Do You Really Need That Medical Procedure? Maybe Not, Report Suggests
Many hospital doctors continue to perform unnecessary procedures and surgeries, according to the nonpartisan health care think tank Lown Institute. In the U.S., for-profit, non-teaching and Southern hospitals were associated with the highest rates of overuse, Modern Healthcare reports.
Modern Healthcare:
Unnecessary Tests And Procedures Widespread In Much Of U.S.
Many hospital doctors continue to perform unnecessary medical procedures and surgeries every year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan healthcare think tank Lown Institute. The second annual Hospitals Index found that in the U.S., for-profit, non-teaching and Southern hospitals were associated with the highest rates of overuse. Hospitals like Houston Methodist Sugarland Hospital, CHI St. Luke's Health Memorial Livingston in Tennessee and Adventist Healthcare Fort Washington Medical Center in Maryland all scored in the bottom 50 hospitals as having the most Medicare claims for 12 unnecessary tests, procedures and surgeries. (Gillespie, 5/4)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare:
Hospital Leaders Make Pledge To Improve Healthcare Worker Safety
CEOs from 10 hospital systems are working together to create a new safety standard for healthcare workers as the pandemic has highlighted the risks and inequities in the industry. The group, formed early this year and known as the CEO Coalition, shared their signed declaration on Tuesday and said they hope to kick off a national movement to protect workers' psychological, emotional and physical safety as well as promote health justice. (Christ, 5/4)
Modern Healthcare:
HCA Shareholders Reject Two Union-Backed Proposals At Annual Meeting
HCA Healthcare's shareholders shot down two union-backed proposals at the investor-owned company's recent annual meeting, one that would have made quality a bigger factor in executive pay and another to oust a director. The owners of 9.2% of Nashville-based HCA's common stock—representing just shy of 28.5 million shares out of 308.3 million total shares—voted in favor of a bid to study the feasibility of increasing the impact of quality performance on executive compensation. The measure would have needed 'yes' votes from owners of more than 50% of shares to pass. (Bannow, 5/4)
The Baltimore Sun:
Susan G. Komen Maryland To Dissolve, Donate Remaining Assets To Breast Cancer Treatment
The Maryland branch of Susan G. Komen announced Monday that it will shut down amid downsizing by its parent organization, a national nonprofit that funds breast cancer research and treatment. Susan G. Komen Maryland board members voted April 1 to dissolve the charity, lay off its staff and donate its remaining assets to a number of local organizations, including the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, University of Maryland Medical System Foundation and the Saint Agnes Hospital Foundation. The list also includes nonprofit organizations like Blossoms of Hope, Moveable Feast Inc. and Nueva Vida. (Condon, 5/4)
Stat:
The Editor Of Digital Health’s New Journal Wants To Democratize Data
As an ICU physician, Leo Anthony Celi knows the immense power health data can hold. If it’s harnessed thoughtfully, it could speed diagnoses and drive better care. And if it isn’t wielded carefully, it can make matters worse. That’s why he’s become a prominent advocate for open data sharing as a way to make medical research not only more democratic, but also more robust. (Palmer, 5/5)
KHN:
Hit By Higher Prices For Gear, Doctors And Dentists Want Insurers To Pay
Treating patients has become more expensive during the pandemic, and doctors and dentists don’t want to be on the hook for all the new costs. For instance, the box of 100 gloves that cost $2.39 in February 2020 costs $30 now, said Dr. Judee Tippett-Whyte, president of the California Dental Association, who has a private dental practice in Stockton. (Bluth, 5/5)
KHN:
A Primary Care Physician For Every American, Science Panel Urges
The federal government must aggressively bolster primary care and connect more Americans with a dedicated source of care, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine warn in a major report that sounds the alarm about an endangered foundation of the U.S. health system. The urgently worded report, which comes as internists, family doctors and pediatricians nationwide struggle with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, calls for a broad recognition that primary care is a “common good” akin to public education. (Levey, 5/4)
KHN:
Covid Shot In The Arm Not Enough To Keep Pharmacies In Business
Tobin’s pharmacy and department store had already stocked its shelves with Easter and Mother’s Day items last spring, and the staff had just placed the Christmas orders. The shop in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, had been operating on a razor’s edge as retail sales moved online and mail-order pharmacies siphoned off its patients. It was losing money on 1 out of 4 pill bottles filled, so the front of the store, where it sold clothing, cosmetics and jewelry, had been compensating for pharmacy losses for years. “And then covid hit,” said Dave Schultz, who co-owned the store with his brother. “And that was the final straw.”(Hawryluk, 5/5)
