Transparency is an unretractable trend in healthcare, and almost every day some new subject arises requiring, or at least recommending, further disclosure in the healthcare marketplace, writes attorney Richard Cowart in this opinion piece for The Tennessean. Now, Cowart says, the disclosure of health information about corporate chief executives is all of a sudden an area of active deliberation.
Johnson & Johnson will pay more than $500,000 in fines after the federal government found that the company did not adhere to the Controlled Substances Act when it failed to report the importation of medications.
Louisville, KY-based Humana Inc. reported a slight drop in second-quarter profit, caused by a double-digit drop in premiums from its stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans. The health insurer posted solid growth elsewhere in its Medicare Advantage and commercial segments, however. Humana's results for the three months ended June 30 outperformed Wall Street expectations, and the company raised its earnings-per-share projection for the full year.
It is expected that fewer patients will be taking Tysabri, used to treat multiple sclerosis, as two more patients have been diagnosed with a potentially fatal brain disease. Financial analysts predict that the drug will have only about 75,000 users by 2013, which is below Biogen Idec Inc.'s goal of 100,000.
As overcrowding becomes a larger issue, Grady Memorial Hospital says it can't take any additional mentally ill patients. Patients, however, have not been diverted, despite a nearly 48-hour wait time for a bed.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation continues to see growth in its admissions, reporting a second quarter net loss of $15 million, down from $30 million last year. As the hospital system has been working to bounce back from financial and legal troubles, its net operating revenue increased by 6.3% over last year.