Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Latest Kickback Scheme At Hospital Reveals A DOJ Keen To Go After Individual Offenders
Modern Healthcare: Execs, Physicians At Doc-Owned Luxury Hospital Chain Indicted In Alleged Kickback Scheme
The federal indictment of executives and physicians charged in a $200 million bribery and kickback scheme at a ritzy Dallas-based hospital signals the U.S Justice Department remains hungry for holding people liable for widespread healthcare fraud. It shows the federal government is “not only going to look for corporate responsibility but individual liability as well,” said Troy Barsky, an attorney in the healthcare group at Crowell & Moring in Washington. The indictments also reinforce long-standing questions surrounding the potential for self-dealing practices at physician-owned facilities. (Livingston, 12/6)
Nashville Tennessean: Tap To Get A Vanderbilt Hospital Nurse Practitioner At Your Door
Nurse practitioners from Vanderbilt University Medical Center will now make house calls. Really — if the patient is in Davidson County. Vanderbilt Health OnCall is a new VUMC pilot that sends nurse practitioners to a home, office, hotel — wherever the patient needs treatment for common issues such as colds and minor illnesses. The on-demand service from the city's academic hospital underscores how health systems and provider groups are trying to inject consumer-friendly, and tech-driven, initiatives into the existing delivery model. Anyone 18 to 64 can download the OnCall app or use an online form to schedule an appointment. (Fletcher, 12/6)
Chicago Tribune: 10 Illinois Hospitals Earn Top Honors In Patient Safety
Ten Illinois hospitals drew top honors this year for patient safety as part of the Leapfrog Group's annual ratings.Hospitals that completed surveys for The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that evaluates hospital performance for consumers and employers, were judged on a number of patient safety measures. Hospitals with intensive care units, for example, had to make sure those units were managed by doctors trained in critical care medicine. Hospitals had to receive a patient safety grade of A from Leapfrog. And hospitals had to comply with Leapfrog's policy for responding to errors that should never occur — a protocol that includes apologizing to the patient and family, waiving costs, reporting the event to an external agency and analyzing why the event occurred. (Schencker, 12/6)
