News in brief - May 17, 2004

Draft EMR standard approved - AMA joins CCR effort - Ex-HealthSouth execs plead guilty - Health care deals slow, but value up - HCA bolsters outpatient division

Draft EMR standard approved

Members of Health Level Seven, a health care standards development organization, voted in April to approve a draft standard for a model electronic medical record.

Vendors of electronic medical records and health care organizations will test the draft model for the next two years. HL7 then will make changes based on feedback from testers and re-ballot the standard, said Jonathan Himlin, a spokesman for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based organization. Once approved, HL7 will submit it to the American National Standards Unit for approval as a full standard, he said, adding that adoption by the industry would be voluntary.

AMA joins CCR effort

The AMA has joined a group of medical societies sponsoring the effort to develop a standard known as the Continuity of Care Record.

The CCR is intended to be a standardized portable medical record that will give doctors access to the most relevant information about a patient when they refer or transfer the patient to another physician or practitioner. The minimum data include the names of the patient and doctor, allergies, medications, vital signs, diagnoses and recent procedures.

Ex-HealthSouth execs plead guilty

Two former HealthSouth vice presidents have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a kickback scheme involving a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Thomas Carman, 52, pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement authorities, federal prosecutors announced April 27. He could receive up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines when he is sentenced July 22.

Earlier that month, Vincent Nico, 47, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He could face up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines at his July sentencing.

The case stems from a bribery and kickback scheme related to HealthSouth's contract to provide a hospital in Saudi Arabia with staffing and management services. Carman, Nico and other HealthSouth executives allegedly paid a $500,000 bribe by way of a bogus consulting contract. After receiving the money, the Saudi national allegedly paid Nico a kickback of $125,000 per year for three years.

Health care deals slow, but value up

The number of health care mergers and acquisitions were down in the first quarter of 2004, but the financial value of the deals was up dramatically, according to a report published by Irving Levin Associates Inc., a health care research firm based in New Canaan, Conn.

The report counts 201 deals, mostly in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology, during the first quarter of 2004, compared with 234 during the fourth quarter and 229 during the first quarter of 2003. However, the report estimates the total value of the deals at $92.3 billion, nearly equal to the $92.8 billion during all of 2003.

One deal -- the proposed acquisition of Aventis SA by Sanofi-Synthelabo SA, which was valued at $65 billion -- was the major driver of the first quarter financial statistics.

HCA bolsters outpatient division

HCA Inc., hopes to tap into the lucrative business of diagnostic imaging and bolster its ambulatory surgery centers with a new corporate division dedicated to outpatient services.

The nation's largest hospital chain is entrusting the effort to Marilyn Tavenner, a longtime HCA executive who took the helm as group president for outpatient services on Jan. 1. She is charged with steering the new division, which is still taking shape.

HCA spokesman Jeff Prescott said the company previously had a division that was responsible for ambulatory surgery centers. However, a shift in patient trends prompted leaders to consider a new division with expanded focus.

"What happened is that in recent months we saw increasing volume in outpatient procedures in surgery centers and in imaging areas," he said. "We started to see business moving there, so we made the decision that we need to focus more of our company efforts in that arena."

Prescott said HCA has been a "significant player for some time" in the business of ambulatory surgery centers, with 79 ASCs nationwide. But he said the company doesn't have any centers that are dedicated to diagnostic imaging.