Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Urgent-care chain Solantic expands, rebrands
  Solantic, the chain of urgent-care centers that Florida Gov. Rick Scott founded in 2001, is expanding and changing its name to CareSpot Express Healthcare.
• CDC panel calls for team approach on blood pressure
  An expert panel is advising a team-based approach to controlling high blood pressure, a condition that affects 68 million American adults and costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $130 billion annually.
• TriZetto company buys doc-pay software specialist
  TriZetto Group, a Denver-based healthcare information technology services provider, has acquired physician reimbursement software company NHXS.
• Consumers see hospital, doc-office prices rise
  Consumer prices for hospital services climbed 0.6% in April after the prior month’s increase of 0.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. The figures are seasonally adjusted. For April 2011, consumer hospital…
• Wolters Kluwer finds pharma analytics buyer
  Symphony Technology Group has acquired Source
… (Continued...)

Dental practice faces suits over videotaped sexual assaults    

From the Atlantic Journal Constitution

By Christopher Seward 

A pair of civil lawsuits have been filed months after a Cobb County nurse anesthetist was sent to prison for sedating female dental patients awaiting surgeries and sexually assaulting them as they lay unconscious.

Paul Patrick Serdula, who was sentenced to life plus 25 years, also videotaped his assaults on the patients, among them a 15-year-old girl.

The parents of the teenager and another, adult patient filed lawsuits this week against Goldstein, Garber & Salama LLC, the Marietta dental practice that performed the surgeries and hired Serdula to administer the anesthesia.

Efforts were made Friday to obtain comment from Goldstein, Garber & Salama and Drs. Maurice Salama and David Garber, who are named in the lawsuit.

“If you can’t be safe in an operating room where they are permitted to render you totally unconscious, … (Continued...)

Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair rejected defense attorney Richard Wright’s argument that the 35-page indictment returned in June 2010 against former physician Dipak Desai was unconstitutionally vague and confusing  on Thursday. Desai was a prominent Las Vegas physician and state medical board member who operated clinics where health officials say patients became infected with hepatitis C in 2007.

Prosecutors allege that Desai was trying to save money at his Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center and orchestrated a scheme that required staff to use the anesthetic propofol that remained in previously opened vials on multiple patients, and to reuse colonoscopy scopes and bite plates from patient to patient during outpatient procedures. Propofol is well-known to allow rapid growth of bacteria and viruses due to its high protein content.

Desai recently lost a 2 year battle to have himself declared incompetent to stand trial after … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• IMedX buys Accumed Script
  Shelton, Conn.-based iMedX announced its acquisition of Accumed Script, a Columbus, Ohio-based medical-transcription firm, according…
• Erlanger names Creel interim CMO
  Erlanger Health System, Chattanooga, Tenn., has named Dr. James Creel interim chief medical officer, effective May 14.
• Hospital PPI rose 0.3% in April; doc-office figures dip
  Wholesale acute-care hospital prices increased 0.3% in April for the second straight month, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index.
• IRS to accept comments on changes to Form 990
  The Internal Revenue Service said it will briefly accept comments about changes to the Form 990 that were prompted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
• AMA repeats call to halt ICD-10 adoption
  The American Medical Association has renewed its call to hit the pause button on the national adoption of the ICD-10 diagnostic and procedural codes.
• RUC physician fee lawsuit
… (Continued...)

 From Medical Discovery News By Norbert Herzog and David Niesel.

Most people had never heard of the drug propofol until Michael Jackson died from an overdose. His doctor was recently convicted and sentenced for being reckless when he administered the general anesthetic.

Since Jackson’s death, several scientific papers have begun urging the US Drug Enforcement Administration to regulate the drug. You may already be asking, though – why would anyone use propofol recreationally? 

Within seconds, it acts on a person’s central nervous system, sedating them. A mistake can cause a drop in blood pressure, obstructed airway, respiratory failure, and even death. With such high risks, propofol does seem only useful in medical settings on surgical and intensive care patients who are highly monitored.

