Deborah Heart & Lung Center has filed a lawsuit that alleges Virtua Memorial Hospital Burlington County (NJ) and a group of cardiologists who practice there disparaged Deborah in an effort to keep heart patients from transferring there. The complaint accuses Virtua and the four doctors of unfair competition, slander, and "scare tactics." In several instances, it said doctors told patients in Virtua's emergency department that they could not transfer to Deborah because it was full when, in fact, it was not.
More people are canceling doctors' appointments, leaving prescriptions unfilled and skipping screenings such as Pap smears to save money, according to a national survey of family doctors. As a result, more patients are winding up with health problems that could have been prevented, the American Academy of Family Physicians said in its report. The academy e-mailed more than 8,000 doctors, asking questions about the effects of the recession, and 505 doctors completed the survey in March and April.
Under a proposed plan in Boston, the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Mission Hill would be demolished and in its place Brigham and Women's Hospital would build a residential and medical complex. The hospital submitted to the city a proposal for a multibuilding development of more than 600,000 square feet. Brigham and Women's plans include a 57,000-square-foot laboratory and office building that would also include outpatient services, according to documents filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Advocates for workers, consumers, and employers have joined forces to urge Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to veto what's being called "direct payment" legislation, warning that it would result in higher and unexpected out-of-pocket healthcare costs. At a news conference in Tallahassee, Associated Industries of Florida; Council 79 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the public-employee union; Florida PIRG; the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans; and the Consumer Federation of the Southeast blasted the legislation, which they claim would allow doctors who are not members of PPO networks to receive payment from a patient's insurance company.
A prominent Nashville home healthcare executive and philanthropist is accused of making false claims that defrauded Medicare of $6.3 million. Ed Yarbrough, U.S. attorney for Middle Tennessee, accuses Jim Carell of installing a Missouri attorney as sham owner of three agencies that actually were owned by Carell's management company, to evade Medicare rules that limited a home health agency owner's compensation.
Kaiser Permanente has 30 farmers markets at medical facilities in four states where patients, staff and community members shop. Locally grown fruits and vegetables also are used in 23 Kaiser hospital kitchens. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Preston Maring, MD, says Kaiser Permanente's emphasis on preventive medicine seemed a good fit for farm-fresh food.