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<br />.; CMP PUBLICATIO
<br />
<br />HEALTH
<br />
<br />
<br />(J-
<br />EEK
<br />
<br />VOl. 2, No. 11
<br />
<br />May 23, 1988
<br />
<br />The Newspaper For America's Healt111ndustry
<br />
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<br />
<br />~~~:.?:'.o:SP.~:~~:~J. ;: I Government AIDS Spendingl D~' D.~~n\ I ~h
<br />
<br />too lIttle on;,':' He8l1hWeek/SRIGallupPolI . ....:: .,..:,:"...:'
<br />. .. :. ...... ... ':'" {' ~...' :'.:'~.'. 00 you think the _.1 povemmenl.upendtng 100 much,.bouI "',' "
<br />:~AID S~p' : ~ <> lll:;i ' ;, ,_.. the nphl.~I.or 1lO1e~h money on "IDS "..,monl.nd ,ew.reM
<br />
<br />. . . . . :.: . . . .0::;'" .. 100"" _ lotal: 100 much, eo..; right amount, 2.0"; not enough, s.co,,_
<br />
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<br />
<br />think Ihe federal government .. 70 ........_:.;:._.~~.""..........._..............._..._.........
<br />doesn't spend enough,on. . .::: 60 ::...:::~':. I . '"
<br />AIDS;' according toa Healt.h:' ': :"500.. .' .":
<br />Week/SRI Gallup Poll.. despIte . :', .0....
<br />President Reagan's 51.3 billion '. 30
<br />request to fund AlDSresearch; ",' ....
<br />prevention and treatment 'ac: J. 20...
<br />tivities next year;'-:;:-"':";'::";~'f; 10..
<br />".-;The'survey,bySRl GaUu'p 0
<br />Hospital !'1arket Research of Ir~. ~...(i'j>' IS'~".
<br />vine, Calif., found that 54 per., ",,'t'. b~ ","
<br />'cent. of 1,000 people survcycd ~ jo" <i;" <1,,0;
<br />believe that the lederal govern~ . ~"n_.._:';'-,~~:'-.'
<br />me~t. ~:~pendin~'too l~t.t1.~ t?
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<br />ru', . o'::~':Lluge~.Cos S"~!llUo-e~EI.O 1 S:'
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<br />"0 .(1'1,~gt.eis /l fO';llidabI~ C:itmyta~~:i(l$'~frricd with tcr:i/TS thai .mryt morie~ary.~r.ai!\-=::=!?a5e:a' on'a
<br />.....7l\Dn IS not suffiClmlly fortificd to,rcslSt orprcptJredto stand tht:;-:-:;:':;';.::'.~ conservative estimate o{ the
<br />$hocblgQinst.;;',:::..~~.;~:;';~:~;:.:j0'~~i::;:;'::~.:"!;~,,,, ';.";>:'':''Diniel tiei;,e;:, num?e; of victims"';'~'i1l have
<br />.. _" .< ",'.'~' >". . .,._:' ',.;' .....'.'Yi:'.""..... .~. A Joumalo(lhe Plague Year" ~u!tlphed to. a ~tagge~ng $66.5
<br />billion per y~ar:'::,:,:,~':':'::>'" ;
<br />" DUrlngihe {ive.yea~ period
<br />1986-1991, according to a recent
<br />study by. Santa Monica',. Calif..
<br />basecl Rand Corp; economist
<br />Anthon" Pascal, the United
<br />States will devote :about 1 per.
<br />.cent of its entire national health
<br />outlay to the 'tre'atment' of
<br />AIDS. The ,billkexpected to
<br />'~:o:.:/:,:.. CDn'ti';utd on 'pase 17
<br />
<br />,:;-,"', By:David Weber'>:.:.:::,..-
<br />:::.::'; SpcCUlI to Hcallll Wcck.:"''1'::.
<br />7:;' ~.Th.e:impact of the AIDS epi:
<br />"dernic: on the U.S. economy. .is, :.
<br />far.reaching andalarming::-:;f~';; .. ' . ....-. .
<br />..<. Caleulating the lost earnings . Sa; Fra'n'ci~co;'''~al'cul~te ih~t
<br />andjob'outputof victims; 'AIDS; or acauired immune de~
<br />researchers Amle Si:ito~';sky 'ficiency syndrome, cost-Ameri.'
<br />and Dorothy'Rice of the Insti:' can society almost S5 billion in .
<br />tare for Health.PoliC)'Studies at 1985:":',.:. ''t.,': .',,:,:....:;~.:.;.:W,:,.::
<br />,!he Ut;iversitY,of,.Calif():~ia( :<..~yi:91; th~y'p~ojecCt~t
<br />
<br />uv
<br />
<br />Infectious waste a heap of.r ~ ~~asiee~~:;~. o{ ..their total
<br />
<br />IT bI f. hOt 1 Hospitals aren't alone. Medi.