Before officials could classify it a controlled substance, they’d have to ask, “Is propofol being abused?” One condition for abuse is first documenting recreational use. Recent scientific … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Hospital board OKs acquisition by Indy system
  The board at Howard Regional Health System, Kokomo, Ind., has approved the deal for the two-hospital system to be acquired by Indianapolis-based Community Health Network, according to a news release.
• Von Eschenbach joins Banyan board
  Banyan Biomarkers, based in Alachua, Fla., has elected Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach to its board of directors, according to a news…
• Large variability in knee surgeries found
  The duration, length of stay and complication rates associated with total knee replacement surgery vary significantly from one hospital to another, according to
• VA awards contract to Harris Corp.
  The Veterans Affairs Department’s Office of Information Technology awarded a $2 million contract to Harris Corp., the healthcare information technology company said.
• DME bidding program seen as success; further study urged
  The first year of the DME competitive-bidding program was successful, but more experience with competitive bidding is needed
… (Continued...)

From MedCityNews By Frank Vinluan

Propofol drug shortages: The economic problem of a generic injectable

Propofol might best be known as the anesthetic Michael Jackson used inappropriately as a sleeping aid. Administered properly, the drug widely is used in hospitals to sedate patients. It also happens to be part of an industrywide drug shortage affecting hospitals throughout the country.

Injectable drugs maker Hospira (NYSE:HSP) is among the dwindling number of propofol manufacturers. The company recently restarted propofol production after a stoppage at its manufacturing plant in Clayton, North Carolina. The stoppage was voluntary and temporary, CEO Michael Ball said during during the company’s conference call to discuss first quarter financial results. Without going into detail, Ball said that Hospira has “completed corrective action” at the plant and propofol production has restarted. But restarting production isn’t a solution to the industrywide propofol shortage. And it’s not Hospira’s fault. Blame economics.

Three … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• North Suburban opens free-standing ER
  HealthOne’s North Suburban Medical Center, a 128-bed hospital in Thornton, Colo., has opened a free-standing, 24-hour emergency room. The 10,000-square-foot facility is located roughly seven miles from North Suburban and will offer the same services…
• Former exec receives three-year sentence
  David Rosen, a former health system CEO who was convicted in September for fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery, was sentenced to three years in prison by a U.S. District Court judge.
• Renowned MetroHealth cardiologist dies
  Dr. David Rosenbaum, chief of the division of cardiology and director of the Heart & Vascular Center for the MetroHealth System in Cleveland, died May 5 in Cleveland. He was 54.
• CMS listens to AMA panel 87.4% of time
  Those who say the CMS follows the suggestions of the American Medical Association’s Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (commonly known as “the RUC”) 90% of
… (Continued...)

Mountain State University officials met Monday in Chicago with five trustees from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to present the school’s case for continued general accreditation of the university as a whole. This follows an Order to Show Cause as to why accreditation should continue and a site visit from the HLC. The HLC will determined MSU’s fate at a June meeting. If continued accreditation is denied the future of the university continuing to operate is grim.

Interim President Dr. Richard Sours presented changes the school has made to address concerns the commission had regarding governance, leadership and faculty, as expressed in its June 2011 Show Cause Order said Dr. Jerry Ice, president of the Mountain State University Board of Trustees. Sours, supported by a group of officials, including Chief Academic Officer Dr. Roslyn Clark-Artis, made the presentation to the commission. “He … (Continued...)

MONTICELLO, Ky. – U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove sentenced former paramedic 49-year-old Susie Willis  to two years in prison Thursday for tampering with pain medication carried on the ambulance.

In May of 2010, Willis admitted she broke the seal on at least two medication vials containing the intravenous narcotic fentanyl citrate. She withdrew the medicine for her own personal use and then in an effort to avoid detection refilled the vials with saline solution. She resealed the vials with crazy glue. Presumably the saline was administered to subsequent patients who were in pain and would have provided no relief.

Willis’ plea agreement stated that the saline solution could have caused “extreme physical pain or impairment of bodily functions” if administered to a patient instead of the intended fentanyl. She surrendered her EMT license in December of 2010.

Under federal law she must serve 85% of her prison sentence … (Continued...)

The Oklahoma Supreme Court last week unanimously rejected as unconstitutional a ballot measure that would have asked voters to grant human embryos “personhood” rights this coming November. The proposed state constitutional amendment would have included “the beginning of biological development” in the definition of a human being.

“The United States Supreme Court has spoken on this issue,” Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor wrote for the court. “The measure is clearly unconstitutional pursuant to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992). The states are duty bound to follow its interpretation of the law.” The proposed amendment is “void on its face”, said the ruling.

