Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ohio Weighs Pros, Cons Of Expanding Hospital Oversight After Patient Overdose Deaths
Ohio is the only state that doesn鈥檛 license its hospitals, prompting the Ohio Nurses Association and some lawmakers to call for increased regulation. However, others say there鈥檚 already enough state oversight and warn that adding more could take away from patient care. (Viviano, 4/17)
The University of Kansas Hospital, the biggest in the Kansas City area, got a five-star rating from the federal government for the first time. But in another first, Olathe Medical Center dropped to only one star. The annual Medicare 鈥淗ospital Compare鈥 star ratings have been controversial since they began in 2016, and KU officials have been among those criticizing their accuracy in the past. (Marso, 4/16)
A legal tug-of-war that鈥檚 engulfed the Missouri state auditor and tiny Putnam County Memorial Hospital in Unionville, Missouri, appeared to have ended yesterday but may drag on a bit longer. On Monday, a judge dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by the hospital's former owners, David Byrns and Jorge Perez, Florida residents who ran a company called Hospital Partners Inc. They were seeking damages against the hospital's trustees and Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway, whose scathing 2017 audit questioned the legality of a $90 million billing arrangement Hospital Partners had set up at the 15-bed hospital. (Margolies, 4/16)
Westlake Hospital must restore many of its services, for at least a few weeks, after a Cook County Circuit Court judge held the hospital鈥檚 owner in contempt of court Tuesday. The hospital鈥檚 owner, Pipeline Health, had suspended many of the hospital鈥檚 services last week, saying staffing had dropped to unsafe levels. The Village of Melrose Park, however, sought and won a temporary restraining order April 9 to stop Pipeline from further winding down the hospital鈥檚 operations. (Schencker, 4/16)
Although a universal electronic medical record remains a distant dream in the USA, several states have introduced health information exchanges, or HIEs, to decrease duplication of care and decrease delays. Indeed, a University of Michigan study showed that implementation of HIEs 鈥 medical exchanges between unaffiliated hospitals and other medical organizations -- halved redundant CAT scans, ultrasounds and X-rays. (Sinha, 4/17)
