Hospitals find niche in bioresearch

Community hospitals around the country have jumped on a new trend: Launching their own research projects, competing for grant money and publishing their results in peer-reviewed publications in order to supplement their budget. It offers a chance for hospitals to burnish their reputation while gaining a new source of revenue as their Medicare reimbursements fall. For example, Henry Ford Health System in Detroit has a $56 million budget to research such topics as the use of gene therapy for prostate cancer. Baylor Health Care System in Houston has increased its research budget to $50 million over just the last six years. Altogether, 120 healthcare systems are doing research work independently.

For more insight into hospital bioresearch:
- here's a Baltimore Sun article