Physician’s Hospitals Are a Model of True Health Care Reform

• Author: Health Informer
• Filed under: Health News
• Date: Feb 28,2009

Industry looks forward to working with Obama Administration

Physician’s Hospitals of America (PHA) was disappointed to learn that budget documents released by the White House are relying on outdated CBO scores in their evaluation of hospitals owned and operated by reform-minded physicians.

“We understand that this position is most likely a hold-over from past CBO data. We look forward to the opportunity to work with the new CBO as well as the White House to demonstrate the true quality and public savings represented by hospitals that are physician owned and operated,” said Molly Sandvig, Executive Director of PHA.

PHA shares President Obama’s belief, as he states in his budget proposal put out this week by the Office of Management and Budget, that quality patient care must be a top priority in the health care reform process:

From “A New Era of Responsibility, Renewing America’s Promise” available from www.budget.gov:

Improve Patient Safety and Quality Care.

The plan must ensure the implementation of proven patient safety measures and provide incentives for changes in the delivery system to reduce unnecessary variability in patient care. It must support the widespread use of health information technology and the development of data on the effectiveness of medical interventions to improve the quality of care delivered. (pg. 27)

Ms. Sandvig noted, “Our association is optimistic that as providers of the best quality care available, the hospitals owned and operated by physicians will continue to play a strong role in the future of healthcare.” Independent studies, including those conducted by the federal government have shown that physician hospitals have better outcomes in terms of infections rates and other quality measures than do most hospitals that are not physician owned. Patients have shorter stays and better results.

At physician hospitals access to care is enhanced and cost savings are achieved. We are looking forward to demonstrating the positive results that stem from putting control of the practice of medicine where it belongs, in the hands of doctors and their patients. PHA hopes that President Obama and the new Congress will consider all the evidence and look to physician-owned hospitals as a model for the health care reform they seek.

For more information on physician-owned hospitals please visit www.physicianhospitals.org or contact Molly Sandvig at (605) 321-3483.