<br />ou e or many OSpl a s cal and research laboratories,
<br />.. . nursing homes and doctors' of.
<br />tals, which generate an esti- fices face similar problems.
<br />mated 500,000 tons of infec. o\l's as bad as it's ever
<br />tious waste annually, is a hea..)'" .been,' said Jim McLarney, di.
<br />financial burden. Some large rector of the American Society
<br />hospitals spend more than 51 for Hospital Engineering in
<br />million a year to get rid of such Chicago. ',A lot of hospitals
<br />waste, which may be only 5 to Continuee on paS' 34
<br />
<br />SPECIAL REPORT
<br />First in a series
<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 />fectiouswaste as far away as
<br />Michigan or Ohio.
<br />
<br />LhJSIDE THE NEWS
<br />
<br />
<br />In Southern California,
<br />where air pollution laws are
<br />strict, one major hospital stil! is
<br />seeking a permit to use the
<br />S40J,CXXl incinerator it installed
<br />nearly three years ago.
<br />And in Michigan, New York,
<br />Wisconsin, Minnesota and
<br />Pennsylvania, statewide morato-
<br />riums or stringent rules make it
<br />''i.:ually ~~ssible for hospitals
<br />to InStall monerators, according
<br />to experts. .
<br />What this means for hospi.
<br />
<br />Medical SaleTEe tnc:. l1ammerrnlll w.sle disposal unll makes Infectious
<br />waste ute 10r regular lend1ills.
<br />
<br />Court ruling
<br />could, hinder
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />peer reVIews
<br />
<br />
<br />AMA anticipates a chilling effect
<br />
<br />. By Tinker Rudy The high court unanimously
<br />Hea/thWuk Washins'on BureQu backed a doctor in Astoria,
<br />WASHINGTON-A U.S. Suo Ore., who successlully sued a
<br />preme Court decision uphold. peer review committee alter the
<br />ing a doctor's right to bring an
<br />anlilrustlawsuil a6ainst a
<br />hospital physician review com.
<br />mittee will have a chilling effect
<br />on quality assurance eHorts, ac.
<br />cording to the American.Medi.
<br />cal Association.
<br />However, another physicians'
<br />p-oup said the May 16 ruling
<br />will help protect physicians
<br />against abuses 01 the peer
<br />review process.
<br />
<br />o G"O ....11. PRO review melhOCla
<br />. PRO. dr.w tl'e .. role e.panas
<br />See poO~'
<br />
<br />group tried to revoke hishospi.
<br />tal privileges. Dr. Timothy A.
<br />Patrick claimed that physicians
<br />on the panel-who were part.
<br />nen in a competing private
<br />clinic-used {alse charges of in.
<br />competence to try to lorce him
<br />Continutd on I"'St 33
<br />
<br />AMI unloads 37 hospitals
<br />in'"\\Take of takeover threat
<br />
<br />Bv Karen Southwick
<br />BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-
<br />American Medical International
<br />Inc. is performins radical sur.
<br />gery on itself to ward off a pos.
<br />sible takeover, but the strategy
<br />could backfire, anah'sts said.
<br />The nation's second.largest,
<br />lor-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 52.1 billion deal.
<br />
<br />'A defensive gesture' .
<br />, AMI is doing this primarily
<br />as a defensive gesture,' said
<br />Margo Vignola, a health sen"
<br />ices analvst with Salomon Bros.
<br />in New York. She said {our in.
<br />vestors hold 30 percent of
<br />AMI's stock. Two 01 the four
<br />recentlv raised their stakes,
<br />which often is a prelude to
<br />a takeover.
<br />The restructuring 'was done
<br />to squeeze oul some of the cap'
<br />
<br />ital gains that a potential ac.
<br />quirer might get,O Vignola
<br />added. AMI has about 51.65
<br />billion in long-term debl.
<br />But she said a smaller
<br />AMI-which will retain 48
<br />hospitals with 11,279 beds, and
<br />five psychiatric facilities-' may
<br />be E'ven more vulnerable' to a
<br />takeover.
<br />:"M] spokesman Mick Taylor
<br />said the divestiture is inlended
<br />to 'enhance shareholder value,'
<br />. CDntinllcd on page 34
<br />
<br />~~;4.;;,. IN SIDER~~;~)r;~ ;;c.:.
<br />~~IhrrERyrE~1
<br />
<br />
<br />.5e?l. . GtDrgt . M "..hdl" dulirrrum. of
<br />t~ H""lti: 5uM>mrn;ttt:r of the Sen-
<br />izt...Fintma CDmmittt:r, btlitves his
<br />: long.term . 01", trill is nd%SS/1rY. to
<br />,spur privAtt insunma atmpanies to
<br />. provide sirnilDr "","",gt~ '. ;:. -
<br />:~.:-:-,.~. .... '.' . Page 30'
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