The amendment would have read, “A ‘person’ as referred to in Article 2, Section 2 of this Constitution shall be defined as any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being to natural death. The inherent rights of such person shall … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Mednax division buys anesthesiology practice
  American Anesthesiology, a division of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Mednax, has acquired physician group practice Brazos Anesthesiology Associates, Bryan, Texas, for an undisclosed amount of cash.
• CMS delays data collection for Sunshine Act to 2013
  The CMS has again extended the implementation of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and will not require drug and device manufacturers to begin collecting data on payments to providers until 2013.
• Amcom buys system for speedy test-results delivery
  Amcom Software, a Minneapolis company that specializes in critical communications technologies for healthcare, education, government and other sectors, has acquired a clinical test results-management system from Pewaukee, Wis.-based IMCO…
• Highmark launches GPO
  Highmark, the Pittsburgh insurer seeking to acquire a distressed health system, announced the launch of ProtoCo Supply Chain Partners, a group-purchasing and supply-chain services organization.
• Busts made in Lilly drug theft
  Law enforcement officials have recovered more than
… (Continued...)

The Los Angeles County Coroner released his final report on the death of Whitney Houston earlier this month. In keeping with our tradition begun in the Michael Jackson case, we are presenting our analysis of the findings. We also present our usual disclaimer that we are not experts in forensic toxicology or pathology. At the same time the information we present either IS in our expertise or has been well researched. We had previously reported on the findings of the coroner after his office held a new reference last month. At that time Law Med expressed concerns regarding the statements of the coroner’s office regarding a cardiac event having led to drowning. We now address the issues in-depth. Comments are of course welcome, very much including those which disagree or point out errors. 

Between 2:45 and 3:00 pm on  2/11/2012, Whitney Houston’s personal assistant left Houston alone in room … (Continued...)

There is no end in sight to the now business as usual reality of drug shortages in medicine. Anesthesiology is hit particularly hard in the number of medications which are not being manufactured to meet demand. Here is a list of medications common to anesthesia practice which the FDA lists as being in short supply, and the reasons given. It contains the three most frequently administered medications in the practice of anesthesia: propofol, fentanyl and midazolam. Law Med points out that it is no coincidence that only drugs which are off patent and now generics seem to have shortages.

Alfentanil Injection  Material shortage and increased demand.

Atracurium besylate   Manufacturing delays.

Atropine Sulfate Injection  Manufacturing delay and increased demand.

Bupivacaine Hydrochloride Injection   Manufacturing delay.

Calcium Chloride Injection  Manufacturing delay.

Chloroprocaine (Nesacaine) Injection  Increased demand and manufacturing delay.

Etomidate Injection  increased demand and manufacturing delay.

Fentanyl Citrate Injection Manufacturing delay causing increased … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Senators ask providers to weigh in on fraud prevention
  A bipartisan group of six lawmakers from the Senate Finance Committee issued an open letter to healthcare providers, payers and patients seeking input on better ways to prevent waste and fraud in healthcare, including ideas on improving the current…
• TeamHealth continues Mid-Atlantic expansion
  TeamHealth, Knoxville, Tenn., has acquired the Exigence Group, a physician staffing company based in Amherst, N.Y., in a move that TeamHealth said would help it capitalize on the growing urgent-care segment.
• HHS awards $10.4 million for rural health
  HHS announced the awarding of $10.4 million in grants to 70 rural providers as part of the first round of funding for three-year direct healthcare projects in their communities.
• HealthNow New York names Ram CMO
  HealthNow New York, which includes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York and Blue Shield of Northeastern New York, named
… (Continued...)

In a case of ‘how many professionals who we expect better from can band together to run a drug ring’ we turn to Beaufort county North Carolina where 3 nurses, a pharmacist and two police officers have been indicted on federal felony charges for improperly obtaining and distributing controlled substances.

Registered Nurse Practitioner Amanda Bunch had her license to practice suspended by the North Carolina Board of Nursing in 2010 for improperly prescribing controlled substances and only had it reinstated two months ago. Now she’s been arrested on federal charges for the same acts for which her license was suspended. It is alleged that Bunch was writing prescriptions for various pain killers, weight loss medications and sleep aids, all controlled substances, for her two sisters, one a Certified registered nurse Anesthetist and another a pharmacist, as well as a another nurse, a State Highway Patrol sergeant and another police officer, … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Sanford, Medcenter One in merger talks
  At the end of last year, North Dakota’s Medcenter One and Sanford Health released statements that said the two systems were talking about working together, but that this didn’t necessarily mean a merger was in the works.
• Safety effort targeting handoffs cut errors 40%: Boston hospital
  Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have developed a specialized set of protocols they say will improve patient handoffs and reduce the risk of adverse events.
• Armstrong to lead Fla. health department
  Dr. John Armstrong was appointed Florida’s surgeon general and secretary of the state’s health department.
• ACPE names Riddles president, board chairman
  The American College of Physician Executives has named Dr. Lawrence Riddles as president and chairman of the board.
• N.H. hospital trustees seek CMS help on Medicaid reimbursements
  The trustees of 10 hospitals in New Hampshire that have sued the state over reductions in
… (Continued...)

