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?
Planned Parenthood of Indiana expects to resume offering services to Medicaid patients following a judge's ruling that the state is not allowed to cut off the organization's public funding for general health services solely because it also provides abortions.
Health insurer WellPoint Inc. has enlisted Google Maps for new websites that help patients think twice before they visit an emergency room for care that a less-expensive retail health clinic could handle.
Research is paying off; prevention is working better than before; fear and discrimination have lessened.
Wishard Health Services will change its name to Eskenazi Health after receiving a $40 million gift from Indianapolis real estate developer Sidney Eskenazi and his wife Lois, the county-owned hospital announced Wednesday morning.
Say what? “Excessive hospitality” while promoting its drug Byetta got Eli Lilly and Co. dinged by the U.K.-based Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, a self-regulatory group. And what exactly counts as “excessive”? Seven pints of beer, two gins, two whiskies, seven whisky liqueurs and three large glasses of red wine—oh, and a taxi fare afterward, according to a summary of the case posted by the practice authority. The booze was purchased at an Indian restaurant for three Lilly sales reps and two diabetes nursing specialists. The occasion was the endocrinologist speaking about off-label uses of Byetta. The practice authority asked Lilly to look into the complaints of an ex-employee, but Lilly said there was no case to answer. The authority determined otherwise, which is why it gave Lilly its public flogging.
Indiana University Health has pulled a prominent practice of cancer physicians into its fold. Central Indiana Cancer Centers sold its five facilities to IU Health and transferred its 150 employees to the Indianapolis-based hospital system. The 16 physicians in the practice will remain independent, but they have signed a service agreement with IU Health. Financial terms of the deal, which closed June 1, were not disclosed. But it is a big win for IU Health, as Central Indiana Cancer Centers has a well-established presence in Carmel, Fishers, Greenfield, Greenwood and the east side of Indianapolis. Cancer services are key financially for hospitals because of the growing prevalence of the disease, and also because cancer patients often need surgery. IU Health now has more than 60 medical oncologists, not counting any of its radiation oncologists or cancer surgeons. Central Indiana Cancer Centers, established near Community Hospital-East in 1976, also had discussions with the three other major hospital systems in Indianapolis: Community, St. Vincent Health and Franciscan St. Francis Health. A partnership with a hospital became essential for Central Indiana Cancer Centers as hospitals have spent the past three years gobbling up physicians of all stripes—both primary care doctors and specialists. IU Health Physicians now employs more than 500 doctors and Community Health Network has more than 550.
City officials on Thursday unveiled a long-term plan to redevelop an industrial stretch northwest of downtown with the goal of attracting hundreds of residents and dozens of high-tech companies to the area. The ambitious urban renewal effort, dubbed the 16 Downtown Technology District, builds from a strategy discussed over more than a decade to turn the corridor between IUPUI and 16th Street into a life-sciences research hub. The idea is to create a trendy urban district where residents can live within blocks of work. The project could require $15 million to $20 million in public investment and hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment. It is expected to take 10-20 years to complete. Officials said a final agreement is near for the redevelopment of the historic Bush Stadium site, which is wedged between 16th Street and the White River near Harding Street. The city is contributing about $5 million to the $23 million project, including tax dollars generated in the area and more that will be transferred from the consolidated downtown tax-increment financing district. Developer John Watson said he also is seeking a federal loan to help finance part of the project. Indianapolis also will invest another $3 million in public money to renovate Indiana Avenue from roughly 10th Street to 16th Street with new landscaping, walking paths, bike lanes and other streetscape elements designed to brand the area. That funding will come from initial proceeds from the sale of the city’s water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group.
The latest physician recruitment survey from Texas-based Merritt Hawkins shows three-quarters of all physician searches include a performance bonus for the doctor. Fewer than 10 percent of those bonuses are tied to something other than volume of procedures.
Battered by stagnant population growth and blue-collar job loss, Howard Regional Health is merging with Indiana University Health—a deal that reflects the challenges faced by hospitals in Indiana’s outlying cities.
