Articles

Electronic health records bring $135M to Indiana

The federal stimulus program to speed “meaningful use” of electronic medical records is starting to generate significant cash for Indiana health care providers: More than $135 million has flowed to more than 2,000 Hoosier hospitals and doctors since January 2011.

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Physician buyouts bruising hospitals

As St. Vincent Health has nearly doubled the number of physicians it employs over the past two years, the losses on those practices have mounted. And the same thing is happening at all the major Indianapolis hospital systems, as all have spent the past four years aggressively acquiring physician practices.

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Justices grill both sides in IU Health case

Much of the nearly 45 minutes of arguments and questioning on May 10 involved the justices and the lawyers for both parties trying unsuccessfully to apply various scenarios from the retail world of commerce to health care pricing.

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State’s high court to weigh hospital bills

The Indiana Supreme Court this week will consider whether hospital billing practices should be put on trial. The state’s highest court will hear oral arguments Thursday in a case in which two uninsured patients have sued Indiana University Health for charging them much higher prices than it would have charged insured patients.

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IU doc group becomes Eskenazi Medical

A group of 123 doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants have formed the Eskenazi Medical Group in order to focus on maximizing patient care and related bonus payments at Wishard Health Services.

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Indy is poster child (again) for medical arms race

Indianapolis was highlighted in a new national study because its hospitals have been particularly aggressive at expanding their geographic reach—raising concerns among health insurers and even hospitals themselves that new medical facilities and market power can only lead to higher prices.

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Community to expand Heart Hospital

Community Health Network will break ground this month on a $6.9 million, 4,600-square-foot expansion of its Indiana Heart Hospital, adding two operating rooms.

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Franciscan pulls back Greenwood plans

Franciscan St. Francis Health said its plans to build an emergency room and physician office building in Greenwood are on hold due to uncertainty over the effects of health care reform.

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Franciscan to mark Beech Grove closure

Franciscan St. Francis Health announced five years ago that it would consolidate its Beech Grove operations into an expanded hospital seven miles south, near Interstate 65 and Emerson Avenue. The last inpatient department to close at Beech Grove will be its emergency room, on March 16.

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Study: Indy hospitals charge ‘excess’ prices

The Big 3 automakers spent 35 percent more in the Indianapolis area to provide health care for workers and non-elderly retirees than they did in other auto-heavy cities—and two-thirds of that difference can be blamed on “excess prices” by Indianapolis hospitals.

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