitals could open in the next year or so even if Congress extends the moratorium on physician referral to these niche facilities. ... FULL STORY
By Michael Romano June 09, 2005 An 18-month moratorium on physician self-referrals to specialty hospitals officially ended, with both sides in the debate expressing satisfaction and promising to continue the fight. ... FULL STORY
By Tony Fong June 07, 2005 Michael Lipomi, legislative co-chairman and former president of the American Surgical Hospital Association, said June 8 will be a day to celebrate. That is the date an 18-month moratorium on new physician-owned specialty hospitals expires. ... FULL STORY
By Tony Fong May 24, 2005 Senate Republican leaders said extending a moratorium on physician self-referral to specialty hospitals "was not warranted" but came out in favor of Medicare payment reforms advocated by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the CMS. ... FULL STORY
By Michael Romano May 16, 2005 Two powerful senators kicked off the newest round in the legislative fight over specialty hospitals last week, introducing a bill that would impose a permanent ban on physician referrals to boutique facilities in which the doctors hold a financial interest. ... FULL STORY
By Tony Fong May 13, 2005 The CMS said it expects to refine DRGs to recognize differences in patient severity between general acute-care and specialty hospitals and will review specific DRGs, in cardiac and orthopedic care, for example, that may be overpaid. ... FULL STORY
By Michael Romano May 12, 2005 A bill introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) would permanently exclude specialty hospitals from the "whole-hospital" exemption in physician self-referral law, establishing a powerful disincentive for new physician investment in specialty hospitals. ... FULL STORY
By Michael Romano May 09, 2005 Physician-owned Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital alleges that a subsidiary of HCA spearheaded a conspiracy to pressure managed-care companies to boycott Heartland over the past two years. ... FULL STORY
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