For decades, the tabloids have made a cottage industry of star ailments. But now, celebrity representatives say that a growing appetite for entertainment-related news, coupled with an increasing reliance on computerized record-keeping, has dramatically increased invasions of medical privacy.
Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital is getting its first cash infusion of $50 million as a new nonprofit board takes over responsibility for operations of the public hospital. The first installment will come from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, which has pledged $200 million to Grady over four years. Grady is struggling financially, and has reached a crisis point because of rising costs, dwindling aid, a lack of paying customers, and neglect.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell is considering vetoing a health insurance bill after a large insurer said the bill would cost the state more than $24 million. The bill would allow municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees to voluntarily join the state's gigantic health insurance pool. The bill was passed by wide margins in the state House of Representatives and the Senate, was supported by most Democrats, and backed strongly by major labor unions.
The town council of Coventry, CT, has unanimously passed a resolution calling for a universal healthcare initiative at the state level. After being presented with a 450-name petition supporting the move, Coventry joined several other Connecticut towns that have passed similar measures in a grass-roots effort organized by nonprofit healthcare reformers.
Engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a sensor-equipped necklace to help patients take their medication on time. "MagneTrace" uses magnetic sensors embedded in pills to detect when a pill is ingested. The sensors pass through the patient's digestive system. If a pill is not taken at the correct time, the necklace sends a signal to a smart phone that alerts the patient. If that prompt is ignored, the phone contacts a doctor or caregiver.
Caritas Christi Health Care, a six-hospital system owned by the Archdiocese of Boston, has announced it will make advanced cardiac care available at more of its community hospitals. The new program is called the Caritas Cardiovascular Network, under which several of the chain's community hospitals will offer onsite cardiac catheterization services. The network is also part of the strategy by Caritas Christi's new chief executive to turn around the financially strapped system.
After its original plan was rejected by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan has submitted a more modest redesign of its $1.6 billion development proposal. In the revised plan, a proposed hospital tower would be 30 feet lower and 40 feet narrower, and a planned luxury condominium would be 32 feet lower and 60 feet narrower. In the redesign, five buildings within the Greenwich Village Historic District would be demolished to complete the project, while four other buildings would be adapted and reused. Under the original plan, all nine of those buildings would have been demolished.
Google has launched Google Health, a medical records service letting users store and manage their healthcare information online. Google said it built a secure computer platform separate from its search system to host medical records to keep the health information protected. Privacy advocates are skeptical, however, and seek proof that online medical information will be safe from tampering or snooping. Skeptics say the information would be valuable to insurance companies or employers out to reduce liabilities by shunning those with health issues.
In January, a consultant's review of Texas-based JPS Health Network showed failings that could threaten the health and safety of patients at the network's hospital. However, administrators never told the 11-member board they had commissioned the studies or presented their findings. Now, leaders on the JPS board and the Commissioners Court, which appoints board members, are examining whether the system's oversight policies were broken or need to be strengthened.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Romoff collected almost $3.95 million in compensation in fiscal 2007, a 19.7% increase from the year before. Romoff also received pension plan contributions of $41,968 and an additional $20,380 for taxable expenses. His total pay is significantly higher than the $1.2 million average for CEOs at hospital systems with more than $1 billion in revenue. At the same time, his fiscal 2006 compensation of $3.3 million trailed counterparts at the Cleveland Clinic ($7.5 million) and several other nonprofit systems around the country.
