Health Department report: Nurse staffing was short at IU Health Methodist
A Health Department audit found nurse staffing routinely short on two patient units at IU Health’s Methodist hospital, where nurses are trying to organize a union.
Health Care & Life Sciences
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Efficiency, slide in patients drive IU Health’s $1B consolidation
The hospital system announced Friday that it would close its University hospital in downtown Indianapolis after expanding the nearby Methodist and Riley campuses.
IU Health to close University hospital, expand Riley, Methodist
Indiana University Health announced Friday that the $1 billion project consolidating its downtown hospitals will take five to seven years to complete, during which time University Hospital will remain open to patients just as it is now.
Life sciences panel: Indiana making headway but needs more capital
The state has enjoyed success funding and building life sciences companies, and the new Indiana Biosciences Research Institute should give it a further boost, according to panelists Friday at IBJ's Life Sciences Power Breakfast.
Radiologists follow FedEx with flat-rate prices. Is this the future of health care?
To satisfy patients with high-deductible health plans, Northwest Radiology has introduced flat-rate pricing for its imaging scans. It’s a centuries-old concept among postal services, but for health care, it’s revolutionary.
Princeton loses appeal in case sparked by Lilly drug loyalties
Four residents of the town of Princeton sued to revoke the university’s tax exemption, in part because it shares royalties with faculty, mostly from a patent that Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. turned into the cancer drug Alimta.
Anthem cancels public events about data breach at Ball State
Representatives from Indianapolis-base health insurer Anthem Inc. have canceled plans to speak publicly this week at Ball State University, where some employees have had their identities stolen.
Did Congress just kick off another wave of doc mergers?
Things got quiet after a wave of hospital systems' acquiring physician practices swept through central Indiana from 2008 to 2011. But a new wave could start now that Congress passed the "doc fix" last week.
Lawsuit: IU Health, HealthNet defrauded feds, endangered patients
The lawsuit charges that IU Health and HealthNet Inc. put low-income pregnant women and their newborn babies at risk in a fraud scheme that bilked taxpayers out of millions of dollars.
Paying for low value
A recent ranking of health care value in all 50 states puts Indiana in the basement. By my rough figures, working-age Hoosiers are paying a couple billions dollars extra for their health care.
IU Health to locate new Bloomington hospital near IU campus
Indiana University Health plans to construct a new hospital in Bloomington four or five years from now, the Indianapolis-based hospital system announced Wednesday, after striking a deal with Indiana University to build on the school’s golf driving range.
Finally, Congress OKs bill reshaping Medicare doctors’ fees
The Senate gave final congressional approval late Tuesday to the $214 billion bipartisan measure, which rewrites how Medicare pays doctors for treating over 50 million elderly people.
U.S. prescription drug spending jumps 13 percent
U.S. spending on prescription drugs soared last year, driven up primarily by costly breakthrough medicines, manufacturer price hikes and a surge from millions of people newly insured due to the Affordable Care Act.
Hospitals hiring scribes to tame electronic medical records
A growing number of hospitals locally and nationally hiring scribes to help doctors fill out electronic medical records, which were billed as a time-saver over paper charts.
AIT, former execs rack up nearly $5M in legal costs
AIT Labs and its former executives have already incurred nearly $5 million defending themselves against charges by the U.S. Department of Labor that AIT founder Michael Evans sold the company to its employees in 2009 at an inflated price.
Anthem’s offer that hospitals can’t refuse
By subtly threatening the loss of patients via a new “reference lab network,” the Indianapolis-based health insurer has persuaded 63 Indiana hospitals to slash their prices for blood and tissue testing by as much as 80 percent—beyond the discounts Anthem had already negotiated with them.
Hospital frugality drives health property shake-up
Instead of building new medical office buildings, cost-conscious Indianapolis-area hospital systems have the past few years opted for space in existing buildings.
Garth Brooks dedicates child play zone at Indiana hospital
The 4,200-square-foot space, which includes billiards, foosball, a video game wall, an arts and crafts area and even a recording studio, is the nation's 11th and largest hospital Child Life Zone.
Delays in care by consumers continue to cloud hospitals’ finances
Hospitals and doctors still aren’t seeing a wave of new patients because rising deductibles in patients' health plans are continuing to delay medical procedures, even though their job prospects are better than they’ve been in years.
Indiana insurance marketplace failing smokers
The American Lung Association says Indiana's health insurance marketplace is failing to provide all the coverage it should to help people quit smoking under President Barack Obama's health care law.