The new, three-story Murfreesboro (TN) Medical Clinic has opened its doors to patients for the first time. Phase one of the new clinic cost approximately $15 million for the building and $850,000 for the land. The departments that have moved over from the old building into the phase-one building include gastroenterology, general surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, the SurgiCenter, and part of radiology.
Zimmer Holdings recently announced it was suspending sales of its metal hip socket replacement called the Durom cup until it trained doctors how best to implant it. The company said a “low” percentage of the 13,000 patients who got the socket would need replacements, but some doctors fear the number could reach into the hundreds. If those patients lived in other countries where artificial joints were tracked by national databases, including Australia and Britain, many might have been spared that risk. But the United States lacks such a joint registry national database that tracks how patients with artificial hips and knees fare.
Preventing medical errors that occur during or after surgery could save almost $1.5 billion a year, according to a study by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The researchers analyzed data on more than 161,000 patients in employer-based health plans who underwent surgery between 2001 and 2002. The study found that insurers paid an additional $28,218 and an additional $19,480 for each surgery patient who suffered acute respiratory failure or post-operative infections, respectively, compared to patients who didn't suffer those complications.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and other state officials are working with Washington policymakers on a range of issues that could affect how healthcare is delivered in the state. The state's recent discussions with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have centered on three issues: A partial transformation of the state Medicaid program into an HMO-style system, the federal government's reimbursement to the state for Hurricane Katrina damage to Charity Hospital, and a final settlement on $600 million that the federal government claims Louisiana owes for past overspending in its Medicaid program.Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and other state officials are working with Washington policymakers on a range of issues that could affect how healthcare is delivered in the state. The state's recent discussions with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have centered on three issues: A partial transformation of the state Medicaid program into an HMO-style system, the federal government's reimbursement to the state for Hurricane Katrina damage to Charity Hospital, and a final settlement on $600 million that the federal government claims Louisiana owes for past overspending in its Medicaid program.
After an extensive search, Slidell (LA) Memorial Hospital's leadership and Board of Commissioners has selected AE Design as the architectural firm for design and construction of a new cancer center. Georgia-based AE Design specializes in oncology and diagnostic imaging facilities, and has completed more than 100 oncology facility projects in the world. The Cancer Program Working Group, an internal SMH team that includes physicians, nursing staff, commissioners and other hospital employees, is providing input on the project to help ensure the facility incorporates efficiencies and attributes that best serve the patients and medical specialists. Groundbreaking for the facility is anticipated in December.
A state physician database shows that South Florida has become the nation's capital for doctors without medical malpractice insurance, leaving patients at risk of getting little financial help for care after a medical error. Nearly one-quarter of doctors in Broward and Palm Beach counties, and one-eighth statewide, opt out of malpractice insurance under a state law that lets them go without coverage. Florida laws has allowed doctors to go without malpractice coverage for decades. Critics say the law raises the chances patients cannot collect enough money in court to cover medical bills from physician mistakes. Also, malpractice victims and lawyers are less likely to sue doctors who don't carry insurance, experts say.