whitecoatnotes

Clipboard: State’s Medicare windfall in jeopardy

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:51:20 GMT

A $250 million Medicare windfall for Massachusetts hospitals appears to be on the brink of expiring. The state’s congressional delegation is pushing to preserve what critics have dubbed the “Bay State boondoggle,” Tracy Jan writes in today’s Globe.

Health Policy Commission to review Partners HealthCare plan to acquire South Shore Hospital

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:01:47 GMT

The state’s new Health Policy Commission is moving forward with a cost and market impact review of Partners HealthCare System’s plan to acquire South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, the first test of its ability to influence the ongoing hospital consolidation trend in Massachusetts. A statement issued by the commission staff Wednesday afternoon said executives at South Shore and Boston-based Partners, which owns Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, were notified that the commission will examine how the proposed merger of the two highly paid health care providers is likely to affect costs and the state’s health care market. The commission was created by last year’s state health cost containment law as a watchdog to monitor changes in the health care market.

Christina Severin will lead the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:56:52 GMT

Christina Severin will assume the posts of president and chief executive of the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization in late June. In January, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center launched the organization, known as BIDCO, with doctors and other hospitals as it looked to adapt to a national movement toward payment systems that provide a single, set fee to care for each patient’s health. BIDCO, formed with the medical center’s physician group and partner hospitals, aims to improve care by emphasizing wellness over treatment. Since 2006, Severin has served as president of Network Health, a Tufts Health Plan subsidiary. She has also taught classes in health care administration and management at Boston University, Northeastern University, and Harvard University.

Clipboard: Lawmakers cut money to boost pharmacies inspections following outbreak

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:55:15 GMT

After failures at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy caused hundreds of people to be sickened by tainted drugs, state officials called for better oversight of the industry and Governor Deval Patrick pledged an additional $1 million to help the Department of Public Health conduct routine inspections. But that money has been cut from the Senate’s proposed budget, prompting Rachel Zimmerman, of WBUR’s CommonHealth blog to ask, “Really?”

Readers applaud Beth Israel Deaconess nurses who healed bombing suspect

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:16:08 GMT

I wrote in Sunday’s Globe about nine trauma nurses at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who played a very private but critical role in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing: They cared for gravely wounded suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a heavily-guarded ICU, nursing him back to health. E-mails from readers across the country, commending and thanking them, have been pouring in.

Norden brothers, injured in Marathon bombings, are back together at Spaulding Rehab

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:11:26 GMT

Two brothers who grew up in Stoneham, each of whom lost a leg in the Marathon bombing last month, engaged in playful competitive banter during a news conference Monday at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.

Audrey Shelto named president of Blue Cross Foundation

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:20:16 GMT

Audrey Shelto of Newton will be the next president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.

Reflections from Residency: Looking past a patient’s crimes

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:05:08 GMT

It was the first day of a new rotation. I was getting to know my patients, trying to match faces and diagnoses with names on my list. A frail man with end-stage heart failure, Mr. T was too weak to walk and spent most of his time in a reclining chair. He had been in the hospital for weeks with pneumonia, kidney failure, and several other complications. He was quiet, unlike most of my other patients. No one came to visit him.

Dr. Ronald Dunlap to be president of the Mass. Medical Society

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:56:46 GMT

Norwell cardiologist Dr. Ronald Dunlap has been elected to a one-year term as president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Medicare list of hospital charges for 100 procedures shows wide variation

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:56:03 GMT

US hospitals charge Medicare widely varying amounts for the same medical procedure, even when those hospitals are in the same city or right across the street from each other, according to data released Wednesday by the federal government. The data are attracting lots of attention from the media, but the findings probably won’t surprise Massachusetts consumers.

Independent labs will have to test medical marijuana sold in Massachusetts

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:09:42 GMT

Companies hoping to sell marijuana for medical use in Massachusetts will be required to hire an independent lab to test their products for contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, under final rules that regulators approved by unanimous vote Wednesday morning.

State vows scrutiny for insurers on mental health coverage

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:21:16 GMT

State Attorney General Martha Coakley warned insurance trade group that she will continue scrutinizing health plans to be sure they comply with state law on coverage for people with mental illness.

Cost-cutting program developed at Boston Children's Hospital said to improve care, too

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:19:44 GMT

About 500 children each year arrive at the Boston Children’s Hospital emergency room with chest pain, a symptom that is rarely serious. In the past, many of them received tests they did not need, including EKGs, echocardiograms, stress tests, and around-the-clock monitoring using electrodes attached to a portable device.

Beth Israel Deaconess, Cambridge Health Alliance form partnership

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:27:33 GMT

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a downtown Boston hospital aggressively courting health providers in the suburbs, has formed a partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance, the two hospital systems announced Thursday.

Cambridge Health Alliance, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center sign affiliation agreement

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:08:43 GMT

The announcement by the two hospitals comes amid a swell of consolidation in the health care market, in Massachusetts and nationally.

Clipboard: Study finds gains for mental health, but not physical health, in Medicaid recipients

Thu, 02 May 2013 17:51:18 GMT

A new analysis of Oregon Medicaid recipients found that, while coverage lowered depression, it did not improve key health measures, such as blood pressure or blood sugar levels.

Former Dana-Farber director remembered for contribution to curing childhood cancer, optimism

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:53:29 GMT

Dr. Emil “Tom” Frei III, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute doctor who developed treatment that cured childhood leukemia, died on April 30 at age 89.

Steward Health Care suing Rhode Island insurer

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:39:14 GMT

The hospital chain alleged in a lawsuit that Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island blocked its plan to purchase a Woonsocket hospital.

1 in 4 Mass. physicians received industry gifts, payments

Wed, 01 May 2013 21:02:35 GMT

An analysis of Massachusetts data published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine found that specialists were more likely than primary care doctors to receive payments from device makers and drug companies. More than half of urologists, gastroenterologists, and rheumatologists received a payment over two and a half years.

Face transplant recipient reveals new look, and looks forward to what’s next in her life

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:49:57 GMT

After successful surgery, face transplant recipient Carmen Blandin Tarleton said she is ready for the next chapter in her life.

Marathon victim Jarrod Clowery: ‘We’re going to come out of this better’

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:55:20 GMT

Jarrod Clowery, a 35-year-old carpenter injured in the Marathon bombings, said he is drawing strength from his friends, also victims, who are “tough as nails.”

Emergency doctor: Training and bravery were most critical in saving lives, but timing of Marathon attack was ‘opportune’

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:06:39 GMT

Three people died at the scene, after the bombing of the Boston Marathon. But every person transferred to a hospital survived, the chief of emergency services at Mass. General writes in a perspective piece.

Dr. Thomas Lee to leave Partners for consulting firm

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:39:32 GMT

Partners HealthCare’s top physician, Dr. Thomas Lee, is leaving that job to become chief medical officer for consulting group Press Ganey Associates.

Marathon bombing victim: Though difficult, amputation was ‘best option for me’

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:58:30 GMT

It wasn’t a decision Heather Abbott ever expected she would have to make. But, after doctors had tried for nearly a week to save her foot, injured in the blasts on Marathon Monday, she gave the go-ahead to amputate.

Dr. Saul N. Weingart named chief medical officer of Tufts Medical Center

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:02:43 GMT

Dr. Saul N. Weingart, a prominent health care quality expert at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been recruited by Tufts Medical Center to be the hospital’s chief medical officer.