The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is reporting that Kentucky has become the 17th state to Opt Out of the federal law which requires that a Certified registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) be supervised by any licensed physician who is willing, regardless of specialty training, in order for services to be covered by Medicare or Medicaid. The question now has to be asked what purpose this absurd federal health insurance supervision law even serves at this point. Initially physician anesthesiologists (and now a decade later, like an angry horse trainer next to his dead mount still slinging the whip) shouted dire warnings to the nations elderly that their lives were now in grave danger should they require an anesthetic.  This despite the delivery of anesthesia being one of the safest areas of medicine and nursing that exists.

With hundreds of thousands of anesthetics now delivered in multiple states under the … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Tenet announces stock repurchase
  Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, has repurchased $299 million in preferred stock on the heels of a strong first quarter performance.
• AAMC’s Kirch warns on IPPS cuts
  The head of the Association of American Medical Colleges is speaking out against potential payment cuts for teaching hospitals that were included in the CMS’ proposed inpatient prospective payment system rule for fiscal 2013.
• FTC backs La. bill easing care rules for advanced-practice nurses
  The Federal Trade Commission said it backs proposed Louisiana legislation that would relax care-related rules for advanced-practice registered nurses, saying the measure would support competition and benefit consumers.
• Docs earn up to $44,000 for admin tasks: MGMA-ACMPE
  Most medical directors spend about three to 10 hours a week on duties associated with the administrative role, but it’s what they do in that time that affects their compensation, according to a report based on
… (Continued...)

Three more nursing students sue Mountain State University in West Virginia for fraud, breach of contract. Over a dozen such lawsuits have been filed in recent months. See our previous coverage of some of the lawsuits here and here. A former nurse anesthesia program student has also filed suit against their now closed program.

From The West Virginia Record  

By Kyla Asbury -Kanawha Bureau 

CHARLESTON — Three more cases have been filed by students of Mountain State University’s LPN to BSN Program for fraud and breach of contract.

Charles H. Polk and the Mountain State University Board of Trustees were also named as defendants in the suit.

Amber Whitener, Stacie Scott and Sonia Godbey were admitted into the LPN to BSN Program, according to three complaints filed April 5 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs claim when they were admitted to the program, they were informed that

… (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• HITRUST announces cybersecurity center
  The Health Information Trust Alliance, a Frisco, Texas-based organization focused on information security, has established a new center dedicated to cybersecurity within the healthcare industry.
• NextGen Healthcare parent buys Matrix Management
  Quality Systems, Irvine, Calif., has acquired physician-founded revenue-cycle management company Matrix Management Solutions, North Canton, Ohio.
• Wishard docs group restructures
  Indiana’s Wishard Health Services and more than 100 primary-care and hospitalist physicians on faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine have formed a new organization: Eskenazi Medical Group.
• Preventive cardiology group names new president
  The American Society for Preventive Cardiology has named Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Stephen Kopecky as president.
• Locum Tenens doc group names Phillips president
  The National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations elected Interim Physicians executive Frank Phillips as the group’s next president.
• EHR adoption still lags for small, rural practices: researchers
  Adoption of electronic health-record systems remains higher
… (Continued...)

Five “medical professionals” in the northern province of Chaco, Argentina, have been suspended pending an investigation after a newborn was pronounced dead at birth and shipped off to the morgue only to be discovered alive in a coffin by her mother, Analia Bouter, some 12 hours later. The little girl was born premature at 26 weeks gestation and declared stillborn.

From CBS news:

Bouter told the TeleNoticias TV channel in an interview Tuesday night that doctors gave her the death certificate moments after the girl was born, and that she still hasn’t received a birth certificate. She said the baby was quickly put in a coffin and taken to the morgue’s refrigeration room. Twelve hours passed before she and her husband were able to open the coffin to say their last goodbyes.

