Critics of Texas' prohibition against hospitals hiring physicians directly say they will continue to fight it, arguing that it limits access and puts the state at a competitive disadvantage in attracting physicians.
The "family" part of Grosso Family Medicine works both ways. Kevin Grosso, the physician, and Michelle Grosso, his wife and a registered nurse, provide standard family medical care for their Latrobe-area patients from age 6 up. Everything from routine physicals to blood tests and echocardiograms, they've got it covered. But Grosso Family Medicine is also, literally, the Grosso family. Kevin and Michelle are the only two caregivers—in fact, the only two employees—for the practice that has leased office space just down the hill from Saint Vincent College.
The McDonald's at the Truman Medical Centers' main campus in Kansas City, Mo., has closed, ending an epic, two-decade stint inside the hospital and making it the fifth health facility in the past few years to give the Big Mac the boot. Earlier this year, hospital CEO John Bluford told The Salt that the presence of the McDonald's—located just feet from a revamped cafeteria touting low-calorie-food options and reduced sodium, fat and sugar in its meals—was sending an "inconsistent message."
With hospitals buying up medical practices around the country and seeking to make the most of their investment, the American Medical Association reached out to doctors this week to remind them that patient welfare must always come first and not be overridden by the economic interests of hospitals that now employ doctors in ever-growing numbers. "In any situation where the economic or other interests of the employer are in conflict with patient welfare, patient welfare must take priority," says a policy statement adopted by the association. "A physician's paramount responsibility is to his or her patients," the association said. At the same time, it added, a doctor ?owes a duty of loyalty to his or her employer," and "this divided loyalty can create conflicts of interest, such as financial incentives to over—or under—treat patients."
After billing Medicare for treating more than 1,100 cases of a rare affliction, a Prime Healthcare Services hospital in Redding abruptly stopped last year, state health records show. The change occurred soon after California Watch published a story about aggressive billing practices at the hospital. About six months after it took control of the Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding in late 2008, Prime began billing Medicare for treating senior citizens it diagnosed with kwashiorkor, a dangerous nutritional disorder usually seen among children during famines in developing countries. At its height, the hospital's billing for the malady surged to nearly 70 times the state average. Prime said in a statement that its Medicare billings are legal and accurate. It declined to respond to follow-up questions.
Records of several surgeries performed three years ago at the University of Toledo Medical Center will show those operations were completed without problems, but identifying the doctor who performed the operations could be more difficult. A nonprofit firm that conducts medical billing for UTMC doctors also investigates mistakes among the 100,000 or so bills sent annually to government and private insurance companies. In 2009, the University of Toledo Physicians Clinical Faculty Inc. investigated the billing of surgeries for at least two doctors and ultimately issued some refunds, according to a confidential document obtained by The Blade.