Fewer than a third of U.S. doctors use e-mail to communicate with patients, according to recent physician surveys. There are a variety of reasons why they do not: Some worry it will increase their workload, and most physicians don't get reimbursed for it by insurance companies. Others fear hackers could compromise patient privacy. Despite doctor reluctance, many patients would like to use e-mail for routine matters such as asking for a prescription refill, getting lab results or scheduling a visit.
Hospitals that perform fewer cardiac bypass operations don't have more deaths following the procedure than hospitals that handle more of the procedures, according to a study. Conventional wisdom has assumed that hospitals that do more cardiac bypass operations have better results, with fewer patient deaths. For the study, researchers collected data on 108,087,386 people admitted to U.S. hospitals from 1988 to 2003. The authors say the findings show that using death rates after cardiac bypass surgery may no longer be an accurate gauge of the quality of care.
The news that three Singapore hospitals joined a U.S.-based healthcare network is a study in the importance of reputation to global healthcare organizations. In this deal, three known players in global healthcare came together to share in the increased value of their collective brands.
On its surface, the agreement allows members and clients of South Carolina-based Companion Global Healthcare to access three ParkwayHealth-run hospitals in Singapore just as they would local, in-state hospitals. If I were a hospital executive in South Carolina, I’d sure take notice that about a million Blues plan members now have the option to get healthcare services—including joint replacement, open heart and cardiology surgery, and cancer treatment—at less than half the cost in the States, albeit half a world away.
Even though the medical travel industry is expected to see significant growth—some say it will reach $40 billion (US) by 2010—none of the people I talked to who have knowledge in this deal expects to see a surge of Americans booking trips to access care at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, or East Shore hospitals. In fact, these hospitals currently operate near capacity, says Tom Johnsrud, senior consultant in North America for ParkwayHealth, Singapore, and they don’t have plans to expand as a result of joining Companion’s network.
That’s not to say there won’t be joint marketing efforts by the Singapore Tourism Board and ParkwayHealth, and executives from Companion will be sure to highlight the network expansion when they meet with employers in South Carolina. But for now this arrangement is really about elevating the prominence of the three organizations involved.
For the Singapore Tourism Board, adding hospitals to a U.S.-based network is a significant milestone in the country’s quest to become the hub of healthcare in Asia. Companion’s network of international hospitals is a select group, so Singapore can consider inclusion as a testimonial of the quality of its healthcare system, one that is comparable to the U.S.—and comparable to its regional competition in Thailand.
Companion Global Health is still developing its network of international hospitals. At most, it will be a network of 10 to 15 healthcare organizations, says David Boucher, Companion’s assistant vice president of healthcare services. As it creates the network with medical travel in mind, Companion is trying to differentiate itself by setting quality standards, and making sure its hospitals have strategies for dealing with the needs of patients from different cultures, says Boucher. At the same time, Companion’s executives cannot anticipate the needs of all potential medical travelers, so it’s trying to be both deliberate and diverse as it adds hospitals from around the world. How well Companion does at creating a network that’s high value and high quality could make or break deals it has with employers.
For ParkwayHealth, getting its hospitals in this U.S.-based network advances the organization’s brand as global leader, says Johnsrud. “Like any overseas provider the U.S. market isn’t going to make or break any of them,” he says. “The majority of their patients are international patients … but if you can care for the U.S. patient then you can take care of anybody is the assumption.” Moreover, he says the deal with Companion gives ParkwayHealth exposure that it can use to leverage new deals in other regions. “It may give Parkway an opportunity to grow in other countries where they haven’t considered before,” he says.
While I wouldn’t recommend that Singapore Airlines add direct flights out of Charleston International as a result of this deal, the network expansion opens the possibility for Americans to travel to Singapore for medical care, and just that possibility alone is enough of a boon for the global healthcare organizations that put this arrangement together—for now.
Asia Pacific companies are likely to be leaders in the global 2008 healthcare market due to the region's high population growth rates, rising affluence and ageing societies, according to the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. The revenue for the Asia Pacific healthcare market is likely to grow 6.3 per cent to $889 billion in 2008 as compared to $836 billion in 2007, the Frost and Sullivan data showed. The region will continue to undergo a robust economic growth in 2008, and as a result attract more investments in healthcare infrastructure, said Frost and Sullivan representatives.
In this blog posting, Aniruddha Malpani, MD, says the Indian government should promote medical tourism by providing subsidies and infrastructure services to hospitals and doctors so that they can improve the care they provide. Malpani notes that India should do all it can to promote the practice, because it earns the country valuable foreign exchange, adds to its national prestige.
Quincy, MA, resident David Maynard is preparing to go to China to undergo cutting-edge surgery not available in the United States because it is regarded as risky. Maynard believes the treatment is a step toward treating chronic ailments that began in 1999 with a herniated disc in his upper back. The Chinese doctors will inject stem cells from an umbilical cord into Maynard's spine.
A voluntary affiliation of 39 hospitals in five San Francisco Bay Area counties has announced that its members reduced the number of two major types of hospital infections dramatically between April 2006 and the end of 2007, saving an estimated 194 lives in the process. During the 21-month period, 34 of the 39 hospitals in the group prevented an estimated 60 percent of the cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia, and an estimated 66 percent of cases of central line-associated bloodstream infections. The 120 lives saved by reducing ventilator-related infections saved an estimated $1.2 million, and the 74 lives saved by reducing central line-related infections saved an estimated $2.7 million, according to the collaborative.
Louisiana officials should by the end of the legislative session conclude their discussions about the size and scope of the proposed teaching hospital in downtown New Orleans. Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and Louisiana State University have hired additional consultants to review a previous business assessment that calls for a 484-bed facility. Jindal has expressed doubts that the hospital should be that large, though neither he nor members of the state's Health and Hospitals Secretary suggested what would fit in New Orleans. Levine has also questioned the projected $1.2 billion cost of the project, noting that other teaching hospitals have much lower per-bed costs.
Central Florida Regional Hospital now requires anyone wanting to visit a newborn baby to sign in, get a hospital-issued photo badge and have all baby-sized bags and packages inspected when they leave. The facility proposed these changes to Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, which faulted the hospital for security lapses at when a 1-day-old baby was abducted in March. The agency approved the plan.