That’s when the baby trembled, she said. Bouter  thought it was her imagination – then she

… (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• GAO notes Defense Dept.’s lack of progress on health-cost initiatives
  Of the 11 goals the U.S. Defense Department has identified to slow its rising healthcare costs, the department has made progress in just one area, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a new report.
• Texas hospital reopens after bomb scare
  After two hours of confusion and rumors late this afternoon, McAllen (Texas) Medical Center reopened its doors after an apparent bomb threat.
• Rib-X Pharmaceuticals names chief development officer
  Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, a New Haven, Conn.-based antibiotics developer, named Dr. Matthew Wikler as its new chief development officer.
• ABIM CEO Cassel to step down
  Dr. Christine Cassel will leave her posts as president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation in July 2013, when her current term ends.
• R.I. Senate votes to remove limit on acquisitions
  The Rhode Island Senate voted 36-0 to
… (Continued...)

The California Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA), along with the California Medical Association (CMA), wants the state Supreme Court to review a decision by two lower courts that state law does not require physician supervision of nurse anesthetists. ( CSA and CMA v. Schwarzenegger)

Last month their bid to appeal a San Francisco City and County Superior Court’s December 2010 decision failed when a state appeals court affirmed that decision.

In order for hospitals and surgery centers and critical access hospitals to receive reimbursement under Medicare when a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) alone administers anesthesia, federal regulations require that the CRNA must be supervised by a physician. However, federal regulations also allow that a state’s governor has the discretion on behalf of the State to opt out of the physician supervision requirement as long as it is consistent with state law. On June 10, 2009, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger exercised … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• St. Jude Medical wants journal to retract report
  A medical device manufacturer is demanding that a medical society journal retract a report which concluded its products “are prone to high-voltage failures that have resulted in death.”
• Funding deal approved for Ariz. KidsCare program
  Arizona can resume coverage for children eligible through its state-federal insurance program for the poor under a new funding arrangement approved by the CMS.
• Regent Surgical announces joint venture with Irish firm
  Regent Surgical Health, a Chicago-based surgery-center management and development firm, is expanding its relationship with the physician group Neurosurgery Ireland by announcing the company’s first international hospital and physician joint venture.Brought to you by ModernHealthcare.com 
• Doc seeks ouster of trustee at N.Y. hospital slated to close
  A physician has asked a bankruptcy court to oust a trustee who has moved to permanently close Peninsula Hospital, New York.
• Utah officials: Medicaid records breach
… (Continued...)

 Knox County, Tn.,  Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner was heavily addicted to prescription drugs during his final two years on the bench. So addicted in fact that he was having sex and buying pills during courtroom breaks, even purchasing from convicts he had previously sentenced. His addiction has called into question many of the cases he presided over, including one of Knoxville’s most notorious murder trials.

Baumgartner stepped down from the bench and pleaded guilty in March 2011 to a single count of official misconduct. It took another eight months before an investigation the seriousness of the judge’s drug problem It has cast doubt about whether he was sober enough to be sitting on the bench.

Another judge has tossed out the convictions from the high-profile murder case and ordered new trials. Many other defendants are filing motions for new trials. Due to the sheer number of people convicted in … (Continued...)

We told you previously about the case of Dr. Jon Norberg, 41, of Fargo who was accused of raping a woman who was not his patient (turned out to be his wife) after administering the anesthetic propofol to her more than 30 times over an 18 month period. In January, in a deal with prosecutors, he  plead guilty to felony reckless endangerment and a misdemeanor count of sexual assault. Compared to rape charges these were a walk in the park.

Norberg was accused of drugging his wife with the anesthetic propofol and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. Norberg has claimed his wife consented to receiving the propofol and that both of them agreed upon it as a treatment her chronic pain from an autoimmune disease. His estranged wife, a physician herself, claims otherwise and has painted her husband as a sadistic liar. Despite his plea to the misdemeanor sexual … (Continued...)

By Greg Stocks, The Law Med Blog 

While any author certainly prefers that the reader take the time to read his or her work in its entirety, for those who want a quick answer without the evidence and law explained, here it is: Surgeons do not expose themselves to greater liability when they work with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) alone vs physician anesthesiologists alone. Regardless of what anyone might tell you to the contrary, the courts and the case law are unambiguous and very complete on the matter. But don’t just believe me, read on for the irrefutable facts based in law.

It is worth noting from the outset that due to the incredible record of safety which the administration of anesthesia enjoys (so safe that it is the envy of every other medical and nursing specialty in this regard), concerns from surgeons over their liability exposure for anesthesia … (Continued...)

