September/October 2011 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

The Quiet Takeover: Insurers Buying Physicians and Hospitals

Payors might provide more than reimbursement in the next few years — they may be signing the check to buy your hospital or the physicians that drive your referrals. Click to continue »

Patient Experience: An Increasingly Critical Hospital Indicator

Hospitals have long tracked patient satisfaction ratings, but they didn't always carry great significance. While all hospitals want happy patients, hospitals have been historically plagued with the "doctor knows best" mentality — a mentality where clinical outcomes outweigh "touchy-feely" indicators such as patient satisfaction or overall patient experience. Click to continue »

Changes Ahead: Medicare IPPS 2012 and What It Means for Hospitals

Medicare and hospitals go hand in hand. Hospital payments account for the greatest share of the federal program's spending, and Medicare is the largest payor for hospital services, comprising a significant portion of most hospitals' revenue. Click to continue »

Publisher’s Letter September/October 2011

18th Annual Ambulatory Surgery Centers — Improving Profitability and Business and Legal Issues Conference Click to continue »

291 Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know

Becker's Hospital Review has named the following healthcare leaders to its annual list, "291 Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know." Click to continue »

60 Hospitals With Great Orthopedic Programs

The hospitals included on this list focus on orthopedics and their orthopedic surgery departments have outstanding reputations, making them worthy of recognition. Exceptional departments often include physicians who treat professional athletes, engage in cutting-edge research and perform a large number of joint replacements ever year. Click to continue »

A CEO Walks Into a Patient Room: Q&A With Dr. David Feinberg, CEO of UCLA Health System

David T. Feinberg, MD, is the CEO of UCLA Hospital System, associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences, and the first person to tell you 99th percentile isn't good enough. Click to continue »

25 Largest Non-Profit Hospitals in America

Here are the 25 largest non-profit hospitals in the United States, listed by number of beds. Click to continue »

25 Largest For-Profit Hospitals in America

Here are the 25 largest for-profit hospitals in the United States, listed by number of beds. Click to continue »

25 Top Grossing Non-Profit Hospitals in America

Here are the 25 top grossing non-profit hospitals in the United States listed by gross revenue, according to CMS cost report data analyzed by American Hospital Directory. Click to continue »

25 Top Grossing For-Profit Hospitals in America

Here are the 25 top grossing for-profit hospitals in the United States listed by gross revenue, according to CMS cost report data analyzed by American Hospital Directory. Click to continue »

15 Largest Non-Profit Hospital Systems

Here are 15 of the largest non-profit hospital systems in the country. Click to continue »

15 Largest For-Profit Hospital Systems

Here are the 15 leading acute-care, for-profit hospital operators in the United States. Note: Companies are listed in order of the number of hospitals, according to the company's website. Click to continue »

A New Approach to Ambulatory Services

In response to an increased emphasis on quality and effectiveness of care, hospitals and health systems must refocus their efforts on the broader care continuum, defined as healthcare outside the traditional hospital walls. Click to continue »

Orchestrating Four Generations in Your Hospital

People are living longer and retiring a lot later. I was recently introduced to a land developer from Louisiana who was in her 70s but she looked a lot younger. In fact, she had participated in four triathlons just this year. Click to continue »

How to Achieve Accountable Care While Avoiding Downfalls of Medicare ACOs

Most people in healthcare agree that the triple aim of accountable care organizations — increased quality of care, improved health of populations and reduced cost — are worthy goals that healthcare should focus on. Click to continue »

Survey: 33% of Hospital Executives Plan to Join ACOs, But Less Than 7% Believe ACO Model Improves Quality

In a survey of executives at 1,852 hospitals, 33.2 percent of respondents said it is extremely likely their hospital will become part of an accountable care organization — but only 6.8 percent believe ACOs can improve quality and efficiency. Click to continue »

5 Foundational Questions for Hospitals Acquiring Physician Practices

Physicians are increasingly joining hospitals as employees, signaling interest from both hospitals and physician practices to partner together. Click to continue »

Pennsylvania’s Divine Providence Hospital Settles Improper Payment Allegations

Divine Providence Hospital in Williamsport, Pa., agreed to pay the federal government $598,965 to resolve allegations of improper Medicare claims in June. Click to continue »

