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Hospital
report cards...an encouraging trend
|  Increasingly, patients are turning to the internet to find ranking
tools that measure a wide range of healthcare outcomes and delivery
systems. In Illinois, a new web site that ranks hospitals on a wide
range of performance and cost parameters was launched on Thursday. It
was so popular that it crashed twice before it managed to get up and
stay up.
Illinois lawmakers passed legislation in 2003 establishing a state
report card for hospitals. They were one of the first states to do so.
But arranging funding, staffing and procedures took six years. The
site is still a work in progress with new categories such as mortality
rates scheduled for inclusion.
I navigated the site and was impressed with the number of criteria
measured. Quality of care was measured by a hospitals adherence to
recommended treatments for pneumonia, heart failure and heart attack.
Patient satisfaction rankings were a problem for some hospitals with
rankings as low as 44%. The top ranked hospital, Central DuPage
Hospital in Winfield, achieved a 76% rating. A measure of how seriously
hospitals are taking this process was the immediate implementation of a
program to build morale and engagement among front-line caregivers at
GlenOaks Hospital which ranked at the bottom.
Read More at Rounds Online |
Look at it on the bright side...
| Well, healthcare reform is a reality. And for better or worse we are
going to have to live with it. No pun intended. Let's look at a
couple of the potentially good elements from a hospital perspective.
In many respects, healthcare reform wasn't really about access to
health services but rather how that access could best be paid for. I
say that because there really is no lack of access in this country. It
is an urban myth. If an ill or injured person can crawl or be carried
into an emergency room anywhere in the country they will be cared
for...regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. In fact,
even their immigration status doesn't matter.
By law, a hospital cannot deny coverage to anyone. And when the bill
comes due, the hospital has to eat it. In Elgin, Illinois for example,
Sherman Hospital just opened a beautiful, state-of-the-art hospital on a
sprawling campus on the city's west side. According to their "Non
Profit Hospital Community Benefits Plan", they spent $34.6 million last
year to subsidize government health care programs including Medicaid and
Medicare. That was their share of the subsidy pie.
But that was not their only contribution to the system. They also
had to write off nearly $25.4 million on bad debts...people who couldn't
or wouldn't pay their bills. Combined, that's a pretty hefty chunk of
changes...$60 million bucks! And that does not take into account the
wasted resources when the uninsured come to the ER for expensive primary
care services rather than to a physician's office or clinic.
Read more at Rounds Online
|
The Outsourcing of American Healthcare
| It was only a matter of time.
First it was American manufacturing jobs that went over seas. A Chinese
worker making $120 per month working 12 hours per day, 360 days per
week, turns out hundreds of widgets at a fraction of the cost of an
American made widget. A sign on a factory wall in China reminded the
workers, "If you do not work hard today, you will have to work hard
tomorrow to find a job."
White collar service jobs seemed immune to outsourcing until call
centers with English speaking workers began offering customer service
options to American companies. With today's virtual world and
sophisticated communications systems, anything that can be done in a
"back office" can now be done in a third world urban service center and
transported by satellite to the computer screens of American managers.
So it should come as no surprise that the major American insurance
companies are beginning to experiment with medical tourism, establishing
networks of surgeons and dentists in places like India, Costa Rica and
Thailand, where costs can be as much as 75% less than in the United
States. Although the $5.1 billion spent on Medial Tourism in 2007 is
less than 1% of the $2.3 trillion spent on healthcare in the U.S., it is
a concept that the American medical community would be wise to monitor.
In the past, for the most part, Americans traveling abroad for
medical care were comprised of the wealthy and the uninsured. And
unlike American manufacturing jobs and admin jobs, the motivation of
those visiting a foreign medical campus were not just cost. Some of the
finest surgical centers in the world can be found outside the U.S. And
the quality extends from the clinical to the non-clinical. High levels
of service, the finest cuisine and luxury accommodation can make the
entire process hard to duplicate in over-crowded U.S. hospitals staffed
by over-worked physicians.
Until recently American insurance companies have turned their backs
on the concept. But now the largest insurers, covering millions of
policy holders are beginning to take a harder look. Pilot programs are
either already underway or are pending.
Read more at Rounds Online |
The
Roth IRA Conversion Changes in 2010
|  By Angel Marvin, CPA, PFS
Abacus Planning Group, Inc.
