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Id EAL,THWEEK
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<br />Vol. 2, No. 11 The Newspaper For America '$ Health Industry May 23, 1988
<br />
<br />Court ruling
<br />could, hinder
<br />
<br /> The high court unanimoudly
<br /> backed a doctor in Astoria,
<br /> Ore., who successfully sued a
<br /> peer review committee after the
<br />lng a doctor's right to bring an
<br />
<br />ment is!spending' too little to
<br />"~ "'; "~ ' Continued on tia~'e $~
<br />
<br /> '~" ........ '" . ." ': :.'.
<br />AIDS '
<br />'--" '-hu e ofits-
<br /> ~"~ iS fl fo~iflabl~ ~jtand:it is'a~ed with te~m that ~ ~' .monetar.~.dra]~ba~d o~ a
<br /> ' ~ v ' ~' ~ .', '"' "- ' "" ~ ~* ' ' ~' ""~n 1De~= num*er ol vletlmS~Wlll nave
<br /> ........ · ~ ':' :.~'~"',i').',7.~7.: /' ' AIodmalofthePl~gueYe~:- mulhpnedtoa~taggenng~8
<br /> ~ "' ...... billion per
<br /> ' :; 'By'DavJdWeber .:./:' I . ...:.~.-
<br /> ' '" ~ daltoH~lthWeek"' ' t ...... , ~~ . D~ng the fi~e-year period
<br /> .'..:~3~ ....... ;:.,,ri- ]~UI~L~P~/[ 19~.l~l, accbrd~gtoarecent
<br /> ':., ine impact or me ~lv~ ep> I First in a seri~s
<br /> '.; ' . ..... o ·
<br /> ~e~le Oh l~e U.~. ec ~omy ~ i ..... t '
<br /> ~ : ' ndala~ . :' ' ~ ~ based Rand Corp economist
<br /> ,ar-reacmng a ag.
<br /> Calculating the lost earnings Sa~ Francisco,.'calc~l~ that Anthony Pascal, the Umted
<br /> ahd job'output of victims, AIDS,' or acquked i~ude de2 States will dev'ote a~ut 1 ~r-
<br /> researchers Ande ScitovSky ficien~ syndrome, cdst'Amefi-' cent of its entre national h~alth
<br /> and Dorothy Rice 0f the lnsti; can society almost $5 bffiion in outlay, to th~'}reatment of
<br /> rote for Health. Poli~ Studies it 1985., ' ' } '~'"~'5'b?~;?;' 77' A~DS. T~e ,bfl!~{~ :?xPested to.
<br /> the University of California,'
<br />
<br />l__c__t, ...... t_ _ ea- fJ' "percent
<br />of their total
<br />~RI~C[1UU~ WaSte a It p Ol,./~ waste stream. "
<br /> ouble for many hospitals
<br />
<br /> By Dean Mayer
<br /> In New Jersey, where most
<br />landfills are full, many hospi-
<br />tals are forced to ship their in-
<br />fectious waste as far away as
<br />Michigan or Ohio.
<br />
<br /> INSIDE THE NEWS
<br /> In Southern California,
<br />where air pollution laws are
<br />strict, one major hospital still is
<br />seeking a permit to use the
<br />$400,000 incinerator it installed
<br />nearly three years ago.
<br />a~,'d in Michigan, New York,
<br />~')nsin, Minnesota and
<br />l"J~.,tsylvania, statewide morato-
<br />riums or stringent rules make it
<br />virtually impossible for hospitals
<br />to install incinerators, according
<br />to experts.
<br /> What this means for hospi-
<br />
<br />tals, which generate an esti-
<br />mated 500,000 tons of infec.-
<br />tious waste annually, is a heavy'.
<br />financial burden. Some large
<br />hospitals spend more than $1
<br />million a year to get rid of such
<br />waste, which may be only 5 to
<br />
<br /> Hospitals aren't alone. Medi-
<br />cal and research laboratories,
<br />nursing homes and doctors' of-
<br />fices face similar problems.
