Physician-owned hospitals faulted on emergency care

Washington Post, January 10, 2008

Most physician-owned specialty hospitals are poorly equipped to handle medical emergencies, according to a report from inspectors at the Department of Health and Human Services. The findings underscore a long-standing concern about the rapid rise in the number of such hospitals. The report found that 55 percent of 109 physician-owned hospitals reviewed had emergency departments--and that the majority of those had only one bed. Fewer than a third of the hospitals had physicians on site at all times, and 34 percent relied on dialing 911 to get emergency medical assistance.