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<br />
<br />A eMP PUBLICATION
<br />
<br />..,
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />HEALTH
<br />
<br />
<br />EEK
<br />
<br />:"'J:Clr;.'1'..
<br />'"--
<br />
<br />
<br />. c,
<br />
<br />$2.50
<br />
<br />Vol. 2, No. 11
<br />
<br />May 23. 1968
<br />
<br />The Newspaper For America's Health Industry
<br />
<br />.y . ~~:"spe~4.~'~fJ'1 Government ~~~s Spendingl 0 :Och' O:;nt I~:;
<br />
<br />. t. (l'o'Ii tt.I e.......<>.. '.:.n.....{~....: .... '. HealthWeek I SRI Gallup PolI- . . " ". ".
<br />00 you think the fedlltal government is spending too much. about '!', .
<br />
<br />AID S':'-p().1.1-,,~\ 1~0% _ ;:;~~::::;;:;:~t:::.A~~~.:~:~:~::~;~~
<br />'::::;,:):~yTony L;bert~:~:~~it~~ ,; 90
<br />~~~~l~rli~~~ 1f;ri;~: '.":5O:~. ~:::~:::.:.::::::::c::,::::~~~~::::::~~:~~:~~~~~~~;~~::::;::::
<br />
<br />
<br />AIDS, according tool . Health-. '.: "
<br />Week/SRlGaUup Poll,despite'~' .- 40 m'
<br />President Reagan's $1.3 billion '.'; 30....
<br />request to fund AIDS research;.
<br />prevention and treatment 'ac~. ).. 20 .-
<br />tivitiesnextyear:";' ::->..,,:~~':.s;:,: . 10.-
<br />".:The'survey,by SRI Gallup 0
<br />Hospital Market Research of Jr- . $,,1>' ,..,~..
<br />vine, Calif., found that 54 per-' .##,."$"
<br />cent.of 1,000 people surveyed . ",#"'.;;; q,,J-Ci
<br />believe that the federal govem~
<br />ment is.spending'toolittle to
<br />
<br />;~"'.:~ <;.; Continue~o?piigt'~..(<,::;"~" ':'.: .::'\;:.:;V~;:~{t~:::.;. .
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<br />tJDlO Z2peroetCof tesoondenllteDMd. "Dan, WIow..
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<br />SwrA. HH*\WHlt' SRi GiwuD rol
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<br />AIDS:~hti~~::tostgt:\hug'~.,~nroflts":
<br />
<br />,;.~:,:;f.,;..,.:-:' :',:-:\?t-'r.'~i ':J.fN~'2:::t:f'lo.. . '._'. f,r::J,f.c: 2,:'" . ;:::/L"\~;:~ {~'C, ~y-:~:q';:':J' ,,'. i~: !;:,~K~4<~~~W'JtJJ;,~:'i:~jt~:' '.'
<br />::::.(\'P~gUt is a fo?"idable ~emy/i1~~itis.a!'ined with tt~rs tha!Mryz! iriiirie~ary;~rain:;:~ase:d' on' a
<br />__ man IS not Sllfficltntly fortified to resIStor prepared to stand the"'~~:':'+ ;.: conservatIVe estimate of the
<br />s110ck against.;. ", .' .:. ::;;;\L ;.:..::',', ~~f:; '-~.'! ',f"'.. ,,"..','::'Oaniei D~f~;:' num~e~ of victims"'::Y:'iII. have
<br />. '.." .,.:. >:.'. ':,',~.-..,'.. ,. ,: . : Aloumal oi the Plague Year' mull1phed to a staggenng 566,8
<br />.. .... billion per yea..r..' .,;...~.:::,~~,'. .
<br />.' BiDavid Weber,,;;':' ..
