Accountable care ‘savior’ of doc groups
Indianapolis’ largest independent physician group, American Health Network, doesn’t want to sell to a hospital, but its CEO hopes it can hold on until accountable care kicks in.
Hospitals
Articles
Wishard to use $8.3M grant to stem substance abuse
At three community health centers, all patients will be asked about their alcohol and drug usage confidentially, as part of an early-intervention approach designed to cut down addictions and reduce hospitalization.
IU Cancer Center recruits top researcher
Dr. Murray Korc, an internationally known pancreatic cancer researcher, comes to the cancer center as the first Myles Brand Professor of Cancer Research. The position is funded through a Lilly Endowment grant.
Will ACOs really get off the ground?
The hype over accountable care organizations—something every major hospital in Indianapolis is moving to become—is increasingly being laced with skepticism as the economics behind the idea get more scrutiny.
Sustainability, more new jobs key to GM site
Why not look at the entire neighborhood instead of just this old site?
Q&A
Angela Smith, an attorney for hospitals and physicians at Indianapolis-based Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman P.C., spoke about Medicare’s value-based purchasing program, a federal initiative that will attempt to shift health care payments from the fee-for-service model to one based on health outcomes. On July 1, hospitals began being scored on their performance in 13 categories, including processes, patient outcomes and patient satisfaction surveys. How hospitals score could boost or diminish all their Medicare payments by as much as 1 percent, beginning in October 2012.
Study: Hospital-doc hookups raising costs
Indianapolis doctor tell researchers that hospitals are paying more than $1 million a year to employ some cardiologists.
IU Health fights Franciscan over family doc
IU Health Morgan Hospital sued Dr. Dianna Boyer on Aug. 3 to stop her from moving her practice to a facility Franciscan St. Francis Health is building in Martinsville.
St. Vincent plans 200 jobs for Fishers expansion
The hospital system said it will expand its Medical Center Northeast facility to a 40-bed inpatient hospital. Construction is set to begin in September and should be completed by December 2012.
Riverview scoops up doctors from American Health Network
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.
STUMPP: Docs’ loss of independence driving up health care costs
The fact is that hospitals are paid three to four times for physician ancillary services.
Hendricks Regional, YMCA debut fitness center
Partnership combines wellness, hospital services.
IU Health loses CFO to larger hospital system
Marvin Pember, 58, is taking a new job near Philadelphia as the president of the acute care division of Universal Health Services Inc., a publicly traded company with 22 acute hospitals and numerous behavioral health centers spread from coast to coast.
Community Health eyes expansion as it closes Westview merger
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.
Q&A
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.
How to sell Martinsville to MDs
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?
WellPoint goes online to educate about ER use
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.
Groups call for probe of St. Francis hospital over charity care
Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund and Indiana Legal Services Inc. claim that “a good number” of Indianapolis south-side residents who should have qualified for reduced or waived bills at St. Francis were instead steered into payments plans.
Wishard to be renamed after $40M gift from developer
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.
Survey: Hospitals still rewarding docs for volume
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.