Rodney E. Miller, administrator and chief operating officer of Memorial Regional Hospital in Miami, has resigned from his $370,000 job after being the subject of a government investigation that found "fraud and mismanagement" at a Virgin Islands medical center he ran until last year. A report by the islands' inspector general said Miller had pocketed $1.3 million over five years "in excess of the amounts specified in the employment contracts." Frank Sacco, chief executive of the Memorial Healthcare System, said the system did all it could to check into Miller’s past, but Miller misled them in his application.
The number of people admitted to the hospital for heart attacks fell by 17% in the year after Scotland’s smoking ban took effect in March 2006, according to a study. The study’s author says the size of the decline strongly suggests it was the smoke-free law and not some other trend or lifestyle change that prevented the heart attacks. In the decade before the law was in place, heart attack admissions fell by an average of about 3% a year. And heart attacks fell by 4% in the same period in neighboring England, where a smoking ban took effect beginning in July 2007.
Medicare is adding to its do-not-pay list for hospitals two new categories of preventable conditions it won't cover. Last year, CMS determined it would no longer pay extra costs for treating certain preventable conditions, referred to as "never events." Medicare officials have now announced that it no longer will pay the extra-care costs associated with treating dangerous blood clots in the leg following knee or hip-replacement. The program also will not pay extra for complications stemming from poor control of blood sugar levels. The changes were made as part of a final rule setting payment rates for inpatient hospitals for the next fiscal year.
Caritas Christi Health Care System, New England’s second-largest hospital chain, has resigned its membership in the Massachusetts Hospital Association. Caritas Christi representatives said the chain could not justify the expense of belonging to the association, which they said was about $700,000 a year. It is the first time a hospital has resigned from the Association since 2003.
Health insurer Cigna's second-quarter profit rose 37% on a jump in premiums and fees as the company's acquisition of Great West Healthcare boosted membership. Profit rose to $272 million, or 97 cents per share, from profit of $198 million, or 68 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time gains and charges, the company earned $1.08 per share in the latest quarter.
To make it easier to find a doctor in Boston, the city's health department is starting a telephone referral service that will connect residents with primary care physicians who are accepting new patients. The referral service marks the first tangible result from a task force Mayor Thomas Menino convened to explore how primary care services can be improved in the city. Menino formed the panel of specialists after state authorities ruled that pharmacies and other stores can open health clinics inside their shops. The referral service will be available through the mayor's health line.
Two multiple-sclerosis patients treated with Biogen Idec Inc.'s drug Tysabri contracted a potentially deadly brain infection. The news casts a cloud over the revival of the medicine, which was already withdrawn once over safety concerns. Biogen said it had no plans to recall the drug again or restrict its use. The company said that the two patients who contracted the ailment, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, are alive.
The head of the Indian Health Service defended his agency against accusations that it lost millions of dollars' worth of equipment and tried to cover it up. A report released by congressional investigators charged that roughly $15.8 million worth of equipment vanished from the agency, which provides healthcare to American Indians, over a four-year period. Employees later falsified documents to cover up some of those losses, the investigators charged.
A jury awarded $2.58 million to an Arnold, MO, couple in a medical malpractice case where a retiree got a staph infection and lost his right leg, part of his left foot, a kidney, and some hearing. The jury found Michael Shapiro, MD, and Metro Heart Group of St. Louis to be 67% responsible and St. Anthony's Medical Center to be 33% responsible. Defense attorneys denied any liability by either the hospital or Shapiro, saying the patient could have gotten the infection anywhere.
Novant Health, North Carolina's second-largest hospital chain, is trying to shake up the competitive landscape in one of North Carolina's most attractive healthcare markets. Novant has announced plans to build a $110 million, 46-bed hospital in Holly Springs, a community in fast-growing western Wake County. Novant executives say they have eyes only for Holly Springs, and the nonprofit health-services chain will face several obstacles as it tries to win state regulators' approval. But the market's established medical providers—including UNC Health Care, Duke University Health System, and WakeMed—have reason to be nervous about a potential Novant foray into the area, experts say.