PHA Member Hospitals
HOSPITAL NAME CITY STATE
Troy Regional Medical Center Troy AL
Crestwood Medical Center Huntsville AL
NEA Medical Center Jonesboro AR
HealthPark Hospital Hot Springs AR
Arkansas Surgical Hospital North Little Rock AR
Arkansas Heart Hospital Little Rock AR
National Park Medical Center Hot Springs AR
Arizona Heart Hospital Phoenix AZ
Arizona Orthopedic Surgical Hospital Chandler AZ
Arizona Spine & Joint Hospital Mesa AZ
Arizona Regional Medical Center Mesa AZ
Tucson Heart Hospital Tucson AZ
Gilbert Hospital Gilbert AZ
Mountain Vista Medical Center Mesa AZ
Surgical Specialty Hospital of Arizona Phoenix AZ
Patients’ Hospital of Redding Redding CA
Sutter Surgical Hospital – North Valley Yuba City CA
Shasta Regional Medical Redding CA
Fresno Surgical Hospital Fresno CA
Stanislaus Surgical Hospital Modesto CA
Bakersfield Heart Hospital Bakersfield CA
Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital Thousand Oaks CA
Miracle Mile Medical Center Los Angeles CA
Olympia Medical Center Los Angeles CA
Community Hospital of Huntington Park Huntington Park CA
Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital Norwalk CA
Alvarado Hospital Medical Center San Diego CA
Animas Surgical Hospital Durango CO
Doctors Hospital Augusta GA
Trinity Hospital of Augusta Augusta GA
Hawaii Medical Center-West Ewa Beach HI
Hawaii Medical Center-East Honolulu HI
Treasure Valley Hospital Boise ID
Northwest Specialty Hospital Post Falls ID
Mountain View Hospital Idaho Falls ID
Surgical Hospital of Munster Munster IN
Pinnacle Hospital Crown Point IN
Franciscan Physicians Hospital Munster IN
Hind General Hospital Hobart IN
RiverCrest Specialty Hospital Mishawaka IN
Doctor’s Hospital Bremen IN
Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne IN
Kosciusko Community Hospital Warsaw IN
Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital Indianapolis IN
Indiana Heart Hospital Indianapolis IN
St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana Indianapolis IN
Surgical and Diagnostic Center of Great Bend Great Bend KS
Salina Surgical Hospital Salina KS
Summit Surgical Hutchinson KS
Manhattan Surgical Hospital Manhattan KS
Doctors Specialty Hospital Leawood KS
Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute Leawood KS
Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital Overland Park KS
Kansas Spine Hospital Wichita KS
Kansas Surgery and Recovery Center Wichita KS
Kansas Heart Hospital Wichita KS
Kansas Medical Center Andover KS
Galichia Heart Hospital Wichita KS
Southern Surgical Hospital Slidell LA
Fairway Medical Center Covington LA
Doctors Hospital of Slidell Slidell LA
Louisiana Heart Hospital Lacombe LA
Physicians Surgical Specialty Hospital Houma LA
Specialists Hospital Bossier Bossier City LA
Specialists Hospital Shreveport Shreveport LA
Ouachita Community Hospital West Monroe LA
P & S Surgical Hospital Monroe LA
Green Clinic Surgical Hospital Ruston LA
Monroe Surgical Hospital Monroe LA
Greater Baton Rouge Surgical Hospital Baton Rouge LA
The Neuro Medical Center Surgical Hospital Baton Rouge LA
Surgical Specialty Centre Baton Rouge LA
Lafayette General Surgical Hospital Lafayette LA
Park Place Surgical Hospital Lafayette LA
Heart Hospital Lafayette Lafayette LA
Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital Lafayette LA
Southpark Hospital Youngsville LA
Southeast Michigan Surgical Hospital Warren MI
Oakland Regional Hospital Southfield MI
Ozarks Community Hospital Springfield MO
Health Center Northwest Hospital Kalispell MT
Central Montana Surgical Hospital Great Falls MT
North Carolina Specialty Hospital Durham NC
Lincoln Surgical Hospital Lincoln NE
Nebraska Heart Hospital Lincoln NE
Midwest Neuroscience Surgery Center Omaha NE
Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital Omaha NE
Bellevue Medical Center Bellevue NE
Heart Hospital of New Mexico Albuquerque NM
Physicians Medical Center of Santa Fe Santa Fe NM
Sierra Surgery Hospital Carson City NV
Surgery Center of Evendale Cincinnati OH
The Medical Center at Elizabeth Place Dayton OH
Riverview Health Institute Dayton OH
Institute for Orthopaedic Surgery Lima OH
Three Gables Surgery Center Proctorville OH
Butler County Medical Center Hamilton OH
Mercy Hospital Fairfield Fairfield OH
Medical Center of Newark Newark OH
Tulsa Spine & Specialty Hospital Tulsa OK
Oklahoma Surgical Hospital Tulsa OK
Hospital for Special Surgery Oklahoma City OK
Foundation Bariatric Hospital of Oklahoma Edmond OK
Northwest Surgical Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Surgical Hospital of Oklahoma Oklahoma City OK
Oklahoma Center for Orthopaedic &
Multi-Specialty Surgery Oklahoma City OK
Lakeside Women’s Hospital Oklahoma City OK
McBride Clinic Orthopedic Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Oklahoma Heart Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Deaconess Hospital Oklahoma City OK
Oklahoma Spine Hospital Oklahoma City OK
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center Springfield OR
Edgewood Surgical Hospital Transfer PA
Diversified Specialty Institutes,
Bucks County Bensalem PA
Surgical Specialty Center at
Coordinated Health Bethlehem PA
Westfield Hospital Allentown PA
Surgical Institute of Reading Wyomissing PA
Mary Black Memorial Hospital Spartanburg SC
Lewis & Clark Specialty Hospital Yankton SD
Dakota Plains Surgical Center Aberdeen SD
Same Day Surgery Center Rapid City SD
Siouxland Surgery Center Dakota Dunes SD
Sioux Falls Surgical Center Sioux Falls SD
Black Hills Surgery Center Rapid City SD
Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota Sioux Falls SD
Woods Memorial Hospital Etowah TN
United Regional Medical Center Manchester TN
Texas Spine & Joint Hospital Tyler TX
Woodland Heights Medical Center Lufkin TX
Longview Regional Medical Center Longview TX
Beaumont Bone & Joint Institute Beaumont TX
TOPS Surgical Hospital Houston TX
The Medical Center of Southeast Texas Port Arthur TX
Vista Hospital of Dallas Garland TX
Baylor Medical Center at Frisco Frisco TX
Presbyterian Plano Center for
Diagnostics & Surgery Plano TX
Reliant Rehabilitation Hospital -
North Texas Richardson TX
Presbyterian Hospital of Rockwall Rockwall TX
USMD Hospital at Arlington Arlington TX
Foundation Surgical Hospital Bellaire TX
Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Houston TX
Beacon Specialty Hospital Houston TX
Memorial Hermann Surgical Hospital Kingwood Kingwood TX
Reliant Rehabilitation Hospital -
North Houston Shenandoah TX
Texas Orthopedic Hospital Houston TX
Northwest Hills Surgical Hospital Austin TX
Heart Hospital Of Austin Austin TX
North Cypress Medical Center Cypress TX
Odessa Regional Medical Center Odessa TX
USMD Hospital at Fort Worth Fort Worth TX
GLOBALREHAB Fort Worth TX
Baylor Surgical Hospital at Fort Worth Fort Worth TX
Quail Creek Surgical Hospital Amarillo TX
Northwest Texas Surgical Hospital Amarillo TX
Harlingen Medical Center Harlingen TX
Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Edinburg TX
El Paso Specialty Hospital El Paso TX
Physicians Hospital El Paso TX
The Physicians Centre Bryan TX
St. Joseph Medical Center Houston TX
University General Hospital Houston TX
Lubbock Heart Hospital Lubbock TX
Foundation Bariatric Hospital of San Antonio San Antonio TX
Texan Heart Hospital San Antonio TX
Austin Surgical Hospital Austin TX
The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center Austin TX
Sugar Land Surgical Hospital Sugar Land TX
Vista Medical Center Hospital Pasadena TX
Houston Physicians’ Hospital Webster TX
South Texas Spine & Surgical Hospital San Antonio TX
Southwest General Hospital San Antonio TX
Harris Methodist Southlake Southlake TX
RHD Medical Center Dallas TX
North Texas Hospital Denton TX
Southwest Surgical Hospital Hurst TX
Baylor Medical Center at Trophy Club Trophy Club TX
Cook Children’s Hospital Northeast Hurst TX
Brownsville Doctors Hospital Brownsville TX
Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo Laredo TX
Patients Medical Center Pasadena TX
Doctors Hospital Tidwell Houston TX
Doctors Hospital Parkway Houston TX
Houston Hospital for Specialized Surgery Houston TX
GLOBALREHAB Dallas TX
Pine Creek Medical Center Dallas TX
Baylor Heart and Vascular Center Dallas TX
Gulf States Hospitals Dallas TX
Reliant Rehabilitation Hospital -
Central Texas Round Rock TX
Irving Coppell Surgical Hospital Irving TX
Texas Institute for Surgery Dallas TX
Cache Valley Specialty Hospital North Logan UT
Davis Hospital and Medical Center Layton UT
Salt Lake Regional Medical Center Salt Lake City UT
Jordan Valley Medical Center West Jordan UT
Wenatchee Valley Hospital Wenatchee WA
OakLeaf Surgical Hospital Eau Claire WI
Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin Glendale WI
Aurora BayCare Medical Center Green Bay WI
Charleston Surgical Hospital Charleston WV

