The Food and Drug Administration recently sent a warning letter to Leslie Baumann, MD, a well-known dermatologist and clinical researcher in Miami Beach, citing the doctor for expressing premature enthusiasm in the media about Dysport, an injectable antiwrinkle drug the agency had not yet approved. Baumann's comments in the media in 2007 violated restrictions on drug promotion, according to the letter. The FDA has asked Baumann to explain how she intended to prevent similar violations in the future, the New York Times reports.
An Allegheny County (PA) judge ruled that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center had the right to close UPMC Braddock as scheduled on Jan. 31, under a 2007 bond agreement with Bank of New York Mellon approved by a county authority. UPMC announced plans in October to close the hospital about five miles east of Pittsburgh, saying it lost $27 million in the last six years, and was projected to lose $50 million more in the next six.
A group of South Miami cardiologists has written a letter to patients complaining that huge cuts in Medicare rates may force many heart specialists out of business or mean reduced services for their patients. The doctors from South Miami Cardiology said that on Jan. 1 Medicare reduced "reimbursement for cardiac services on average by 40%. This is unrelated to the current healthcare reform, which is planning an additional 21% reduction, effective March 1." But Lori Heim, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told the Miami Herald that she finds it "disingenuous" that the cardiologists' letter blames reform proposals for their rate cuts.
The Regents of the University of California have agreed to pay $147 million over 30 years to rent a medical facility planned in Santa Monica. The university's teaching hospital needs more space, said David Feinberg, MD, chief executive of UCLA Hospital System. The new facility would have eight operating rooms where doctors could perform about half of the outpatient operations UCLA does in Santa Monica. It would also have two oncology bunkers for radiation therapy, laboratories, and medical offices, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The parent of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's acquisition of Lake Forest (IL) Hospital has been completed. The 215-bed medical center will become a "wholly owned entity of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare," which includes Northwestern Memorial Hospital, representatives from the Chicago-based Northwestern said in a statement. The deal, which has received state and federal regulatory clearance, includes a commitment to building a new Lake Forest Hospital or replace the medical center within the next decade. Northwestern Memorial will also continue Lake Forest's expansion of its Grayslake campus, which includes an emergency center and outpatient services, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Mandatory drug screenings may not be a novelty in the workplace, even in the hospital setting, but they are for medical staff members. If hospitals screen employees for controlled substances, it's to ensure healthcare providers are fit to care for the public.
Physicians are often excluded from those tests because of their non-employed status and because culturally they are often seen as above suspicion because of their position in society. However, hospitals must keep in mind that physicians experience the same human weaknesses as everyone else.
Should hospitals begin testing their physicians for controlled substances and make those tests an appointment requirement?
Directors of physician health programs (PHP) are split on the matter of mandatory drug tests for practitioners. PHPs are state-run health programs that help physicians recover from substance abuse and provide other support services.
"I think it would be a good idea [to make tests mandatory], but not everybody thinks it would be a good idea," says Peter Mansky, MD, executive medical director at Nevada Health Professionals Assistance Foundation in Las Vegas. "It's controversial."
Some of the controversy lies with the invasion of privacy inherent in these tests. Additionally, not all drug screenings are accurate—some substances may be missed, and other legal, prescriptive substances may be detected.
"I think it should only be done in the context of a drug-free workplace, like any other businesses might do," says Gary Carr, MD, FAAFP, Diplomate ABAM, medical director at Hattiesburg, MS-based Professional Health Network (www.professionalshealthnetwork.com). To keep the screenings fair, Carr says everyone in the hospital—from housekeeping to administration—should undergo the tests.
Even if everyone in the organization is screened, it may still be difficult to adopt such a policy.
"If there's no reason to believe there's a substance issue, how do you justify testing for it?" says Luis Sanchez, MD, director of Physician Health Services, Inc., a Massachusetts Medical Society corporation in Waltham.
It may be difficult to justify if the medical staff strongly believes it's an invasion of privacy. "There are very few hospitals that I'm aware of that will screen randomly or will screen everybody," he says.
However, Sanchez adds that some industries, such as the airline industry, have justified screenings because the industry frames it as a matter of public safety.
In the end, hospitals should weigh the issue from all sides before making their decision. Listening to public opinion and the concerns of medical staff members and employees will contribute to balanced policies and avoid the element of surprise if the hospital decides to begin testing everyone.
Emily Berry is an associate editor for Briefings on Credentialing and Credentialing Resource Center Connection, and manages the Credentialing Resource Center. You can reach her at eberry@hcpro.com.