For many, the funding of a Roth IRA has not been an option for saving
for retirement. However, beginning on January 1, 2010, a new
opportunity is available for those interested in a Roth IRA. New IRS
rules are making it easier than ever to convert to a Roth IRA. All
taxpayers are now eligible to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA,
regardless of income or filing status. In addition, individuals can
convert some types of qualified retirement plans, including 401(k)
plans, profit sharing plans, governmental 457(b) plans, and 403(b)
plans. A Roth conversion allows individuals to convert future taxable
income to future tax-free income.
Why convert to a Roth? A Roth IRA allows for more flexibility than a
traditional IRA. For example, contributions and earnings on the
contributions to a Roth IRA are not taxed when withdrawn upon retirement
and the RMD law (Required Minimum Distribution at age 70 1 /2) does not
apply to funds in a Roth IRA. In exchange for the future tax breaks
afforded by a Roth IRA, the amount converted into a Roth IRA is
typically taxed as ordinary income in the year of conversion. A
short-lived plus is conversion to a Roth in 2010 which allows for the
tax to be spread over two tax years-2011 and 2012. If conversion to a
Roth takes place after 2010, all taxes must be paid in the conversion
year.
Read More at Rounds Online |
Tenancy By The Entirety...Something every doctor should know about.
| As young, graduating residents and fellows prepare to move from
abject poverty to relative prosperity with a new employment contract and
a respectable salary, their thoughts often turn to establishing a
residence, getting married, starting a family and buying many of those
deferred "things" that they could not afford as medical students.
Before you get started down the road of the American Dream, stop and get
some advice.
I cannot over stress the importance of sound legal advice for any
professional embarking on a new career. Good advice is available from
any number of quarters including the family attorney and other family
members and friends who are older and wiser. But there are those whose
job is dispensing financial advice. They are called, not surprisingly,
Financial Advisors. And, of course, as in other professions, there are
advisors and then there are advisors.
An excellent source for financial advisors who are "fiduciaries"
(Financial Advisors who work on a fee only basis placing the interests
of the client first) is the National Association of Personal Financial
Advisors, NAPFA. All of their members are experienced fiduciaries.
Within the association is a group of Financial Advisors who display the
MD Preferred Financial Advisor Medallion. They specialize in serving
the very special needs of physicians.
Read more at Rounds Online
|
MD Preferred National Award Recipients - July
|  THE HONEY BAKED HAM COMPANYSince 1957 The HoneyBaked Ham Company has been offering gifts of great
taste that serve as excellent ways to express appreciation and tasteful
incentives to motivate as well as rewards for recognition. Our wide
variety of gourmet selections offers gifts for every taste and every
budget. Featuring The HoneyBaked Ham, and also offering turkeys,
Certified Angus Beef®, Seafood, fresh fruit, nuts, fine chocolates and
delectable desserts. Gifts from HoneyBaked are easy, tasteful, always
appropriate and will be delivered directly to your recipient's doorstep.  LEGAL SEA FOODSOver the past six decades, Legal Sea Foods restaurants have built an
unmatched reputation serving the freshest and highest quality seafoods.
Our Gourmet Gift Division has provided the same award-winning dishes to
customers across the U.S. Along the way, hundreds of companies have used
our service to send gifts to clients, provide incentives to their sales
force, or bring a unique touch to company clients. We invite you to
join these companies, who have discovered that nothing is quite so
memorable as a gourmet gift from Legal Sea Foods.
|
MD Preferred National Award Recipients - July
|
PH YSICIAN'S PREFERRED WELLNESS GROUP. Doctors throughout the country are offering
this high quality, PDR LISTED, health and wellness program to their
patients, providing options and guidance in this currently unregulated
industry.
The Physicians Preferred Wellness Program
is a perfect complement to your existing practice.
This program has been adopted by over 2,000 doctors
nationwide and is helping doctors each day capture a new source of
income that is not tied to insurance reimbursements or co-pays!
|
MD Preferred Community Award Recipients - July
|
To find an MD Preferred Service Provider in your community,
please visit our website!