Source: Physician’s Hospitals of America

Report: Many Cancers Could Be Prevented in US

• Author: Health Informer
• Filed under: Health News
• Date: Feb 27,2009

Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Recommendations for All Levels of Society

A new global policy report estimates that approximately 45 percent of colon cancer cases and 38 percent of breast cancer cases in the US are preventable through diet, physical activity and weight management. The report sets out recommendations for policies to reduce the global number of cancer cases.

The overall message of the report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, published today by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), is that all sections of society should make public health, and cancer prevention in particular, a higher priority. It includes estimates on the proportion of all cancer cases that could be prevented through diet, physical activity and weight management.

Overall, the report estimates that approximately one third of the most common cancers in the US could be prevented. That figure does not include smoking, which alone accounts for about a third of cancers.

A panel of experts made a total of 48 recommendations for nine different sectors of society. These sectors are: multinational bodies; civil society organizations; government; industry; media; schools; workplaces and institutions; health and other professionals; and people.

Sir Michael Marmot, Chair of the WCRF/AICR Panel, said: “The evidence shows that when it comes to cancer prevention, all levels of society have a role to play. This report is relevant to everyone from heads of government down to the people who do the weekly food shopping for their family.”

The new WCRF/AICR Policy Report is a companion document to an expert report called Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, which was published by AICR and WCRF in November of 2007.

