Tenet To Take Part in Second Leapfrog Group Quality of Care Study

One hundred of the 114 hospitals owned by California-based Tenet Healthcare, the nation's second-largest for-profit hospital chain, will participate in a voluntary, independent survey to determine the quality of care at the facilities, Tenet officials said on July 21, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Leapfrog Group, a coalition of 143 companies and private and public purchasers of health care, will conduct the second annual survey (White, Los Angeles Times, 7/22). As part of the survey, Tenet will publicly disclose the performance of the 100 hospitals for 10 quality measures related to the treatment of pneumonia, congestive heart failure and heart attacks. Tenet plans to sell the 14 hospitals that will not participate in the survey (Reuters, 7/21). Trevor Fetter, president and acting CEO of Tenet, said the company is "committed to taking a leadership position in our industry" on the issue of quality of care. Tenet, which did not participate in the survey last year, faces a number of federal investigations related to Medicare billing and other business practices (Los Angeles Times, 7/22). On July 17, a federal grand jury issued a 17-count criminal indictment of San Diego-based Alvarado Hospital Medical Center; hospital CEO Barry Weinbaum; and Alvarado owner Tenet HealthSystem Hospitals, a subsidiary of Tenet. Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles issued subpoenas to Tenet for records about physician-relocation agreements since 1995 at seven Southern California hospitals. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the HHS Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Trade Commission have launched investigations into Tenet since October 2002. Tenet also faces a number of lawsuits from shareholders and patients treated by the two physicians at California-based Redding Medical Center who allegedly performed unnecessary procedures (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/18).