Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Concerns Rise As California Hospitals Provide Few Details Following Crash Of Information System
San Francisco Chronicle: Sutter Health Tight-Lipped About Cause Of Major Computer Crash
Sutter Health, whose computer network system crashed Monday night and remained down until Wednesday morning — forcing hospitals across Northern California to cancel surgeries and delay appointments — is sharing few details about the cause of the problem. (Ho, 5/18)
Sacramento Bee: Sutter Health Patients, Nurses Concerned After Computer Failure
The companywide information system failure at Sutter Health last week is raising concerns among some nurses and at least one patient about how the health-care giant functioned amid the crisis. (Anderson, 5/20)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Supreme Court To Weigh Tax Exemption For Not-For-Profit Hospitals
The state’s highest court will weigh the constitutionality of a law that lets not-for-profit hospitals skip paying property taxes — a question with potentially hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Current law says that not-for-profit hospitals in Illinois don’t have to pay property taxes as long as the value of their charitable services is at least equal to what they would otherwise pay in taxes. About three-fourths of the state’s more than 200 hospitals are not-for-profit. (Schencker, 5/18)
California Healthline: Children’s Hospitals Look To Voters For Financial Aid
California’s children’s hospitals say they’re struggling to keep up with advances in medical care and a growing demand for their services, and they’re asking taxpayers to help – again. The California Children’s Hospital Association wants voters to pass a $1.5 billion bond measure to upgrade infrastructure and equipment at the state’s 13 children’s hospitals. It would be the third state bond for children’s hospitals in the past 14 years. In 2004, voters approved one for $750 million, and in 2008, they re-upped for $980 million. (Ibarra, 5/21)
Seattle Times: Western State Patient Releases Can Be Delayed Years For Lack Of Outside Beds
It took more than half a year for Brian’s daughter to get a bed at Western State Hospital after she put a bread knife into an electrical outlet at his Tacoma apartment. A court ruled she needed involuntary psychiatric treatment at the 857-bed facility in Lakewood, but because the waitlist can stretch to more than 100 patients, his daughter instead bounced around Pierce County inpatient treatment centers that provide less-intensive care. (Orenstein, 5/19)
Dallas Morning News: Frisco Hospice Exec Admits Overdosing Patients 'to Hasten Their Deaths' And Make More Money
The former executive of a Frisco hospice admitted Thursday to overdosing patients to "hasten their deaths" so the company could make more money, court records show. Melanie Murphey, 36, admitted serving as the "go-between" for Novus Health Services owner Bradley Harris, doctors and nurses in an alleged $60 million scheme. Murphey, Novus' director of operations, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and is expected to testify against 15 others in the case, including Harris and his wife, Amy. The other defendants have pleaded not guilty. (Emily, 5/19)
