Rheumatologists should be better compensated, in part, due to the revenue they bring to the hospital system from their procedures, argue D’Anna et al., who found that clinical academic rheumatologists bring significant downstream revenue to the healthcare system.
Bigger, More Expensive Healthcare Practices Not Necessarily Better
(Reuters Health)—You might not get what you pay for when it comes to healthcare, a new study hints. A report in Health Affairs on May 2 found little association between how much physician practices charged and patients’ perceptions of their quality of care.1 “We’re asking consumers to make a lot of decisions about healthcare purchasing…
The Impact of U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Medical Affairs, Healthcare Policy
As America’s capital, Washington, D.C., maintains an outsized influence in our daily lives. Despite having a meager sliver of the New York City population, the daily political transactions that transpire in the District of Columbia impact our lives. The comings and goings in the corridors of Congress are likely to have a greater impact on us…
Inefficient Prescribing Costs Billions of Healthcare Dollars
(Reuters Health)—In the U.S. between 2010 and 2012, nearly $73 billion was spent on brand name medications instead of less expensive alternatives, according to a new study. A large portion of that money was spent by patients, the researchers found. “Prescription drug prescribing during the time of this paper was not efficient and still isn’t…
Do Tiered Physician Networks Help or Hurt? What Rheumatologists Should Know
Health insurance plans are increasingly favoring tiered physician networks, which some fear have the potential to limit patient access to such specialties as rheumatology to achieve short-term cost reduction…
Adventist Health System to Pay $118 Million to Settle Fraud Claims
(Reuters)—Florida-based healthcare system Adventist Health System has agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that accused it of paying kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals, attorneys for the plaintiffs announced on Monday. The agreement comes in a lawsuit filed by three former employees of Adventist’s Park Ridge Health hospital in Hendersonville,…
Hamstrung by Red Tape, Hospital Operators Buy Their Way into India
NEW DELHI (Reuters)—For nearly two years, Parkway Pantai has delayed the opening of its 450-bed India hospital, the Singapore-based medical firm’s bid to cash in on one of Asia’s fastest growing private healthcare markets, as it waited for the necessary permits. Parkway, a unit of the world’s second largest healthcare group by market value IHH…
The Race Between Senators McCain and Obama
At one time, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama were both considered the underdog choices to receive nominations for the 2008 presidential election.