In Alabama, a positive drug test can have dire repercussions for pregnant women and new mothers. Their newborns can be taken from them. They can lose custody of their other children. They can face lengthy sentences in the most notorious women's prison in the United States and thousands of dollars in fees and fines. Yet the hospitals that administer those drug tests — and turn the results over to authorities — are exceedingly reluctant to disclose their policies to the public. In many cases, they test mothers and babies without explicit consent and without warning about the potential consequences, ProPublica and AL.com have found.
Cleveland Clinic has a long history of measuring and reporting data on health outcomes, most famously in our Outcomes Books, the yearly reports on how patients treated in our different departments fare. We've realized that you cannot improve something if you don't measure it and share what you find — so in that vein, I'd like to share some of our experiences in building this system at Cleveland Clinic. We began tracking clinical outcomes for cardiac patients in 1979, and have been using such data to facilitate accountability and learning since 1989. In 1998, we began publishing and distributing that data to referring physicians.
Matthew Hardy didn't know why he sometimes felt so sick, but the 28-year-old Park Heights resident felt bad enough that he would go to the emergency room, mostly at Sinai Hospital, often by ambulance. He went eight times in a four-month period earlier this year. "I didn't know what was going on with my health," he said. Hardy was what's known in the medical community as a "super utilizer," someone who uses a disproportionate amount of care. In an effort to reduce costs and the burden on the system, hospitals and other medical care providers have begun targeting those patients who frequently tap emergency care by connecting them with resources to tackle underlying problems.
Doctors in New Jersey do not have to tell patients whether they have malpractice insurance for a surgery they are recommending, the state Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The high court was ruling on a lawsuit filed against Richard A. Kaul, an anesthesiologist who for years performed back surgeries in same-day operating centers in New Jersey even though he lacked training to operate on spines. Kaul, who once had a practice in Pompton Lakes, lost his medical license years ago after an investigation by state authorities, who had received a series of complaints from patients in severe pain after surgery.
Janice Nathan considers herself a loyal UPMC customer. After undergoing a kidney transplant at a UPMC hospital in 2001, Nathan continued seeing UPMC doctors. When UPMC and insurer Highmark started fighting over contracts, Nathan bought insurance through UPMC Health Plan to keep her doctors. So she was surprised when she learned her UPMC primary care physician had referred her to a cardiologist at UPMC Shadyside who, it turned out, wasn't part of her UPMC health plan's network. The cardiologist billed her $325 for the visit. "I feel betrayed, to be honest," said Nathan, who lives in Squirrel Hill. "I know it's a strong word, but their whole advertisement was, 'If you stay with us, you won't lose your doctors and you won't pay out-of-network.'"
After months of tense negotiations, Jefferson Parish officials have secured approval from the state Attorney General's Office for an almost $600 million deal to lease the parish-owned West Jefferson Medical Center to a private operator. The AG's Office gave its blessing to the transaction in a letter sent Tuesday to Deputy Parish Attorney Ed Rapier. The office had spent months reviewing whether the terms of the deal with LCMC Health are fair and will still allow parish residents access to affordable health care. Getting the AG's approval for the deal was the last hurdle the parties had to clear before they could close out the transaction by exchanging signed copies of the transfer documents with each other.