News in brief - March 1, 2004

Tenet names chief operating officer - FTC clears giant PBM merger - TeleVox buys SmartTalk

Tenet names chief operating officer

Tenet HealthCare Corp. has completed its senior management overhaul by appointing one of its division managers to serve as the new chief operating officer of the beleaguered hospital chain.

Tenet announced Feb. 9 that Reynold J. Jennings, 57, would immediately take the post, making him responsible for overseeing and enhancing the operations of Tenet's newly slimmed-down group of 69 hospitals. Jennings, a longtime hospital executive, most recently had served as president of Tenet's eastern division.

The move completes a management overhaul that the troubled hospital chain began in November 2002, around the time that a series of government investigations and lawsuits focusing on Tenet began to surface, sending the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company scrambling to restructure itself.

Since then, Tenet has appointed a chief executive officer, chief financial officer and general counsel. The company also restructured its board.

FTC clears giant PBM merger

Caremark RX's proposed acquisition of Advance PCC Inc. has received antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission. The proposed $6 billion transaction, which must be approved by shareholders of both companies, would make Caremark the second largest pharmacy benefits manager in the country in terms of annual revenue.

TeleVox buys SmartTalk

TeleVox Software Inc., Mobile, Ala., has acquired SmartTalk Inc., a seller of interactive voice response systems to physician groups, hospitals and other providers. Terms were not disclosed.