<br />..:' Spteialto Hea/tIlWetk ;;,,'f" SPECIAL REPORT During thefive.yearperiod
<br />. : <.Theimpact of the AIDS e. pi- 1986-1991, according to a recent
<br />First in a series d b SM' C (if
<br />'demic on the U.S. economy is stu y y anta OnlCa', a .-
<br />far-reaching and alarming. -~,;.: based Rand Corp. economist
<br />. Calculating the lost earnings San Fr~'ncisco, 'caic~lat~ th~t Anthony Pascal. the United
<br />and job output.of victims, AIDS, or acquired inUnune de- States will devote about 1 per.
<br />researchers Anne Scitovsky ficiency syndrome, cost Ameri- cent of its entire national health
<br />and Dorothy Rice of the Insti- can society almost$S. billi~n in outlay to the treatment of
<br />tute for Health.Policy Studies at 1985. . ....;,:...:? ;'" AIDS. The bill is expected to
<br />,the University of California,':',':.~y 1991, they' project,' t e .' - Continued on'p"ge 17
<br />
<br />Infectious waste a heap 0 j
<br />trouble for many hospitals
<br />
<br />15 percent of ,their total
<br />waste stream. .
<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 p"ge 34
<br />
<br />f....'...>~'"
<br />
<br />: : :~j~~~
<br />
<br />t.....g-3
<br />~~,!.i;~~:.:~~
<br />
<br />By Dun 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 />tals, which generate an esti-
<br />mated 500,000 tons of infec7
<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 />INSIDE THE NEWS
<br />
<br />
<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 />S4OO,<XXl 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 />virtually impossible for hospitals
<br />to install incinerators, according
<br />to experts.
<br />What this means for hospi-
<br />
<br />Medical Sale TEe Inc. 's he""".rmlll w..te disposal unit makee InfectiouS
<br />waste ute for regular 1.ndfltfa.
<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 Ready The high court unanimously
<br />HealthWeek Washington Bureau backed a doctor in Astoria,
<br />WASHINGTON-A U.S. Su- Ore., who successfully sued a
<br />preme Court decision uphold- peer review committee after the
<br />ing a doctor's right to bring an
<br />antitrust lawsuit against a
<br />hospital physician review com-
<br />mittee will have a chilling effect
<br />on quality assurance efforts, ac-
<br />cording to the American.Medi-
<br />cal Association.
<br />However, another physicians'
<br />group said the May 16 ruling
<br />will help protect physicians
<br />against abuses of the peer
<br />review process.
<br />
<br />, GAO .....11. PRO review methods
<br />. PROs draw fir. as role expands
<br />S... psg...
<br />
<br />group tried to revoke his hospi-
<br />tal privileges. Dr. Timothy A.
<br />Patrick claimed that physicians
<br />on the panel-who were part-
<br />ners in a competing private
<br />dinic-used false charges of in-
<br />competence to try to force him
<br />. Continued on p"ge 33
<br />
<br />AMI unloads 37 hospitals
<br />in'wake of takeover threat
<br />
<br />By Karen Southwick'
<br />BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.-
<br />American Medical International
<br />Inc. is performing radical sur-
<br />gery on itself to ward off a pos-
<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 />
<br />'A defensive gesture'
<br />'AMI is doing this primarily
<br />as a defensive gesture. " said
<br />Margo Vignola, a health serv-
<br />ices analyst with Salomon 6ros.
<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 />ital gains that a potential ac-
<br />quirer might get,' Vignola
<br />added. AMI has about $1.65
<br />billion in long-term debt.
<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 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 p"ge 34
<br />
<br />':1" INSIDER%::.~." .Wi '>;.
<br />. .."""tl~.
<br />'r, ~INTERVIE ~~
<br />~'. .' . I~.l-~~'"
<br />
<br />
<br />.Sen. C<mxc Mitdtdl,. chIlirrrum 0{
<br />.tlle. Hadtlt Subamrmitt<< of tile Sen-
<br />4t~FiJUJna Committ<<, belierJa It.
<br />'Iong-term . arl'e bill. ... ~nj. to
<br />~ spur ",..,..,e insv..n"" COIllp"nief ItI
<br />. pn1I1UU ,imi"'r _ge., .....'):. ~ .
<br />-",.~::.:.~. . .... Page 30 . \
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