BUSINESSNews in brief - Aug. 2, 2004Tenet sells troubled Calif. hospital - Ex-HealthSouth execs plead innocent - ChartOne to acquire eWebHealth - More consumers surf health plan sites Tenet sells troubled Calif. hospitalTenet Healthcare Corp. has completed its sale of the embattled Redding Medical Center, a California hospital where two physicians were accused of performing hundreds of unnecessary cardiac procedures to boost profits. The hospital was purchased by an affiliate of Hospital Partners of America Inc., Tenet announced July 16. Tenet said one of its own subsidiaries would retain liabilities associated with the hospital that stemmed from before the sale, which was expected to generate net proceeds of about $57 million. In August 2003, Tenet agreed to pay the federal government $54 million to settle claims that unnecessary procedures were performed at the hospital and billed to government programs. Tenet did not admit any wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, the government reserved the right to pursue administrative action against the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based hospital chain. Ultimately, Tenet agreed to sell the Redding Medical Center so the hospital wouldn't be excluded from participating in Medicare and other federal health programs. The company still faces civil lawsuits filed on behalf of patients and their families. Ex-HealthSouth execs plead innocentTwo former HealthSouth executives have pleaded innocent to charges that they were involved in an alleged bribery and kickback scheme related to a contract between the outpatient services giant and a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Robert E. Thomson and James C. Reilly appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Harwell G. Davis III, in Birmingham, Ala., July 15 to enter their pleas. Federal prosecutors announced earlier in the month that they had been indicted by a grand jury on conspiracy charges. Thomson, a former division president, and Reilly, a former group vice president, were allegedly involved in a scheme to bribe an executive of a Saudi Arabian foundation to help HealthSouth secure a contract to provide staffing and management services for a hospital, prosecutors said. Former HealthSouth executives Vincent Nico and Thomas Carman pleaded guilty in April to criminal charges for their roles in the alleged scheme. They have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The defendants are among at least 19 former HealthSouth leaders who have faced criminal charges since a major accounting scandal at the company surfaced in March 2003. ChartOne to acquire eWebHealthChartOne Inc. has agreed to acquire eWebHealth, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based company that sells coding and document imaging software and services that physicians and hospitals access remotely over the Internet. Terms were not disclosed. ChartOne, San Jose, Calif., sells chart management storage, software and services. More consumers surf health plan sitesAbout 21.9 million of online adults accessed Web sites of health plans to manage their benefits, up from 11.3 million in 2002, according to a survey by Manhattan Research, a New York-based market research firm. Online adult Americans -- those who access the Internet monthly or more often -- are accessing the sites to look up information about their physician, health coverage, obtain benefits updates, treatment options, and conduct routine customer service requests. Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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