Huffington Post

Kimberly Saenz, Ex-Nurse Gets Life In Prison For Killing 5 With Bleach

By MICHAEL GRACZYK  

LUFKIN, Texas  ~A former Texas nurse convicted of killing five dialysis patients by injecting them with bleach should spend the rest of her life in prison with no chance of parole, jurors who earlier convicted the woman of capital murder last week said Monday.

Kimberly Saenz was convicted Friday of killing the patients at a clinic run by Denver-based health care giant DaVita Inc. She also received three 20-year terms for aggravated assault in the cases of five other patients who were deliberately injured at the facility in East Texas.

Jurors spent about 45 minutes deliberating before returning with a decision on the punishment. They also could have recommended that Saenz receive the death penalty.

“I was hoping for the death penalty but I’m all right,” said Wanda Hollingsworth, whose mother was among … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Acentia buys IT contractor 2020 Co.
  A growing government contractor in the Washington suburbs recently took over a government health information technology contractor in the same area.
• Ventas completes takeover of Cogdell Spencer
  Ventas, the Chicago real estate investment trust, has completed its $760 million takeover of Cogdell Spencer, in a deal that makes it the largest owner of medical office…
• CMS to hold Part C, D contractors to quality standard
  Starting in 2015, the CMS may terminate the contracts of Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) and Part D (prescription drug plan) sponsors that have failed to achieve at least a three-star rating on a five-star quality scale, the agency
• Mercy Hospital, Trinity Health create partnership
  The deal between Mercy Health System in Chicago and Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health is official.
• GOP wants assurances on protecting programs from fraud
  Republican healthcare leaders in Congress cast doubt Monday
… (Continued...)

A Rowland Heights, California physician pleaded not guilty Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to murder charges in connection with three fatal prescription drug overdoses.

Hsiu-Ying “Lisa” Tseng D.O., 42, is charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of  Vu Nguyen, 28, of Lake Forest; Steven Ogle, 25, of Palm Desert; and Joey Rovero, 21, an Arizona State University student from San Ramon, east of San Francisco.  She also is charged with 20 felony counts of prescribing painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs to people who had no legitimate medical need for the medications. She is being held on $3-million bail.

Judge Shelly Torrealba denied a request from Tseng’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, to lower her bail. “I see this situation no differently than any other murder situation,” Torrealba said. “Three people are dead.”

The charges against Tseng are a relatively rare attempt to hold a physician criminally … (Continued...)

The California medical board has suspended the license of a doctor accused of giving his daughter hundreds of at-home doses of propofol,  the powerful anesthetic that killed Michael Jackson, as a last-ditch, and effective, treatment for her debilitating chronic pain.

In an order filed Thursday, California Medical Board officials said Dr. Robert Markman of Northridge, a retired anesthesiologist who practiced from 1974-2001, is barred from practicing medicine pending a full administrative determination from the Board. He has never been disciplined by the Board in the past and has not been sued for malpractice during his years of practice. Based on the facts as presented in the Board’s order,  the Law Med Blog is quite hesitant in passing negative judgment regarding Markman’s actions. While there are generally ethical issues when treating family members, assuming the facts are as stated he may be the best and only chance his daughter has for … (Continued...)

We first turned our attention to West Virginia’s Mountain State University when a former student in their then probationed and now defunct school of nurse anesthesia. Christy Brewer filed suit in Federal Court in the Southern District of West Virginia July 5, 2011.  Brewer completed the Spring, Summer and Fall 2007 semesters without ever receiving a syllabus for any class despite requesting one on multiple occaisions. Her requests for graded results of exams were denied. After completion of the Fall term she was told she that she had failed a pharmacology course by 0.2% points, despite not having been counseled that she had any performance issue in the course, per university policy. What followed, according to Brewer, was a bizarre course of events, well worth the read, which we reported in detail HERE.

At the time we had no inkling of the true mess that was, and is, the … (Continued...)

From EMSWORLD 

CLINTON, IA – The city of Clinton has filed a $3 million lawsuit against the attorney and law firm that handled the city’s $4.5 million settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Clinton County District Court claims attorney Michael Walker of Davenport and his law firm, Hopkins & Huebner, were negligent in the legal work that led to settlement of the lawsuit over the city’s allegedly fraudulent billing of Medicare and Medicaid for emergency medical service runs.

The federal false claims act lawsuit was filed in 2008 by a former firefighter and settled in 2010 for payment of $4.5 million over 10 years.