<br /> 'It's as bad as it's ever
<br />.been, ° said Jim McLarney, di-
<br />rector of the American Society
<br />for Hospital Engineering in
<br />Chicago. °A lot of hospitals
<br />'Continued on page 34
<br />
<br />Medical SsIoTEC Inc.'s hammermill waste disposal unit makes Infectious
<br />waste safe for regular landfills.
<br />
<br />antitrust lawsuit against a o PROa draw flre as role expands
<br />hospital physician review corn- See page~
<br />mittee will have a chilling effect
<br />on quality assurance efforts, ac- group tried to revoke his hospi-
<br />cording to the American. Medi- tal privileges. Dr. Timothy A.
<br />cai Association. Patrick claimed that physicians
<br />However, another physicians' on the panel--who were part-
<br />group said the May 16 ruling nets in a competing private
<br />will help protect physicians clinic--used false charges of in-
<br />against abuses of the peer competence to try to force him
<br />review process..~__.~.~~ ' Continued on page 3~
<br />
<br />AMI unloads 37 hospitals
<br />in'wake of takeover threat
<br />· By Karen Southwlck ital gains that a potential ac-
<br />BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-- quirer might get,' Vignola
<br />American Medical International added. AMI has about $1.65
<br />Inc. is performing radical sur- billionth long-term debt.
<br />gery on itself to ward off a pos- But she said a smaller
<br />
<br />sible takeover, but the strategy
<br />could backfire, analysts said.
<br /> The nation's second-largest,
<br />for-profit hospital chain this
<br />month said it would spin off 43
<br />percent of its U.S. opera-
<br />tions--37 hospitals with 4,200
<br />beds--to an employee group
<br />for $910 million, including
<br />about '$600 million in cash and
<br />the rest in preferred stock, as-
<br />sumed debt and a note payable
<br />to AMI.
<br /> The move, scheduled to be
<br />completed at the end of AMI's
<br />fiscal year on Aug. 31, is similar
<br />to last year's restructuring by
<br />Hospital Corporation of
<br />America of Nashville, Tenn.,
<br />which divested 104 hospitals in
<br />a $2.1 billion deal.
<br />'A defensive gesture'.
<br /> 'AM] is doing this primarily
<br />as a defensive gesture,' said
<br />Margo Vignola, a health serv-
<br />ices analyst with Salomon Bros.
<br />in New York. She said four in-
<br />vestors hold 30 percent of
<br />AMI's stock. Two of the four
<br />recently raised their stakes,
<br />which often is a prelude to
<br />a takeover.
<br /> The restructuring 'was done
<br />to squeeze out some of the cap-
<br />
<br />AMI--which will retain 48
<br />hospitals with 11,279 beds, and
<br />five psychiatric facilities--'may
<br />be even more vulnerable' to a
<br />takeover.
<br /> AMI spokesman Mick Taylor
<br />said the divestiture is intended
<br />to 'enhance shareholder value, '
<br />Continued on page 34
<br />
<br />1~ .... '~"':~* *
<br />
<br /> prrrdde similar coverage:. :' ~ .'~. ' '
<br />'::-=~c%"::.' ...... . ' .. 'Page 30;
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<br />.f :~ d;d~y Tony ~be~ },:~;.~:;~:' -
<br />
<br /> think the federal g&vemmen( : ' 70 ........ ~::.:.:!.L~.L,:..:.: ................... :. ...........
<br /> doesn't'spend enough.~n. .." 60:.'...L:.:.~.Z.~Z..: ..... ~-.., ..... :--'::'-..~':--~
<br />AIDS". according to a Health* ""
<br />w..k~s~] c~,.~ ,nl~, ae.,,e "4; .... l.-.l l.-I .... l - =~ ~ ~ a~tid~ates a chang effect
<br />~resident Reagan's $1.3 billion
<br />
<br /> WASH]NGTON--A U.S. Su-
<br />
<br />vine, Calff, found that ~ per: "e~b~ ~ " .: ,~& ." . ~ '.
<br />cent of 1,~ people su~eyed '~
<br />believe that the federal govern': ' ' ::: ' ':: "; ' ' ......
<br />
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