Frustrated with seeing as many as 40 patients a day for just a few minutes at a time, seven doctors will be the first in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to join a national network of specialized medical practices. The Florida-based MDVIP network is trying to join with more practices around the country. Patients who sign up for MDVIP get regular physicals, a Web-based listing of all their medical records, and a fee pays for the preventive care that is not covered by Medicare or private insurance policies.
After two violent escapes by prison inmates, a healthcare group that oversees Laurel (MD) Regional Hospital has told the state that it will no longer admit inmates as patients in non-emergency situations until new policies are put into place. The group called the escapes 'unacceptable.'
In response to increased admissions, Memorial Hospital Miramar (FL) recently opened a 10-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a 12-bed pediatric inpatient unit, while adding 40 beds for adult patients. In the past year, admissions at the 178-bed hospital climbed by 20 percent, and the number of births and emergency-room visits has increased dramatically.
The consumer group Public Citizen has sued the Food and Drug Administration, saying the agency is ignoring calls for stronger warnings that Cipro and similar antibiotics may cause serious tendon injuries. Public Citizen wants warnings for the antibiotics upgraded to the FDA's most severe type, and for patients to get pamphlets with every bottle that describe the risk.
Grady Memorial Hospital board members and business leaders are days away from striking a deal on a sweeping leadership change at the Atlanta facility. The change is a vital step in saving the financially strapped medical center, according to a lead negotiator.
The Massachusetts subsidiary of an international surgical device manufacturer is under federal investigation for allegedly paying kickbacks to doctors to use its equipment. The federal case against Blackstone Medical of Springfield got a boost yesterday when an Arkansas neurosurgeon pleaded guilty to soliciting and accepting kickbacks from a salesman who worked for Blackstone's parent company, Orthofix International.