By Andis Robeznieks | October 31, 2011
| Print Magazine
You've gotten used to seeing it on your refrigerator and on your computer printer for years now. According to some experts, you'll soon be seeing the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star logo more and more on hospitals. FULL STORY »
By Andis Robeznieks | October 17, 2011
| Print Magazine
Dr. John Byrne, chairman of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Department of Cardiac Surgery, says he remembers the date April 4, 2005, as if it were the birthday of one of his children.That was the day Nashville-based VUMC's first cardiac surgery/invasive cardiology hybrid operating room opened—after six months of weekly meetings with architects—and Byrne's life hasn't been the same since.“Our hybrid OR was among the first in the country,” Byrne says. FULL STORY »
By Andis Robeznieks | July 25, 2011
| Print Magazine
According to Craig Knowles, three out of four people visiting a hospital are heading toward a destination they've never been to before. Not surprisingly then, he says, one of the biggest complaints hospital visitors have is getting lost. FULL STORY »
By Joseph Conn | October 10, 2011
| Print Magazine
A sense of mission and urgency were the twin themes of the American Health Information Management Association's 83rd annual convention in Salt Lake City last week. FULL STORY »
Two years ago this month, Modern Healthcare first reported on the status of cloud computing in the healthcare information technology industry, noting there was little awareness of its potential and limited uptake of cloud services in the healthcare IT industry at that time. FULL STORY »
Two organizations and six individuals are winners of the 2011 awards for outstanding achievement in applied medical informatics from the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems. FULL STORY »
By Joe Carlson | December 19, 2011
| Print Magazine
Hospital fire fact: If a small blaze broke out next to an MRI machine, would-be firefighters couldn't use a traditional metal extinguisher because powerful magnetism might yank it out of their hands. FULL STORY »
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to intervene in a False Claims Act lawsuit that accuses a public hospital in central Florida and its independent payroll firm of violating the Stark law in its relations with nine specialty physicians. FULL STORY »
By Andis Robeznieks | July 04, 2011
| Print Magazine
Current trends aside, not all physicians want to be employed, but many are finding the challenges of maintaining an independent practice more trouble than they are worth. One option available to these doctors is to hook up with like-minded souls in an independent physician association. FULL STORY »
More than 560 of the nation's nursing homes have not budged for the past three years from a one-star federal government rating—the lowest on a five-star scale—even as most homes improved. FULL STORY »
Omnicare's argument that the Federal Trade Commission has already declared the institutional pharmacy market competitive fails to take into account the full impact of Medicare Part D. FULL STORY »
Medicare's advisory panel recommended a pay hike for most hospital services in 2013, but a separate spending suggestion received much more attention. FULL STORY »
Hospitals and group purchasing organizations want price transparency to get more leverage negotiating for costly medical devices. The companies that make the devices say the prices are better kept under wraps, even though a federal report blames the secrecy, in part, for significant variations in what hospitals pay. FULL STORY »
Spending on medical technology, supplies and devices is a key driver of escalating healthcare costs in the U.S. To assist healthcare executives in monitoring how much they’re spending on these items, Modern Healthcare has partnered with the ECRI Institute to develop the Modern Healthcare/ECRI Institute Technology Price Index. FULL STORY »
Wireless-medical technology company CardioNet, Conshohocken, Pa., has acquired ECG Scanning & Medical Services, a cardiac-monitoring services company, for $5.8 million. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | June 06, 2011
| Print Magazine
As federal lawmakers argue over a congressional plan to privatize Medicare in the long term, healthcare policy experts are focused on a more immediate concern: how upcoming payment changes will affect the future of Medicare Advantage. FULL STORY »
Medtronic faces a Senate investigation after canceling contracts with one of the largest group purchasing organizations. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, initiated the investigation Monday over the Minneapolis-based devicemaker's cancellation of contracts with Novation, which uses such agreements to obtain bulk rate discounts. FULL STORY »
Recruiting doctors to live and work in rural America is a chronic problem. Most health centers try to attract workers with big salaries and expensive homes. FULL STORY »
California Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget for 2012-13 would reduce Medicaid revenue for hospitals in the state by $86 million and could cause problems for rural health clinics, seniors and people with disabilities, according to a media statement from C. Duane Dauner, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association. FULL STORY »
By Melanie Evans | August 01, 2011
| Print Magazine
When Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City joined a larger health system last year, it did so saddled with debt, financial losses and a chronic need for capital investment. FULL STORY »
Are the terms offered for hospital acquisitions by tax-exempt and investor-owned organizations converging? And if so, is it because these two subsectors of the hospital industry are growing more alike, or because the pool of hospitals for sale is changing? FULL STORY »
Healthcare private-equity deals rebounded after the slump that followed the nation's recession and preceded passage of health reform legislation. Now, investors are scouring the marketplace for companies well-positioned under what many expect to be uncertain and more cost-conscious years ahead for healthcare spending. FULL STORY »
