West Penn Allegheny Health System's embattled interim chief executive, Keith Ghezzi, could be gone next week. Ghezzi said his relationship with executives at health insurer Highmark Inc. is "fractured," and he admitted that some West Penn Allegheny doctors are unhappy with his leadership. He said his relationship with Highmark was strained because the insurer expected him to run West Penn Allegheny as it ordered instead of the way the system's board wanted. He also had difficulty in working with John Paul, Highmark's executive in charge of building a $1 billion provider network.
The main reason behind the planned merger between Henry Ford and Beaumont health systems into a single, $6.4-billion nonprofit entity, is simple economics. Combined, the two hospital systems would become more efficient and better positioned to face sweeping changes in health care reform. Hospital system leaders said consumers and employees need not worry. Insurance coverage won't change, they'll have access to regular doctors, there won't be sweeping layoffs and no facilities will close.
Parkland Health & Hospital System has recentralized phlebotomy services in its Emergency Department in a move designed to improve efficiency and reduce specimen contamination rates. A two-week pilot using emergency department-based phlebotomists resulted in $122,000 in savings and an improvement in the quality of specimens collected.
The $11 million stand-alone ER, brought to you courtesy of the cut-throat competition for new patients in South Florida. Open around the clock and fully staffed with board-certified doctors and high-tech equipment, the facilities offer emergency patients shorter waits, expert care and more choice, even as questions remain whether it's the right one in some emergencies.
The Dartmouth Atlas has already shown big variation in the amount of care doctors provide in different areas of the country. Their latest research suggests this variation is rampant among the most respected medical institutions. A study of how 23 academic medical centers provide care shows huge variations in how the very best hospitals care for their sickest patients.
In Los Angeles, the "Big One" is the most likely local version of Hurricane Sandy, a massive earthquake that could damage or close most hospitals in our fault-crossed megalopolis. That's why three giant "hospitals-in-a-box" are stored in undisclosed spots in California, and why state officials have tried to find resources to keep them. But the state may not have the money to keep those three mobile field hospitals in working order after summer 2013.