Young surgeons at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have regularly worked more hours than allowed by national safety limits, according to an oversight organization and hospital officials. The group that oversees training of new doctors cited Beth Israel Deaconess for hours violations in a letter in January. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education said that the hospital would jeopardize its accreditation as a surgery training program if it does not correct the problems by September 9, when council staff plan to review the hospital again.
Sunrise, FL-based Pediatrix Medical Group has purchased a neonatal physician practice based in Alexandria, LA. The practice has a volume of 8,000 annual patient days at the neonatal intensive care unit. During 2008, Pediatrix has acquired eight physician group practices, including neonatal, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and anesthesia practices.
Few patients would know to ask whether their doctor is being paid by a company that profits from the device about to be implanted in their body. But recently, congressional investigators have questioned whether some agreements with doctors, particularly those who perform lucrative and increasingly common spine surgeries, are appropriate or even legal.
Emory Healthcare will reopen the former Northlake Medical Center in Tucker, GA, as a hospital focusing on orthopedic and spinal care. Emory spent $16 million on renovations to the former HCA hospital as it seeks to meet increased patient demand for orthopedic care. Emory projects a 25% increase in demand for inpatient orthopedic services over the next 10 years with the rise of knee and hip replacements and spinal surgeries, said company representatives.
Fifty-one Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have died over the past 11 months while waiting for permits to enter Israel for medical treatment or after having been denied permission to enter, according to the World Health Organization. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says 245 people have died since June last year from factors relating to the partial closure of Gaza's only two access points. Since Israel signed a truce in June with the militant group that rules Gaza, it has lessened restrictions on the transfer of goods into Gaza, at the same time allowing fewer patients to cross into Israel for treatment. It is impossible to know how many of those might have been successfully treated and how many might have died regardless of access to better healthcare, said World Health Organization representatives.
In October, CVS Corp. will open Massachusetts' first retail medical clinics in Medway and Tewksbury, after the state Department of Public Health approved licenses for the first two clinics. The decision follows more than a year of debate about whether to allow convenient care in Massachusetts and strong opposition from doctors. CVS has applied for licenses for medical clinics in 26 additional stores, and Walgreens Pharmacy has submitted plans for competing clinics in 15 of its Massachusetts stores.