The city claims Walker and the firm negligently caused a “rush to judgment” in recommending the settlement, according to the lawsuit.

Ron Pogge, an attorney for Hopkins & Huebner, said Thursday, “We stand by the advice we gave them, and we’ll let … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• N.Y. panel to update privacy, security policies
  The New York state health department and the New York eHealth Collaborative, the federally designated coordinator for developing state-wide health information exchange in the Empire State, are creating a policy advisory committee whose first task is…
• Ind. HIE, health department start pilot program
  The St. Joseph (Ind.) County Health Department has started a pilot program with South Bend, Ind.-based Michiana Health Information Network to bolster its communicable-disease reporting on both the local and state…
• Democrats see Ryan budget plan as dead on arrival
  Moments after the House approved a Republican budget plan that includes sweeping changes to Medicare and Medicaid, Democrats were quick to note the financial framework has no chance of becoming law.
• Doc associations warn CMS about coming ‘storm’ of overlapping regulations
  The American Medical Association joined with other physician organizations to urge the CMS to consider the
… (Continued...)

Authorities have brought federal charges against JetBlue pilot, Captain Clayton Osbon, 49, subsequent to his apparent break with reality while piloting a flight from New York to Las Vegas. 

Osborn has been formally charged with interfering with a flight crew. JetBlue Airways has also suspended Osbon, a 12-year employee with the airline.  The federal criminal complaint t, which can be read below, charges Osbon with violating 49 U.S.C. Section 46504. The statute makes it a federal crime to assault, intimidate, or otherwise disrupt any flight crew member from performing their duties. If convicted, he can could face a fine up to $250,000, imprisonment for 20 years, or both. If found to have used a deadly weapon against the JetBlue crew, he could also get life in prison.

The complaint describes in detail the actions and utterances of Osborn during the flight, and the efforts by the flight crew and passengers … (Continued...)

From The Register-Herald.com

MSU medical sonography associate degree program on probation. 

Mountain State University has been placed on probation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) for deficiencies in the institution’s diagnostic medical sonography associate degree program.

MSU says it voluntarily seeks accreditation for its associate degree and certification programs in diagnostic medical sonography. The university’s bachelor’s degree program in DMS is not affected by the CAAHEP decision, MSU officials said Tuesday.

University officials say they have launched a campaign to correct self-identified issues.

“The accrediting agency for the DMS program wants to ensure we have corrected issues that date back to 2007,” said Karen Bowling, dean of the MSU School of Health Sciences. “We were already aware of these issues and we had taken steps to correct these deficiencies prior to the agency’s site visit last June.”

The university says it must now prepare a … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Nurses accused in hospice fraud scheme
  Five nurses employed by a Philadelphia hospice company are accused of taking part in a multi-year fraud scheme, the U.S. Justice Department said.
• $4 billion price tag for VA, Defense EHRs
  The proposed new, best-of-breed, joint electronic health-record system to be created for the Veterans Affairs and Defense Departments will cost $4 billion just to develop and probably a lot more to license and install, said Roger Baker, the…
• ONC seeks videos starring health IT
  Electronic health records and consumer health electronics will be the stars of videos to be part of a contest the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is promoting to reduce heart attacks.
• Analytics provider IHS buys IMS Research
  IHS, an Englewood, Colo.-based provider of information and analytics, announced it has acquired IMS Research, a market research and consulting firm whose…
• Democrats mark health
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Law Med has recently been mulling over the idea of starting a dedicated “Celebrity Toxicology” page on this blog. There certainly is enough material to justify it and the first piece is already in place with our evaluation of the toxicology in the Michael Jackson case which even received a passing grade from practicing toxicologists. We now know what the second item would be. The case of Whitney Houston. And while it is early in the ‘public release of toxicology results’ phase of the case, Law Med has concerns over the results. We may never know the real cause of her death.

According to LA Coroner Chief Craig Harvey who held a press conference a few hours ago, drowning is the cause of death. More specifically, she drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel last month. “Drowning” is listed as Whitney’s official cause of death. Whitney Houston drowned … (Continued...)

