Princess Health and Guilty Pleas in Another Hospital Construction Fraud Scandal. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Guilty Pleas in Another Hospital Construction Fraud Scandal. Princessiccia

bribery crime kickbacks UPMC

Gusty 19:08 Add Comment

This seems to be a minor epidemic. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported (here, here, and here) on another scheme involving kickbacks, bribes, and padded construction bills at Mercy and UPMC Shadyside Hospitals. So far, two former managers at Mercy and one at UPMC Shadyside have pleaded guilty.
These may not be particularly spectacular crimes, but they surely must help to drive up costs of health care, diverting money from the actual provision of care to the pockets of the criminals. The extent that each of these cases has a penumbra of demoralization, and hence leads to more costs, and perhaps poorer care and more errors, is unknown, and the issue still is ignored by the health care research and policy communities.

Princess Health and Guilty Pleas in Another Hospital Construction Fraud Scandal.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Guilty Pleas in Another Hospital Construction Fraud Scandal.Princessiccia

bribery crime kickbacks UPMC

Gusty 19:08 Add Comment

This seems to be a minor epidemic. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported (here, here, and here) on another scheme involving kickbacks, bribes, and padded construction bills at Mercy and UPMC Shadyside Hospitals. So far, two former managers at Mercy and one at UPMC Shadyside have pleaded guilty.
These may not be particularly spectacular crimes, but they surely must help to drive up costs of health care, diverting money from the actual provision of care to the pockets of the criminals. The extent that each of these cases has a penumbra of demoralization, and hence leads to more costs, and perhaps poorer care and more errors, is unknown, and the issue still is ignored by the health care research and policy communities.

Princess Health and Unintended Consequences of Reducing Junior Doctors' Hours. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Unintended Consequences of Reducing Junior Doctors' Hours. Princessiccia

NHS UK

Gusty 18:54 Add Comment

From the Guardian, a reminder about unintended consequences.... The UK now must limit work hours of hospital house staff to the European Union limit of 58 a week. The previous limits were 72 hours "on call," and 56 working a week. Of course, the European Union regulations were not accompanied by any funds to pay for the work that house-staff could no longer do. The Guardian article describes how limitations on hospital staffing at night may mean that emergencies may not be attended by those physicians with the necessary expertise to handle them optimally. For example, the Guardian recounts how a geriatrician was required to attempt the resuscitation fo a newborn baby. Furthermore, some junior doctors charged they were coerced into falsifying reports of hours worked to avoid onerous penalties on their hospitals.

Princess Health and Unintended Consequences of Reducing Junior Doctors' Hours.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Unintended Consequences of Reducing Junior Doctors' Hours.Princessiccia

NHS UK

Gusty 18:54 Add Comment

From the Guardian, a reminder about unintended consequences.... The UK now must limit work hours of hospital house staff to the European Union limit of 58 a week. The previous limits were 72 hours "on call," and 56 working a week. Of course, the European Union regulations were not accompanied by any funds to pay for the work that house-staff could no longer do. The Guardian article describes how limitations on hospital staffing at night may mean that emergencies may not be attended by those physicians with the necessary expertise to handle them optimally. For example, the Guardian recounts how a geriatrician was required to attempt the resuscitation fo a newborn baby. Furthermore, some junior doctors charged they were coerced into falsifying reports of hours worked to avoid onerous penalties on their hospitals.

Princess Health and Guilty Plea in the Illinois Health Facilities Board Scandal. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Guilty Plea in the Illinois Health Facilities Board Scandal. Princessiccia

Chicago Medical School crime

Gusty 18:38 Add Comment

From the Chicago Sun-Times... there has been a guilty plea in the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board scandal (see our previous post here.) Jacob Kiferbaum has agreed to plead guilty to some charges, and to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Kiferbaum was one of three indicted for a complex set of schemes allegedly to channel money from hospital construction projects, including those at Edward Hospital in Naperville, IL, and the Chicago Medical School, to the firms of the accused. (Note: the Sun-Times ran a very detailed account of the allegations here.)

Princess Health and Guilty Plea in the Illinois Health Facilities Board Scandal.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Guilty Plea in the Illinois Health Facilities Board Scandal.Princessiccia

Chicago Medical School crime

Gusty 18:38 Add Comment

From the Chicago Sun-Times... there has been a guilty plea in the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board scandal (see our previous post here.) Jacob Kiferbaum has agreed to plead guilty to some charges, and to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Kiferbaum was one of three indicted for a complex set of schemes allegedly to channel money from hospital construction projects, including those at Edward Hospital in Naperville, IL, and the Chicago Medical School, to the firms of the accused. (Note: the Sun-Times ran a very detailed account of the allegations here.)

Princess Health and "You Smoke? You're Fired". Princessiccia

Princess Health and "You Smoke? You're Fired". Princessiccia

Gusty 09:18 Add Comment

USA Today summarizes how some companies are firing or refusing to hire workers who smoke while away from work. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle reports on a study that shows that companies who provide health insurance on average pay smokers less than non-smokers, but no such differential is seen at companies that don't provide such insurance.
Obviously, smoking is an unhealthy habit that increases risk of a number of serious disease. As a physician, I am always encouraging patients not to smoke, or to quit cigarettes. But many patients find it very hard to quit, mainly because the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addicted.
Although I continue to urge such patients to quit, and try to find ways to help them do so, I personally don't think that they deserve to be blamed or shamed.
However, the two stories above seem to illustrate, as I've said before, how companies that pay for their employees' health insurance (presumably with money that would otherwise go the employees as salary) seem to see this transfer of funds a license to control their employees' private behavior. This heavy-handed approach seems like more of an abuse of power to me than a valid approach to public health. As a physician, it's hard enough to try to get patients to quit smoking. For such a patient, losing their job because of the habit adds more than insult to injury.