Moody’s likes what it sees at Community
Hospital system tripled its profit last year by wooing patients to its physicians, trimming hospital and clinical staff by more than 400. The rating agency Moody’s says things look even better in 2015.
Life Science & Biotech
Articles
IBJ Life Sciences Power Breakfast transcript
Indianapolis Business Journal gathered leaders in the state’s technology industry for a Power Breakfast panel discussion April 24. Among the topics the panel discussed were startup capital, attracting life sciences professionals and digital trends to watch.
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.
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.
Dow Agro’s quarterly results hurt by strong dollar, weaker demand
The Indianapolis-based maker of genetically modified seed traits and weed killers said Thursday that it earned $409 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, down by 19 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
Environmentalists fight broader use of Dow Agro herbicide
Environmentalists are contesting the federal government's decision to allow more widespread use of a new version of a popular weed killer to be used on genetically modified corn and soybeans.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Are nurses really overworked and underpaid?
Nurses in Indiana are underpaid, relative to their peers nationally. They are not overworked from a sheer number of hours, but the demands of hospitals nurses have spiked recently, reducing nurses’ margin for caring for patients with a human touch. For a business that competes on service and, increasingly, on price, those are big problems.
Financially fit IU Health still hoarding cash for fear of change
IU Health had one of its most profitable years ever in 2014, as it cut staff, boosted its physician office visits and improved bill collections. But it is still hoarding cash to be ready for future cuts in reimbursement as well as future building projects.
Semper Reformanda
Think we’re almost done with changes from Obamacare? Think again. Things won’t settle down any sooner than 2017, and they could actually get even wilder after that.
How ‘losing’ the headquarters of two promising drug firms could help Indiana
The fact that Assembly Biosciences Inc. and AgeneBio now list New York and Baltimore, respectively, as their headquarters cities doesn’t hurt Indiana and could help the state, says David Johnson, CEO of BioCrossroads.
Hoosier docs enjoy more than $40M a year from drug, device firms
New research shows patients lose trust and confidence in doctors that take money for travel, but like it when their doctors are paid as consultants during the development of new products.
Hoosiers shopped around before picking Obamacare exchange coverage
One-third of Indiana’s buyers on Obamacare exchanges were new to their health plans this year—tying Indiana for sixth among the 37 states using the federal exchange.
Babies, business and the bottom line
For years, employers have focused on preventing huge health bills that can result from their older workers. But now Leonard Hoops, the CEO of Visit Indy, is trying to get employers to focus on the costs of the youngest members of their health plans: premature babies.