REAL ESTATE / RELOCATION
Nextage Realty International
www.NextageRealty.com Birmingham
& Mobile, AL Little
Rock, AR Scottsdale,
Phoenix, Glendale,
Peoria, Tempe,
Chandler, Gilbert, & Prescott,
AZ Los Angeles,
Pasadena, Santa Monica, Arcadia, Sacramento, Davis, Placerville, Roseville,
Stockton, South Lake Tahoe, Tarzana, West Los Angeles, Century City, & Santa
Barbara, CA Monument & Ft
Collins, CO Washington,
DC Sarasota,
Pensacola, Miami,
Orlando, Tampa,
Ft. Lauderdale,
Jacksonville & Gainesville,
FL Atlanta,
Dunwoody, John's Creek, Alpharetta, Cumming, Marietta,
Gainesville, McDonough,
Lawrenceville, Douglasville &
Conyers, GA Chicago,
Rockford, Springfield,
Champagne, Urbana
& Peoria, IL Florence,
Lexington & Louisville,
KY Baton
Rouge, New Orleans,
Lake Charles, Shreveport
& Lafayette, LA Potomac,
Chevy Chase, Cape Girardeau,
& St. Louis Charlotte, & Raleigh-Durham,
NC Jersey
City, Secaucus &
Bayonne, NJ Las
Vegas, Henderson,
Boulder City,
Laughlin, Mesquite, Pahrump, & Reno,
NV White Plaines, Queens,
Washington Heights, Poughkeepsie,
Kingston & Newburgh,
NY Cincinnati,
Dayton, Akron,
Cleveland, Toledo
& Butler County, OH Myrtle
Beach, Columbia,
Charleston, Greenville
& Spartanburg, SC Knoxville,
Nashville, & Chattanooga,
TN Houston,
Katy, The Woodlands, Spring, Kingwood &
Arlington, TX McLean
& Fairfax, VA Seattle,
Bellevue, Tacoma,
Kent, Woodinville, Reston
& Kirkland, WA Madison,
Green Bay, & Appleton,
WI Charleston,
WV Karp, Liberman & Kern Sotheby's
www.karplibermankernsir.com Newton, Brookline,
Chestnut Hill, Boston, Weston&Cambridge, MA Long & Foster Realty
www.LongandFoster.com Chantilly&Arlington, VA Washington, DC Northern Virginia Homes
www.NorthernVAHomes.com Reston, McLean&Fairfax, VA Rick Thompson & Team Realty
www.rickthompsonteam.com Gaithersburg, Germantown
& Frederick, MD FINANCIAL ADVISORS Friedrich Wealth Management
www.FriedrichWealth.comSyosset, NY NMS Capital
www.NMSCapital.comLas Vegas, NV Pacific Wealth Strategies Group
www.pwsg.net.Santa Barbara, Ventura & San Luis Obispo, CA Pegaesus Advisors
www.PegaesusAdvisors.com Woburn & Boston, MA The Planning Center
www.theplanningcenter.com Moline, IL&Iowa City, IA LEGAL SERVICES The Kaiser Law Firm
www.kaiserlawfirm.com St. Louis, MO |
July Physician Opportunities from Medical Match
| 
To view practice opportunities in 32 Medical Specialties,
visit our Website
Quest Group www.QGsearch.com WASHINGTON -
Practice Description:
- 25
Bed Hospital
- Faith
based organization
- Four
clinic sites (X-ray and lab on site)
- EMR
- Practice Partners using wireless tablet computers
- Join
a busy GI in an established practice
- Brand
new GI procedure suite set to open late 2010
- 1:4
call / Inherit a current patient base
- Area
Population of 300,000
- Wine
Region rivaling NapaValley
- NO
State Income Tax
- Two
hour drive to Seattle or Portland
- Easy
access to three major rivers
Learn More:
All inquiries are strictly confidential. Please contact us
at healthcare@QGsearch.com
to learn more about this wonderful opportunity.
Not what you're
looking for?
Send us your CV and a list of your search criteria and we
will email you whenever we come across matching opportunities.
MercyMemorialHospital System www.mercymemorial.org
MICHIGAN- Work in single
specialty practice as a hospital employee with one other employed
Orthopedic Surgeon. Work also with other General Orthopedic physicians in
private practice in Monroe. Call 1:4. All surgery and clinic
work done in Monroe at hospital. All aspects of
Orthopedic services needed covering general Ortho cases. A plus will be a
physician with fellowship training or experience in trauma, foot & ankle,
spine or shoulder. Hospital is working towards a Level III Trauma designation
in 2011 and new surgeon would assist with program development and growth.
