Specialty hospitals criticized. (Short Takes).Hospitals serving niche markets A niche market also known as a target market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. , such as orthopedic, cardiac or surgical care, are coming under sharp attack by federal regulators and some politicians. The specialty hospitals are accused of skimming Skimming An electronic method of capturing a victim's personal information used by identity thieves. The skimmer is a small device that scans a credit card and stores the information contained in the magnetic strip. the profitable patients out of a the community and leaving high-cost, money-losing patients and services to general hospitals. A report by the General Accounting Office, Congress' watchdog arm, noted that the number of specialty hospitals tripled since 1990 to 92 in number. A key finding by the GAO was that the specialty hospitals generally took care of a lower percentage of severely ill patients than full-service hospitals. That would not be a problem, but since third-party payers, such as Medicare, do not take the state of a patient's health into their determination of how much they reimburse a hospital, it means that hospitals that attract healthier, lower-cost patients end up with higher profits. Some members of Congress are calling for a ban on physician referrals physician referral A physician's recommendation to a Pt to consult another physician for a 2nd opinion. Cf Self-referral. to hospitals where the doctors have an ownership stake. Tom Scully Father Dennis Thomas "Tom" Scully was a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Andrew Larkins. His character was most famous for having left the priesthood in favor of a relationship with Susan Kennedy. , administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that administers the Medicare program and , supports that approach. A statement released by the American Hospital Association American Hospital Association (AHA), n.pr a nonprofit national organization of individuals, institutions, and organizations engaged in direct patient care. The association works to promote the improvement of health care services. echoed these sentiments. "The continued growth of niche providers could undermine access to services-draining essential resources from community hospitals," AHA executive vice president, Rick Pollack pollack: see cod. pollack or pollock Either of two commercially important North Atlantic species of food fish in the cod family (Gadidae). , says. "Niche providers undercut the ability of hospitals to meet the needs of the broader community by drawing profitable services away from the community hospital." Representatives of the specialty hospital sector reject these claims, contending they simply are sour grapes by hospitals that do not want to face competition. Randy Fenninger Washington representative for the American Surgical Hospital Association, also questions the conclusions drawn by the GAO. He says if you look closely at the GAO's data, you will not find much difference between the severity of illness of patients treated at specialty hospitals and those treated at full-service facilities. James A. Hawkins is a health care writer based in Aiken, S.C. He can be reached by phone at (803)414-2062 or by e-mail at hir@ix.netcom.com. |
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