CompHealth Sizes Up Merger Activity

Monday's announcement that Aetna will buy Coventry Health Care underscores the trend in health care consolidation.  CompHealth, a Salt Lake City-based health care staffing firm, offers an interesting visual to illustrate the industry's merger activity based on a 2011 survey.  >>View: Healthy Growth?

Some of the findings for 2012:

• 75% of hospitals and health systems considering merger or acquisition
• 52% of merger deals valued < $50M
• Top reason for deal cancellation:  Culture Incompatibility

Source:  EMR Daily News

More Consolidation to Boost Govt Share

On the heels of the Wellpoint acquisition announcement of Amerigroup, Aetna has agreed to buy Coventry Health Care Inc. in a deal expected to close mid-2013.

"Integrating Coventry into Aetna will complement our strategy to expand our core insurance business, increase our presence in the fast-growing government sector and expand our relationships with providers in local geographies," according to Mark T. Bertolini, Aetna's chief executive.

The acquisition is expected to increase Aetna's share of government business to more than 30% from 23%.  >>Read more

U.S. HealthWorks Acquired by Dignity

U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group, the largest independent operator of occupational health & urgent care centers, was acquired by Dignity Health, formerly Catholic Healthcare West.  

U.S. HealthWorks which operates 172 centers in 16 states was previously a portfolio company of Altaris Capital Partners and Three Arch Partners.  It will be a wholly owned for-profit unit of Dignity.  

As the nation’s fifth largest hospital chain, the acquisition jumpstarts Dignity’s efforts to extend its reach beyond California, Arizona and Nevada to a national level.

How Does Health Care Compare to...?

A recent PriceWaterhouse Coopers report suggests that several service industries are shaping health care consumer expectations. Whether it's better use of technology or customer service strategies, non-health care service sectors (e.g.:  Retail, Banking, Hospitality) have the edge.  Case in point:

Source:  Health Research Institute, PwC 

Introducing...Orthopedic Urgent Care Centers

In the hope of increasing immediate care and decreasing health care costs, Florida-based Dr. Alejandro Badia developed and launched OrthoNow, a franchised orthopedic care center.  Centers will address emergency orthopedic needs and send injured patients to an adjacent ambulatory surgery center for treatment.  

Frustrated by a system resulting in "delays in referrals, incorrect dates and wasted tests", Dr. Badia sought a more efficient approach to orthopedic health care delivery. Dr. Badia, CEO of OrthoNow, envisions secure data sharing across the network to establish benchmarks, measure performance and identify paths for improvement.  Additionally, aggregated clinic data could prove beneficial in reviewing critical business aspects.  >>Read more

6 Niche Markets for Telemedicine

Expansion of telemedicine programs at the federal, state and local level continues with the market forecasted by Pike & Fischer to reach $3.6B by 2014, up over 300% from the 2009 level.  Recently introduced legislation, the “Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support” (VETS) Act of 2012” (H.R.6107), aims to increase veteran health care access as the bill expands the current VA state licensure exemption.  
While telemedicine works its way into primary care, it has gained acceptance in a number of medical specialties:

Radiology – most established telemedicine niche

Dermatology – mirrors system used by teleradiology

Behavioral Health – leverages technology to aid returning soldiers

Correctional Health Care – means to cut costs

Ocular Health – used for screenings for diabetic retinopathy

Pediatric Sub-specialties – helpful for underserved patient populations

Source:  MedCity News - Stephanie Baum  >>Read more