physician practices news from FierceHealthcare

The Little Clinic--based out of Brentwood, TN--which runs more than 40 retail clinics inside of Kroger and Publix supermarkets, has agreed to formally adopt proposed clinic standards established by Read more...

> A group of suburban Boston medical centers and physician practices have come together to form a new health system. Read more...

Physicians are increasingly practicing in single-specialty groups of six to 50 physicians, rather than the old-school groups of one or two physicians, according to new research. A report by the Read more...

After years of hope and speculation, healthcare providers finally are seeing some evidence electronic medical records can ease the risk of malpractice suits and the burden of liability insurance Read more...

It's a good time for the Henry Ford Health System, which is coming back strong after suffering major losses a few years ago. The nonprofit system has done well again this year, reporting a 2006 net income of $134.9 million on revenues of $3.25 billion. Revenues are up 6.6 percent from 2005, and net income a whopping 20 percent. Revenue sources included $1.5 billion from the system's Health Alliance Plan and $1 billion from its 920-bed Detroit hospital, physician practices and behavioral …

Read more...

> A Pennsylvania health reform plan backed aggressively by Gov. Ed Rendell (D) may not pass this year. Article

> Following peers elsewhere, a Jacksonville, FL hospital has developed a bloodless medicine and surgery program aimed at patients who reject transfusions. …

Read more...

Like it or not, retail clinics are gradually becoming a mainstream concept. As this market gathers steam--and it is, despite some initial problems--it's going to change consumer perception of what outpatient care should be. …

Read more...

The federal Office of the Inspector General has released a work plan for 2007--among the most detailed in recent years--that targets a wide range of activities and reimbursement areas important to hospitals, home care services, laboratories, rehab providers and psych facilities. Two important issues to be studied include:

• Supplemental payments to hospitals: The OIG is taking a closer look at adjustments for graduate medical education permits, nursing and allied …

Read more...

> An IBM-backed study suggests that most of the world's health systems will begin to fall apart by the year 2015. Release

> In a speech to a cardiology group, Schering-Plough's CEO puts forth his own set of cost-busting criteria for a managed care scorecard. (Sure, it's health plan mismanagement, not drug prices, which is driving up healthcare costs). …

Read more...

Shands HealthCare--a health systems in the southeast that includes nine hospitals and more than 80 affiliated physician practices--announced that it will roll out it's own Medicaid offering in an attempt to attract 80,000 possible enrollees in the Jacksonville, FL area. "We have essentially had to develop all the core functions of an insurance company--claims processing, provider relations, benefits plan design, utilization management, disease management," Doug Chaet, vice president of …

Read more...