Our friends at The Verdict Is In over on Medscape Connect have published this piece on the court battle occurring in California over the Medicare CRNA supervision Opt-Out signed by then governor Schwartzenegger.  It was spawned by our earlier story on the subject and a recent dialogue between our two sites on the topic of HIPAA privacy rule violations and private civil actions for inappropriate release of private medical information. The Verdict Is In is written by an orthopedic surgeon who also went to law school and, likely in a fit of ‘I haven’t done anything with my life to this point so I better get off my ass’, then obtained a graduate degree in Quantum Mechanics and Computational Chemistry. (Law Med’s excuse is that he is a Gemini, and no Gemini worth his salt could be satisfied with just practicing anesthesia, so he went to law school ‘for fun’. … (Continued...)

 Dr. Jon Noreberg, 41, of Fargo, the physician  who plead guilty to felony reckless endangerment under an Alford plea in a deal reached with prosecutors back in January, now wants to withdraw his plea. An Alford plea means that the defendant does not admit his guilt but agrees that if the case goes to trial the prosecutor has enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty. Regardless, it results in a finding of guilty by the court and is considered a guilty plea.

Norberg was accused of drugging his wife with the anesthetic propofol and sexually assaulting her on multiple occaisions. Norberg has claimed his wife consented to receiving the propofol and that both of them agreed upon it as a treatment her chronic pain from an autoimmune disease. His estranged wife, a physician herself, claims otherwise and has painted her husband as a sadistic liar. Despite his additional … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Incoming Cal eConnect CEO backs out
  Less than two weeks after the Cal eConnect board of directors announced Ted Kremer as their incoming CEO, the Emeryville, Calif., health information exchange developer said he would not be filling the top slot.
• InVentiv Health agrees to buy Kforce Clinical
  InVentiv Health signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kforce Clinical Research, an outsourcing provider for drug and device companies, for $50 million in cash.
• IOM panel offers ways to monitor progress on caring for HIV patients
  An expert committee convened by the Institute of Medicine released a report that identified core HIV-related indicators for HHS to evaluate the country’s success in caring for patients with HIV.
• Texas sues HHS over health-program defunding
  Texas’ attorney general’s office sued HHS in federal civil court in response to the department’s decision to terminate federal funding for the state’s Women’s Health Program.
• OCR deputy:
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The California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco handed down their ruling Thursday that highly trained Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) can continue to practice anesthesia in the state as they always have, and have safely done as a profession for 100+ years….without a requirement that they be supervised by a physician.

 Nursing and hospital organizations argued that surgery, obstetrics and emergency care, all dependent on anesthesia, would become more expensive and less available if in-person physician supervision was implemented as a requirement. Doctors suddenly claim that their supervision is a new requirement essential for patient safety. “Physicians are the ones who are most trained and educated to react when anesthesia goes wrong,” attorney Long Do, litigation director for the physicians’ 35,000-member California Medical Association, said Friday. The association has not decided whether to appeal the appeal he said.

An attorney for the California Association of Nurse Anesthetists … (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Daughters of Charity in discussions to join Ascension
  Ascension Health Alliance, St. Louis, and Daughters of Charity Health System, Los Altos, Calif., have signed a memorandum of understanding for Daughters of Charity to…
• FTC approves sale of two SDI Health units; move clears way for IMS deal
  The Federal Trade Commission approved the sale of two of SDI Health’s audit businesses to InVentiv Health, a divestiture required for Healthcare Technology Holdings subsidiary IMS Health to move forward with its acquisition of SDI Health.
• Administration offers proposals on contraceptive coverage, seeks public input
  The Obama administration’s controversial preventive-services policy resurfaced Friday when HHS and the Labor and Treasury departments issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that includes proposals and seeks comment from all Americans on how…
• Ascension joint venture eyes N.J. system
  Ascension Health Care Network, the St. Louis-based private-equity joint venture between Ascension Health and Oak
… (Continued...)

Today’s Healthcare Headlines:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tenn. to pay $1.5 million in HIPAA settlement
  In the first enforcement action stemming from the HITECH Act breach notification rule, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee has agreed to pay federal regulators $1.5 million and enter into a corrective action plan after 57 hard drives were stolen…
• Higher-spending facilities tied to better survival, lower readmissions, study finds
  Heart failure, hip fracture and colon cancer patients at high-spending Canadian hospitals were less likely to return to the hospital or die soon after being treated than those treated at low-spending hospitals, according to a new study.
• CMS launching psych hospital demo project
  Eleven states and the District of Columbia will participate in a pilot to determine if first-time payments to private psychiatric hospitals improve the health of Medicaid beneficiaries and lower costs.
• Sharecare buys RealAge
  Sharecare, an online health and wellness
… (Continued...)