“Health Outcomes Driving New Hospital Design,” reads the headline in this morning’s New York Times. The basic thesis of the article: an increasing number of hospitals are replacing semi-private with private rooms in new and upgraded facilities because scientific evidence shows that they’re better for patients. The writer of this article has evidently been drinking the Kool-Aid of...
Health Care Industry Archive
May 2009
As the details of Congressional health reform proposals are made public, the knives are being sharpened for the battle to come. The American Hospital Association (AHA) has already joined the fight with a 15-page letter to the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) protesting some of its proposed changes in Medicare payments to hospitals. Referring to the policy options that the SFC set forth in an...
The largest and most detailed national survey of physician practices about their costs of dealing with health plans found that they spend $31 billion a year on it. According to the study, which was published in Health Affairs, physicians spend about three hours a week interacting with insurers; clinical and administrative staff devote much more time to it. Nurses bestow an average of 3.8 hours...
President Obama thought the number was $2 trillion. So did The New York Times. But the American Hospital Association, seconded by American’s Health Insurance Plans, now says that that figure does not accurately represent the amount of savings that a coalition of industry groups committed to over the next decade. AHA Executive Vice President Richard Pollack told his organization’s member...
The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the relationship between physicians and the drug industry shows how far we’ve come in the last few years, and how far we still have to go. In 2006, ten leading academicians and the head of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) criticized the conflicts of interest that many physicians and clinical researchers had because of their...
So far, there is little data proving the value of the “patient-centered medical home” (PCMH), a new model for primary care that has gained the attention of corporations, health plans, and government officials. Yet public and private payers are mounting demonstration projects across the land; the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) has already certified 800 physicians as...
Retail Clinics Take a New Slant – The economics of retail clinics have turned out to be less than stellar. While there are still around 1,000 of them across the country, an increasing number of the clinics are backed by or affiliated with hospitals, which can generate extra revenue by using them as referral sources. Wal Mart, which closed the majority of its retail clinics last year and...
The Obama Administration’s reaction to the healthcare industry’s offer to cut $2 trillion in costs over the next decade was predictably favorable. Administration officials said that if the industry could fulfill its commitment, it would cut the average annual cost of coverage for a family of four by $2,500 in the fifth year. Equally important, the pledge from groups representing health...
Once again, Massachusetts is pointing the way toward a possible model for national healthcare reform—but one that most healthcare providers would have a hard time swallowing. To reduce costs that are rising at 8 percent annually, a state commission will soon recommend that insurance companies pay hospitals and physicians a lump sum to treat each patient for a year. And if that’s not...
Spring has arrived, and hope is rising that the United States might finally be on the verge of universal health coverage. But, as many observers have pointed out, access to health insurance is not the same as access to health care. Massachusetts, for example, has achieved near-universal coverage; but because of a shortage of primary-care physicians, only 52 percent of internists were accepting...
- Healthcare Industry Has an Amazing Decade
- MGMA Calls For Careful Design and Testing of Meaningful Use
- Healthcare Roundup: Aetna Layoffs, Lakeside Absorbed, ASCs Rake in Profits, Retail Clinics Forecast to Grow, and More
- The House Busts The Budget By Passing a "Doc Fix"
- Grassley's Attack on Reform Belies Some Earlier Stands
- Senate's Unified Reform Bill Owes Much to Finance Committee
- White House Puts Focus On Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
- Hospitals Recovering From Recession Woes
- Doctor Shortage Is Worsening, Say Hospital CEOs
- Interest Groups Redouble Fight on Healthcare Reform
- Kerry Bill Would Help Physicians Borrow Money For EHRs
- Provider Cost Reports Have Little Impact on Consumer Choice
- Hospital Mergers Are A Major Health Cost Driver
- Comparison of Health Reform Bills Reveals Key issues
- New Mexico Information Exchange Shows Potential of Obama HIT Campaign
- More Insurance Competition Will Not Reduce Costs
- Some Health Reform Questions for The President
- Interest Groups Redouble Fight on Healthcare Reform
- NEJM Roundtable on Health Cost Control Offers Insights
- House Health-Care Reform Bill Deserves Public Support
- House Health Reform Bill Does Not Please Many in Health Care
- White House Puts Focus On Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
- No Rationing, Say Experts, But Public Doesn't Hear
Subscribe to Health Care blog comments RSS 
- Why So Many Insured People Have Big Medical Debts
- Physicians Know We Need Reform
- Healthcare Roundup: Medical Office Space in Demand, Blues Companies See Lower Income, Two Sides of Health Insurance, and More
- Hospital Chain's Turnaround Raises Health Spending
- Healthcare Is Still Adding Jobs, Despite Recession
- The Rationing Debate Starts To Heat Up
- Right-Sizing The Physician Workforce
- Physicians Finally Getting Help to Become Medical Homes
Industry Transcripts by Seeking Alpha
- Medtronic Inc. F2Q10 (Qtr End 10/30/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- ZOLL Medical Corporation F4Q09 (Qtr End 27/09/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- RadNet, Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
- Cytori Therapeutics Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
- StoneMor Partners L.P. 3Q09 (Qtr End 9/30/09) Earnings Call Transcript
- How to choose the right insurance carrier for your business
- Real Estate: Prepare your properties to weather what lies ahead
- Technology: Be prepared if part of your global supply chain goes missing
Archives
Recommended Sources
About Health Care Industry
BNET Healthcare provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives, focusing on major health care providers, hospitals and facilities, insurance companies, and medical device manufacturers. In addition to detailed company profiles, you will find detailed industry analysis on new alliances and partnerships, healthcare products, medical patents, health care cost control, lawsuits, management and board changes, and all other important business issues.