Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Face Fallout When Staff Succumbs To 'VIP Syndrome'
The Boston Globe: Did Brigham Ignore Protocols To Offer A Patient Royal Treatment?
The embarrassing episode is a vivid example of what can happen when administrators, doctors, and nurses veer from their usual clinical judgment and behavior because of a patient’s special status and demands. The term VIP syndrome is believed to have been coined in 1964 by Dr. Walter Weintraub, who wrote that his Maryland psychiatric hospital was thrown into turmoil when staff struggled to respond to the relentless requests of influential patients and their relatives. (Kowalczyk, 4/3)
The Tampa Bay Times: Five Years In, All Children's And Johns Hopkins Say Their Hospital Marriage Is Solid
In joining forces with the internationally known Johns Hopkins Health System five years ago, All Children's Hospital hoped to catapult itself into the top tier of pediatric hospitals. In many ways, it succeeded. All Children's has a new medical residency program that recently attracted 1,400 applicants for 12 slots. It draws experienced physicians from top hospitals such as Boston Children's. And it has broken ground on an $85 million research and education facility. (McGrory, 4/3)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Conspiracy Ripped Off MetroHealth System, Stealing Checks It Intended For Hospital Vendors, Prosecutors Say
At least eight people are charged with conspiracy to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars from MetroHealth System in an elaborate scheme that involved the creation of dozens of phony corporations mimicking actual hospital vendors. A Cuyahoga County grand jury indictment says that a team of people formed an "illicit enterprise" to steal money intended as payments to the public hospital system's vendors. (Harper, 4/1)
Georgia Health News: The Hospital Combination Game: Two Examples In Georgia
The two deals are very different in size and other details, but the Georgia hospital combinations announced last week reflect the fast pace of such partnerships between sometimes distant health systems. WellStar Health System announced Friday that it had just added five Tenet Healthcare hospitals in the Atlanta region, cementing WellStar’s place as the biggest health system in Georgia. (Miller, 4/3)
