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R. Lewis Dark:
Feds Lift Ban on Doctor-Owned Specialty Hospitals
MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT on August 8 the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it would resume issuing certificates
for specialty hospitals that are owned by physicians. The timing
of this decision certainly plays into the predictions of McKinsey & Co. that you will read on pages 9-15 in this issue of THE DARK REPORT.
Healthcare strategists at McKinsey believe that the 20th century business
model of the integrated, full-service hospital is rapidly becoming outmoded.
Replacing it in the 21st century will be hospitals organized around a limited
number of clinical specialties. These hospitals will have two other primary
attributes. First, they will provide patients with an experience similar to that
currently provided by leading retailers and hotels. Second, in order to
achieve superior clinical outcomes, the new hospital business model will
involve close collaboration with physicians, including joint ventures and
other types of revenue-sharing arrangements. Certainly anything that radically
changes today's hospital business model will also have a dramatic
impact on hospital-based laboratory managers and anatomic pathology
groups. That is why THE DARK REPORT is providing you with a close look at
the strategic reasoning of McKinsey's experts in healthcare.
My contribution to the discussion is very basic. I believe that employers,
Medicare, and Medicaid are now pushing hospitals, physicians, and other
healthcare providers to do three basic things. First, to continuously improve the
quality of care. Second, to measure clinical care and document the fact that
they are actually achieving a higher quality of care. Third, to accomplish this
while holding constant, or even reducing, the cost per healthcare encounter.
For my money, that sounds a lot like the best-performing specialty hospitals
we already see operating today—most of which are owned by physicians.
That is why specialty hospitals are already tough competitors for the
slow-responding community hospitals in their cities. Patients want to avoid
going "to the hospital." When given a more pleasant alternative by their doctor-
whom they trust-patients are rationally opting to have their procedure
done in a specialty hospital, whenever feasible. Pathologists and lab managers
should keep an eye on this trend and be ready to provide value-added
services to their local specialty hospitals. After all, that’s where growing
numbers of patients are likely to be found.
Sonic Healthcare & CPL
Make First Acquisition
Clinical Path Labs of Austin, Texas buys
Cognoscenti Health Institute in Orlando
Expanding from its base in Texas, Clinical
Pathology Laboratories, Inc. (CPL) has acquired Cognoscenti
Health Institute, LLC of Orlando, Florida. The deal was done
discreetly and gives Sonic Healthcare, Ltd., parent of CPL, a
solid foothold in Florida. Cognoscenti has also made impressive
progress on building an evidence-based medicine service
menu, something that CPL can introduce in other markets.
Bio-Reference Enters
DNA Sequencing Market
Surprise purchase of GeneDX bolsters
molecular diagnostics at fast-growing firm
CEO SUMMARY: Bio-Reference Laboratories has just placed
an unexpected bet on the wide-open opportunities in genetic
testing. The acquisition of GeneDX brings it a respected
team of geneticists, capabilities in full DNA sequencing, and
a proven track record in testing for rare and complex hereditary
diseases. It also opens a new lab testing market niche
for Bio-Reference Laboratories to develop.
Pathologists Contribute
To Women's Hospital
Same-day pathology reports are one source
of value-added anatomic path services
CEO SUMMARY: Speedier pathology reports and more
active involvement with clinicians are two ways that the 15
pathologists at Pathology Group of the Mid-South help
Baptist Memorial Women’s Hospital meet its goals of
improved outcomes and a patient-friendly environment.
Even with an off-site pathology laboratory, same-day
reports for most small needle biopsy reports is the norm.
McKinsey Predicts
Most Hospitals Must Specialize to Survive
Labs and Pathology Groups To Be Affected
CEO SUMMARY: Imagine a healthcare system where successful hospitals specialize in particular clinical services, treat patients like customers at a Ritz Carlton Hotel, and have close clinical and financial collaborations with top-performing physicians. This is the American healthcare system of the 21st century, as envisioned by healthcare strategists at McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s premier business consultancies. McKinsey’s insights provide pathologists and lab directors with an early perspective on the major strategic changes now transforming healthcare in America.
Molecular Diagnostics: Bio-Rad Buys Ciphergen's
Proteomics Technology
Ciphergen retains exclusive rights to develop clinical diagnostic uses
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