Growing patient demand necessitates need for another surgeon in 2010 or 2011.
New grads welcome (great collegial support). Well-established practices with
excellent reputations. New surgical department facility just opened in 2009 at
hospital - $39 million, 6 OR's, new Stryker 1288 video, earned the Michigan
Governor's Award with over 8500 cases. Standard
OR tables and Ortho specialty tables (Midmark, Jackson, Chick). 4 and 8 hour block scheduling. Cross-trained staff, some with CNOR
certification and 2 RNFA's. Run 6 rooms'
key hours then 3 rooms after hours and 2 rooms on Saturdays. Hospital (www.mercymemorial.org)
MercyMemorialHospital is a 238-bed, full-service
community hospital with 14 ICU beds which is part of the Mercy Memorial
Hospital System serving the population of MonroeCounty. It is the primary force in health
care services for this region with a service population exceeding 160,000. With
a medical staff of 252 professionals, Mercy Memorial offers a wide range
of services, including a birthing center, dialysis treatment,
inpatient/outpatient mental health services, CT and MRI, cancer care,
cardiac care, home health and hospice care, physical/occupational therapy and
outpatient surgery.. In 2009, Emergency visits exceeded 45,000; admissions
10,000; surgeries 14,000, outpatient visits 180,000 and 865 deliveries.
Great Hospitalist and Intensivist services. Effective hospital EMR. A new 10,000
s.f. MonroeCancerCenter being built by 2011 with Promedica
of Ohio and nationally-renowned Karmanos Cancer Center of Detroit providing
top-ranked medical and radiation oncology services at one location. Community (www.monroeinfo.com) MercyMemorialHospital is located in the historic and
picturesque community of Monroe in Michigan's southeast corner, the gateway to Lake Erie. It is rich in historical heritage
while supported by a diverse economy mixing retail with agricultural and
commercial business. It is home to both world headquarters of La-Z-Boy and
Tenneco. With scenic parks and Lake Erie close to home, and major metropolitan attractions in Detroit, Toledo, and Ann Arbor are a short drive away, Monroe provides its residents with the
resources to achieve their full potential.
Dennis Burns, Physician
Recruitment MercyMemorialHospital System, Monroe, Michigan (734)
240-5410 dennis.burns@mercymemorial.org Heartland Health www.heartland-health.com ST. JOSEPH,
MO - Heartland
Cardiovascular Consultants is enjoying unprecedented growth and success -
necessitating the addition of Cardiologists. You will office in a fully
equipped facility just 2 minutes from the HeartCenter at HeartlandRegionalMedicalCenter - "Top 100 Hospital" for heart
specialties. Call 1:6 nights or 1:7, 1:4 or 1:5 weekends. Primary PCI for
all ST elevation MI. Back up interventionalist available at all times. Looking
for a hardworking individual interested in outreach clinics at surrounding
hospitals. Nuclear, Echo and Transesophageal echo training preferred but
willing to train if needed. State of the art equipment. Pay is in the 85 - 90th
percentile of MGMA for a motivated person. Starting a Cardiac CT/MR program;
Growing an existing EP program. Looking for individuals interested in taking on
a leadership role in developing new programs. St. Joseph, Missouri, a friendly community of 75,000, is
located less than an hour from the amenities of Kansas City, and 30 minutes from an
international airport. Contact: Quentin Mayer, Heartland Clinic Administration. 5325 Faraon Street, St. Joseph, MO64506. 800-455-2485 / 816-271-6078; fax: (816)-271-7750. Quentin.Mayer@Heartland-Health.com
ARKANSAS - A premier physician owned,
physician operated group dedicated to providing the best clinical and
operational service seeks high-quality full-time and part-time emergency
medicine physicians in the St. Vincent Health System based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The three hospitals for which we
will be providing services are St. Anthony's Medical Center in Morrilton, AR
with an annual ED volume of 10,000 located 54 miles northwest of Little Rock;
St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock, AR with an annual ED
volume of 40,000 and St. Vincent Medical Center North in Sherwood, AR with an
annual volume of 17,000 located 11 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Competitive salary with A-rated malpractice and tail included.
Please contact Edie
McDuffie, MBA at 919.461.7096 or email emcduffie@apollomd.com.
Please visit our website at www.apollomd.com. Visit Medical Match for access to hundreds of
Physician & Nursing Opportunities. |
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