Brentwood, TN-based LifePoint Hospitals Inc.’s third-quarter net income slid 60% on charges related to the planned sale of two hospitals, though revenue rose and the hospital operator reduced bad-debt levels. President and Chief Executive William F. Carpenter III said LifePoint remains "well positioned with a strong balance sheet, ample liquidity and moderate leverage," as the company expands, improves services, and recruits more physicians. LifePoint reported net income of $11.4 million, or 22 cents a share, down from $28.2 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier.
At the core of every doctor’s training is the internship, that first year of residency. New York Times contributor Pauline W. Chen, MD, says that negative reinforcement during those early years taught her to be a cautious and conscientious doctor, and her teachers rarely offered praised for good work and never allowed her to forget errors. But now, Chen wonders if emphasizing the negatives—what not to do and the terrible personal repercussions—is necessarily the best way to go about teaching professionalism.
The struggle between Washington, DC-based Children's National Medical Center and the parents of a 12-year-old boy with brain cancer drew national attention In court papers, the hospital says treating him is "offensive to good medical ethics" because the boy has no brain activity. But the hospital has received nearly 200 e-mails and phone calls, mostly from New York residents, pleading to keep the youth on the ventilator and the intravenous drugs that are powering his respiratory and circulatory systems.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has extended its deadline for banning faxed prescriptions by three years, moving the Jan. 1, 2009, deadline to Jan. 1, 2012. The deadline change is included in the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule announced by CMS on Oct. 30. The agency reversed its position "in the interest of patient care and safety and to encourage prescribers and dispensers to adopt e-prescribing," according to a release.
While the presidential election captured most people's attention this week, there were a few healthcare-related ballot initiatives that passed as well. Michigan approved the use of medical marijuana, when approved by a physician, and voted to expand embryonic stem cell research in the state. In Washington, a proposal passed 59% to 41% making physician-assisted suicide legal.
Physicians and other eligible professionals who adopt and use qualified electronic prescribing systems to transmit prescriptions to pharmacies may earn an incentive payment of 2% of their total Medicare allowed charges during 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have announced. This incentive is in addition to a 2% incentive payment for 2009 for physicians who successfully report measures under the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, and both incentive payments are in addition to the 1.1% fee schedule update required by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, according to a CMS release. As a result, a physician who successfully reports under both the e-prescribing and PQRI initiatives could receive up to a 5.1% pay boost for 2009.