Word: doctores
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...department and of those that do, more than half have only one bed available, according to a 2008 report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services. Even more troubling to critics is the fact that, despite being physician-owned, only about 30% have a doctor on site at all times, and about two-thirds actually tell staff to call 911 in case of an emergency, according to the same report...
This has created a dangerous situation, according to critics. The inspector general's report came about after a 44-year-old spinal-surgery patient at a doctor-owned specialty hospital in Texas - the state with the highest number of such facilities - developed breathing problems and died, despite being taken by ambulance to a larger community hospital. The staff had called 911 after noticing the man's respiratory function was poor, but there was no doctor present to help. And just last month, a female patient at the physician-owned Colorado Orthopaedic and Surgical Hospital died after she became unresponsive following...
Perhaps an even more pressing problem in the context of health reform is the risk of overutilization of services. According to a 2006 report from the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, just the presence of a doctor-owned heart hospital in a community increases the rate of cardiac surgery by 6% among Medicare beneficiaries. The upshot, according to a House staffer involved in health reform, is that "people are getting things they probably don't need." Plus, says the staffer, "the community hospitals go to war, bulk up their own specialty centers and all of a sudden you see these...
...their part, doctor-owned specialty hospitals say they're providing more access to better quality care - and in some respects, this may be true. Patient satisfaction rates at such facilities are generally high and it's logical that a facility dedicated to just one or a few specialties could operate more efficiently. "Rather than compete in the marketplace they want to legislate us out of business," says Dr. John Harvey, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital...
...controversy over physician-owned hospitals isn't actually new. Representative Pete Stark, a Democrat from California, began a crusade against doctor conflicts of interest more than two decades ago, and successfully got legislation passed in 1989 that prohibited doctors from, among other things, having a financial stake in labs that performed tests for their patients. The Stark Law, as it became known, has been strengthened over the years to include more facilities and apply to Medicare and Medicaid payments. But the loophole allowing for doctor-owned specialty hospitals has remained open despite repeated attempts to close it. Now that...