“The 2007 expert report identified the specific choices that people can make to protect themselves against cancer, but actually making those healthy choices remains difficult for many people,” said policy report panel member Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “The policy report takes the next step – it identifies opportunities for us as a society to make those choices easier.”

To read the report’s recommendations, detailed estimates of the proportion of cancer cases that could be prevented by diet, physical activity and weight management, and view interviews with panel members, visit www.aicr.org/policy.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research

Applying Clinical Findings to the Practice of Medicine

• Author: Health Informer
• Filed under: Health News
• Date: Feb 26,2009

New research offers hope, propels treatment for common orthopaedic conditions

The Kappa Delta Sorority and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) presented four research awards to scientists who are closing the gap between basic research and clinical medicine, at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) (http://www.aaos.org/) . Award winners have been working towards new treatment for the following areas of musculoskeletal health:

• Torn rotator cuffs (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00064)
• Osteoporosis (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00232) and
• osteoarthritis (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00227)

Skeletal defects

• Dupuytren’s contracture (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00008)and
• frozen shoulder (http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00071)

In 1947, at its Golden Anniversary, the Kappa Delta Sorority announced the establishment of the Kappa Delta Research Fellowship in Orthopaedics, the first award ever created to honor achievements in the field of orthopaedic research. The first annual award, a single stipend of $1,000, was made available to the Academy in 1949 and presented at the AAOS meeting in 1950. The Kappa Delta Awards have been presented by the Academy to persons who have performed research in orthopaedic surgery that is of high significance and impact.

The sorority increased the number of awards from one to three, and increased the dollar amount. At present three annual awards of $20,000 each are given. Two awards are named for the sorority national past presidents who were instrumental in the creation of the awards: Elizabeth Winston Lanier and Ann Doner Vaughn. The third is known as the Young Investigator Award.

The fourth award, also providing $20,000, is the OREF Clinical Research Award. Established in 1995, the award recognizes outstanding clinical research related directly to musculoskeletal disease or injury.

Torn rotator cuffs

The 2009 Young Investigator Award, given to outstanding authors who are under 40 years of age or no more than seven years beyond training, was presented to Washington University researcher Stavros Thomopoulos, Ph.D.

Dr. Thomopoulos and his research team knew that torn tendons cause a severe amount of pain and disability, and fixing them through orthopaedic surgery is no easy task. Fascinated by tissue engineering, his team took on the challenge of re-attaching tendon to bone.

“One of the challenges of my research is that connecting tendon to bone is like connecting rope to cement,” stated Dr. Thomopoulos. “The mechanical properties of the two tissues are that different.”

His award-winning paper, “Structure, Biomechanics, and Mechanobiology in the Attachment of Tendon to Bone” aims to understand how cells at the tendon-to-bone insertion respond to changes in their mechanical environment. “My hope is that this research provides guidance for tissue engineering efforts to improve healing and surgical repair of the tendon-to-bone insertion,” stated Dr. Thomopoulos.

Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis

Hiroshi Kawaguchi, MD, Ph.D. and co-authors at the University of Tokyo won the 2009 Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughan Award. Takashi Yamada, MD, Ph.D., Toru Akune, MD, Ph.D., and Naoshi Ogata, MD, Ph.D. worked with Dr. Kawaguchi on “Mouse Genetic Studies on Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Bone and Cartilage Disorders.”

This research outlines mouse genetics studies on the molecular backgrounds of representative degenerative skeletal disorders, like debilitating conditions such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, which are suffered by millions of people. The molecular mechanisms of both conditions have not been identified, although this promising research attempts to reveal the molecular mechanism. The potential of this research may have the power to stop these bone and cartilage conditions before beginning.

Skeletal Deformity

The third Kappa Delta Award, named in honor of Elizabeth Winston Lanier, went to Michael J. Yaszemski, M.D., Ph.D. and co-author Lichun Lu, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine for the paper “Osteoinductive Injectable Degradable Polymeric Scaffolds for Osseous Defect Repair.” This research team studied the field of bone tissue engineering and set out to develop orthopaedic biomaterials for treating skeletal disorders. “Bone, after blood, is most commonly transplanted tissue worldwide,” the paper stated.

