Remember Effient? The blood thinner that was once Eli Lilly and Co.’s greatest post-Zyprexa hope and then, after a slow launch, was dismissed as an abject failure? Well, it’s turning out to defy both predictions.
We often forget that as a society there are real advantages to working (and investing) together for a common purpose.
Don Stumpp could not be more accurate in his [July 11 Focus column] when describing hospitals buying up medical practices.
An open letter to my friends in the Indiana Legislature:
Clarian Health’s recent rebranding to Indiana University Health has been good business for at least three companies in Indianapolis’ so-called measured-marketing sector. Such firms help a company overhaul its website and make changes to the “tweetosphere” and other social media channels.
A budding model for primary care that encourages the family doctor to act as a health coach who focuses as much on preventing illness as on treating it has shown promising results and saved insurers millions of dollars.
Noblesville-based Riverview Hospital is set to scoop up nine physicians from Indianapolis-based physician group American Health Network. The nine doctors include seven in Noblesville and two in Sheridan. American Health Network also will transfer its lease on a medical office and imaging center on River Avenue in Noblesville. The deals are set to close on July 29. Riverview officials declined to comment. Indianapolis-area hospitals have acquired a wave of physicians in the past three years. The deals are driven in part by flat or in some cases declining reimbursement rates for physicians, looming new expenses for electronic medical record systems and new provisions in the 2010 health reform law that encourage doctors and hospitals to work more closely.
Joblessness and economic jitters continue to weigh on the orthopedic industry, according to the latest financial report from Warsaw-based Biomet Inc. The company’s U.S. sales declined 3 percent to $412 million in its fourth quarter ended May 31, compared with the same quarter a year ago. Worldwide sales rose 2 percent to $715.2 million, but that was only because of currency fluctuations since this time last year. “During our fiscal fourth quarter, our sales results continued to be challenged by industry volume and price pressures that affected our sales throughout fiscal 2011,” Biomet CEO Jeffrey Binder said in a prepared statement. For the year, Biomet’s sales rose just 1 percent to $2.7 billion. The lack of growth forced Biomet to lower its valuation of many of its assets, leading to various accounting charges that produced yearly and fourth-quarter losses. Biomet’s results are watched as a key bellwether for the rest of the orthopedic industry, including Warsaw-based Zimmer Holdings Inc., which will report financial results later this month.
Wishard Health Services announced $3.2 million in fundraising for its new hospital last week, part of a campaign that has already exceeded its $50 million goal. An employee-giving campaign for the new Wishard medical center brought in about $2.2 million, making the campaign one of the largest of its kind for a public hospital, according to Wishard officials. More than 1,000 employees gave $1.1 million to the campaign, and an anonymous donor provided a dollar-for-dollar match. Wishard officials said employee giving rose 40 percent after the June 22 announcement of a $40 million gift from Indianapolis developer Sidney Eskenazi and his wife, Lois. The hospital complex that is to open in 2014 will be named the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital. Also, Wishard will rename itself Eskenazi Health in 2014. Wishard also received $1 million toward the new hospital from Eli Lilly and Co. Foundation. Lilly's name will grace the lobby of the new hospital
Sizable Indianapolis companies like the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, consumer-ratings service Angie’s List, Marsh and Wilhelm Construction have switched to consumer-directed health plans. There’s some evidence nationally that the trend is set to accelerate.
Nine family-practice doctors are set to leave their large physician group and join Noblesville’s Riverview Hospital, more than tripling their revenue-generating potential.
Eli Lilly & Co. CEO John C. Lechleiter said Germany’s overhaul of drug pricing lacked transparency and the new policy creates “uncertainty” for the company’s business planning.
That didn’t take long. After finalizing its merger with Morgan Hospital & Medical Center on July 1, Indiana University Health announced a new medical office building in Mooresville. According to The Reporter-Times of Martinsville, the 15,200-square-foot building should be finished by December. The $3.6 million project will unite physicians who work out of two separate office buildings in the area. The southern suburbs of Indianapolis have become a battleground for Indianapolis’ major hospital systems. Franciscan St. Francis Health has long dominated the area. But Community Health Network recently expanded its hospital on County Line Road and also formed a close partnership with Franklin-based Johnson Memorial Hospital. IU Health’s acquisition of Morgan Hospital gives it a toehold in the region, and the system still has a chunk of land in Bargersville it could build on if its leaders see the opportunity for further growth.
As part of their partnership announced in November, OrthoIndy and St. Vincent Health have begun offering orthopedic care in Bedford, where St. Vincent is in crosstown competition with Indiana University Health. Orthopedics is a key specialty to bring lucrative surgeries into a hospital. In Bedford, OrthoIndy’s Dr. Benjamin Justice and Dr. Matthew Lavery, along with St. Vincent’s Dr. James Rickert, are accepting patients at St. Vincent Dunn Hospital.
Health care reform will add roughly 500,000 Hoosiers to the Medicaid program and, in spite of great criticism of that expansion, a new study suggests Medicaid coverage does help consumers get more care, have fewer unpaid bills and feel better.
Indianapolis-based Northwest Radiology Network P.C. has hired Dr. Marc Underhill, a graduate of Boston College and the Indiana University School of Medicine. He most recently was an interventional radiology fellow at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Northwest Radiology also hired Dr. Vincent Flanders, a graduate of the University of South Florida and the Duke University School of Medicine. He recently completed a fellowship in interventional radiology and abdominal imaging at Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital.
Indianapolis-based Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman P.C. hired associate attorney Jarrod A. Malone, whose practice focuses on professional liability defense for dentists, physicians, hospitals and lawyers. Malone is a graduate of the IU School of Law in Indianapolis.
The fact is that hospitals are paid three to four times for physician ancillary services.
Used parts are in demand as health care reform changes industry dynamic.
As part of its agreement to add Westview Hospital to its system, Community Health Network will assume $10 million in debt, spend $7.5 million on upgrades, and help open an outpatient center in Speedway, the two hospitals announced Tuesday morning.
Jim Alender has been CEO of Howard Regional Health System in Kokomo since 1997. He recently negotiated a letter of intent to merge the hospital with Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health. He spoke about the major factors that led to that decision, and the benefits he hopes to come from it. The deal, which still requires approval from Howard County officials, could close before the end of this year.
Jennifer Cohn, a registered nurse, has joined St. Vincent Neuroscience Institute as neuroscience clinical director. For the last five years, Cohn was the neuroscience clinical nurse specialist at Indiana University Health’s Methodist Hospital.
St. Vincent Medical Group named Brad McNabb its chief operating officer. McNabb held the same position with The Care Group, the large Indianapolis-based physician practice St. Vincent acquired last year.
Gregory D. Williamson has been appointed executive director for the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation. Williamson comes to the foundation from the Riley Children’s Foundation, where he most recently served as vice president for regional development. Williamson also worked previously for the Wishard Foundation.
Help with physician recruitment is a big factor pushing small-city hospitals into the arms of Indianapolis’ four major hospital systems. So how do the big boys entice doctors to the small towns?
