BUSINESSNews in brief - June 29, 2009Scrushy ordered to pay HealthSouth shareholders for alleged fraud - HITSP tackles clinical research standards Scrushy ordered to pay HealthSouth shareholders for alleged fraudFormer HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, the company's founder, has been ordered by an Alabama judge to pay almost $2.9 billion to shareholders because of his liability in an accounting fraud scandal. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Allwin E. Horn heard testimony from five former financial officers from HealthSouth who testified against their former boss for inflating earnings by $2.7 billion between 1996 and 2002. Scrushy, who testified publicly for the first time concerning the alleged fraud, denied all wrongdoing. If the verdict stands up on appeal, about half of any money collected from that $2.9 billion would go to HealthSouth itself. Scrushy was acquitted of federal charges, though several of his company's chief financial officers pleaded guilty or were convicted. Scrushy is serving time in Texas on bribery charges on an unrelated case. Scrushy was charged with arranging $500,000 in contributions to then-Gov. Don Siegelman's campaign for a state lottery in exchange for an appointment to a state hospital regulatory board. He was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison. Siegelman was also convicted in the scheme and was sentenced to seven years. Both men appealed their convictions. HITSP tackles clinical research standardsThe Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel soon will tackle standards for electronic health records used for clinical research. More than 30 organizations have pledged financial support for the panel's initiative. The panel was formed in 2005 by the American National Standards Institute, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Advanced Technology Institute and Booz Allen Hamilton as a way of advancing interoperability standards in health IT. The goal of its most recent project, which began in early June, is to outline standards for using electronic systems in clinical research and to determine how they fit with existing interoperability standards. The print version of this content appeared in the July 6, 2009 issue of American Medical News. Copyright 2009 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. |
Women pay more for health care
Thirty-four states offer no protection against higher individual market premiums for women. Read story - View map Feature articlesFaces of the uninsured Four of the 46 million personal stories Mandating cultural competency Should physicians be required to take courses? Ownership loses its luster Physicians less likely to go solo Comprehensive coverage
Most-viewed
Nov. 2 issueH1N1 vaccine shortage leaves doctors managing crowds, anxieties Failed Senate vote clouds future of SGR reform Columns and series
From the vault: 5 years agoChallenges in state courts: New tort reforms under fire Nov. 1, 2004 
|