Federal Investigation Looks for Stark, Anti-Kickback Violations at Broward Health

Federal agents are investigating physician contracts at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based North Broward Hospital District, according to a Sun Sentinel report. Click to continue »

Community Health Systems Receives SEC Subpoena

CHS said it received the subpoena on May 13 requesting documents related to various inquiries into the company's billing practices. Click to continue »

Florida’s St. Luke’s Hospital Faces False Claims Allegations

A former hospital employee has filed a lawsuit accusing St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., of falsely billing Medicare and Medicaid during an 11-month span, according to an article in the Florida Times-Union Report. Click to continue »

6-Year-Old Whistleblower Suit Against IASIS Healthcare Alleging Kickbacks is Dismissed

A federal judge in Arizona has dismissed a whistleblower's complaint against Franklin, Tenn.-based IASIS Healthcare that alleged the 19-hospital system paid kickbacks in exchange for referrals, according to a Nashville Business Journal report. Click to continue »

12 Decisions That Can Cripple a Surgery Center

Brent Lambert, MD, founding principal, and Luke Lambert, CEO, of ASCOA, make regular visits to ambulatory surgery centers throughout the United States which are struggling financially and in need of a turnaround. Click to continue »

Key Issues Plaguing Physician-Hospital Joint Ventures

In a presentation at the 9th Annual Orthopedic, Spine and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference in Chicago on June 9, Brent Lambert, MD, FACS, principal and founder, and Luke Lambert, CFA, CASC, CEO, ASCOA, discussed troubled physician-hospital joint ventures and strategies to fix them. Click to continue »

50 Surgery Center Benchmarks

Here are 50 benchmarking statistics on processes and outcomes at ambulatory surgery centers across the country. Click to continue »

How Healthcare Reform is Affecting Hospital Leaders’ Compensation

Healthcare reform legislation, including changes in requirements for tax-exempt hospitals and initiatives by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for coordinated care, may change how hospital leaders are compensated. Click to continue »

On-Call Coverage Payments Increased 4% in 2010

Payment rates for on-call coverage increased 4 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, according to the 2010-2011 Physician Contract Benchmarks Reports by MD Ranger. Click to continue »

Independent Hospital CEOs Beat Integrated Health System CEOs in Total Cash Compensation Increases

In 2011, integrated health system CEOs and independent hospital CEOs saw an increase in total cash compensation — base salary plus annual incentives — of 3.1 percent and 6 percent, respectively, from the previous year, according to a Hay Group news release. Click to continue »

5 Considerations on Health Information Exchanges

Hospitals and health systems are scrambling to become meaningful users of certified electronic health record technology within their own entities, but what's the next step to share health information after that step? Click to continue »

Mayo Clinic Constructs Pioneering Health Information Exchange

Health information exchanges might be taking a new turn in advancement, as Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic is building a health information exchange using open-source natural language processing software to create new methods of mining patient data, according to an InformationWeek report. Click to continue »

Number of Health Information Exchanges Up 9% Compared to Last Year

A total of 255 health information exchanges are in place across the country, a growth of nine percent from last year, as shown in the eHealth Initiative's 2011 Report on Health Information Exchange: The Changing Landscape, according to an eHI news release. Click to continue »

Dr. John Caruso: Becoming a Champion of Change in Healthcare

Some healthcare professionals might still be analyzing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but other physicians are making the legislation — and the ideas behind it — come to life. Click to continue »

Hospitals and Patient Centered Medical Homes: A Practical Pairing

Kenneth Bertka, MD, is a family physician and vice president of physician clinical integration at Mercy, a seven hospital and physician group system based in Toledo, Ohio. Mercy is a member of Catholic Health Partners, the largest healthcare system in Ohio. Click to continue »

Hospital & Health System Transactions (September 2011)

Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., has officially ended its merger with Adventist Health’s Florida Hospital in Orlando. Bert Fish has returned to public control, under the Southeast Volusia Hospital District. Click to continue »

Hospital & Health System Executive Moves (September 2011)

Eric Beyer was chosen to lead as the next president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center in Boston and will succeed outgoing President and CEO Ellen Zane, who is retiring. Click to continue »