The team used two strategies – one for contained defects, which are holes contained within the bone, and another for segmental defects, which are gaps between bones. The composite biomaterial, consisting of polymers, metals, ceramics, drugs and biologics, used in either clinical strategy induced bone regeneration by providing an osteoconductive scaffold and by releasing osteoinductive factors. An osteoconductive scaffold is a material that mimics the normal tissue that the bone cells attach to and make bone, upon which bone can grow and osteoinductive factors are molecules that direct stem cells to become bone cells and make bone.

According to Dr. Yaszemski, “The osteoconductive scaffolds and osteoinductive factors are intended to replace bone graft in these procedures. Usually, the bone graft is harvested from the patient’s pelvis, and these new techniques might decrease or eliminate the need for an orthopaedic surgeon to obtain the bone graft from this area of the body.”

Dupuytren’s Contracture and Frozen Shoulder

Helping patients to regain mobility and pain-free motion was the goal of the 2009 OREF Clinical Research Award recipients Lawrence C. Hurst, MD; Marie A. Badalamente, Ph.D.; and Edward D. Wang, MD. This State University of New York at Stony Brook research team and their paper “Injectable Clostridial Collagenase: Striving Toward Nonoperative Treatment Options for Fibroproliferative Disorders” focused on the use of injectible Clostridial collagenase as an alternative to surgery in treating these conditions.

According to the paper, “Fibroproliferative disorders like Dupuytren’s contracture and adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) seriously impact quality of life.” Dupuytren’s contracture is characterized by a progressive accumulation of collagen in the palm of the hand that causes “Dupuytren’s cords to form, leading to a progressive flexion of the fingers…the standard of care is surgery.” Dr. Hurst and his team injected Clostridial collagenase to the joint and reduced contractures in metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints within zero degrees to five degrees of normal extension after the last injection.

An additional study in humans with frozen shoulder yielded promising results, concluding “this investigational minimally invasive injection therapy shows potential for patients with fibroproliferative disorders affecting the musculoskeletal system.”

About OREF and the Kappa Delta Award (http://www.aaos.org/research/committee/research/Kappa/Kappa.asp)

Previous Kappa Delta Award Winners (http://www.aaos.org/research/committee/research/Kappa/kappa_winners.asp)

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Egyptian Doctor, Nicaraguan NGO Win 2009 UN Population Award

• Author: Health Informer
• Filed under: Health News
• Date: Feb 25,2009

An Egyptian doctor, Mahmoud Fathalla, and a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization, Movimiento Comunal Nicaraguense (MCN), have won this year’s United Nations Population Award. The Award is given to individuals and institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving the health of individuals.

The Award Committee, chaired by Malaysia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Hamidon Ali, chose the laureates from 18 international nominees. The Committee consists of 10 United Nations Member States, with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, serving as its secretariat. The awards are due to be presented on Monday, 1 June, at the United Nations, New York. Each winner will receive a diploma and a gold medal.

According to documents submitted to the Award Committee, Dr. Fathalla is a renowned doctor and professor of obstetrics/gynaecology at Assiut University, Egypt, where he began his academic career. Beyond academia, Dr. Fathalla also works as a manager, adviser and advocate on family planning, reproductive health and safe motherhood.

In 1974, Dr. Fathalla founded the Egyptian Fertility Care Society, one of the first family planning organizations in the Arab world, according to documents with the Award Committee. Since then, he has advised the Egyptian Family Planning Association, Ministry of Health and the National Population Council. He has also advised international organizations, such as the World Health Organization; International Women’s Health Coalition; Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health; International Planned Parenthood Federation; David and Lucille Packard Foundation; and the Committee on Population of the National Research Council of the United States.

Dr. Fathalla has won many honours, such as the Pioneer Award from the President of Egypt, while British and American Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have made him an Honorary Fellow. A maternal health advocate, he was one of the founders of the Safe Motherhood Initiative.

Created in 1978, Movimiento Comunal Nicaraguense (MCN) works to improve living conditions in Nicaragua through social and community development, gender equality and environmental protection, according to documents with the Award Committee. It works in 120 municipalities and 2,000 local communities, with an ability to mobilize around 20,000 persons, such as community leaders, educators and health promoters, including midwives, according to the documents. More recently, MCN has focused on young people, with the aim of improving gender relations, eliminating violence, preventing sexually transmitted infections and reducing teen pregnancies.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council elects countries to the Award Committee for three-year terms. Currently, members are Algeria, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Malaysia, Peru, Sweden and Tanzania. The United Nations Secretary-General and the UNFPA Executive Director are ex-officio members.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.

Source: UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund