PSS World Medical Sells Specialty Line to PE Firm

PSS World Medical, a medical products distributor to US physicians, reached an agreement to sell their specialty dental business to Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company.  The sale proceeds will be used for future investments in other business lines – Physician, Lab, Dispensing and Hope Care & Hospice.  The transaction is expected to close in October.  >> Read more

EHR Set up...Don't Alienate Your Patients

According to various surveys, 70%-80% of medical practices (double the rate of 3 years ago) are currently implementing an EHR system.  While many view this solely as a technology-focused project, people and ill-defined processes can also derail a smooth implementation.  The AMA outlined some common issues and how to overcome them.  >> Read more

Source:  amednews.com (American Medical News)

Selling Practice to a Hospital?...Read this First!

As with any business sale, it’s incumbent on the seller to think long and hard before signing on the dotted line.  In a recent article, "What Physicians Should Know Before Selling Their Practice to a Hospital," Lucia Francesca Bruno, J.D., LL.M., M.B.A. offers a rundown of critical considerations for physicians.

Source:  Physician News Digest

Got Ideas?

Last week we highlighted some ideas generated in brainstorming sessions at the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation conference.  With idea in hand...or on sticky note, as it may be,  what’s the next step?  Enter...Society of Physician Entrepreneurs. 

This professional group offers “a networking and education platform for healthcare providers who want to commercialize their innovations” according to Jeffrey N. Hausfeld, a co-founding member of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs.  The group, a physician led non-profit member organization (www.sopenet.org), has a LinkedIn group site.  It was founded in 2011 and expects to exceed 5000 members in 20 chapters by year end. 

SoPe’s assistance and guidance (education, networking, funding) primarily benefits entrepreneurs focused in the following areas:

1. Devices, Drugs and Diagnostics -- utilized in patient care or marketed direct to consumer
2. Medical Services -- addressing cost, efficiency, quality, availability 
3. Health care IT and Telemedicine Products and Services

 

71 Out-of-the-Box Health Care Ideas

Transform, a conference focused on innovation in health care delivery and experience was sponsored by Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation this past week.  

>>See more ideas

Throughout the conference, attendees were encouraged to share their ideas on    "How to make health care better"...  
Here's a sampling of ideas:

• Let me text my doctor    
• Stop overworking health care providers with nonpatient-centered tasks   
• Make insurance companies nonprofit   
• Have a global online marketplace (like Amazon) 
• Create a common health language 

Source:  MedCity News

Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation is like a giant incubator.  The center nurtures new ideas, enabling them to grow and evolve until ready for patients.  Learn more about a few of their projects:  Dermatology Practice Redesign and eConsults

HC Consumers Value Expertise...Want Comparison Tool

The latest survey focusing on customer experience and healthcare providers was completed in July by Harris Interactive.  The online poll asked more than 2,300 US adults about their preferences and decision-making process when making doctor’s appointments.  

While a substantial number of respondents expressed satisfaction with their last medical visit, the study revealed that 62% identified a consumer “want” not readily fulfilled - an online estimator of physician costs.  MedCity News reports that in addition to the comparison tools supported by insurance companies, third party companies have started to fill the void.  MD Clarity assists doctors analyze health care service pricing while Castlight Health aids consumers.  >>Read more

Other key offerings desired by study respondents include:  Online medical access, proactive communication from doctors.  >>View Harris findings

Dermatology EMR Adding Specialties

What's your time worth?...is the question posed by the developers of an EMR for dermatologists.  

The highly fragmented EMR market boats 1,000 options.  EMR developer Modernizing Medicine has focused its Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA) on visual-oriented specialties that lend themselves to a touch-based platform.  Preferring the “big fish, small pond” approach, their EMA development path focused on covering small and midsized specialty practices.  First offerings covered dermatology, ophthalmology and optometry.  This fall products for plastic and orthopedic surgeons will be introduced. 

>> Read more, View EMA demo

Modernizing Medicine co-founder and chief medical officer Micheal Sherling, a practicing dermatologist, said their number one goal for EMA is to save doctors time and, as a result, money.

Source:  MedCity News

Where is the Money Going?

Today, the media is buzzing about the latest Institute of Medicine report - The Healthcare Imperative:  Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes addressing US healthcare spending.  Checkout the infographic that highlights the report's issues and opportunities. 
Source:  Institute of Medicine

Retail Clinic Visits Up Four-Fold

American consumers have apparently enjoyed the convenience of retail clinics since they began appearing in pharmacies, supermarkets and malls in 2000.

A follow-up study recently released by Health Affairs provides an indication of the growth of patient visits to US retail clinics.  Using data from the 3 largest clinic operators (Minute Clinic, Take Care, Little Clinic), the study reveals that customer retail visits between 2007-2009 grew from 1.48M to 5.97M.  

Other findings include:

• 64.5% did not have a primary care physician 
• Majority of customers had insurance (70.5%) 
• 44.4% of visits occurred when physician offices were closed 
• Visits by age 64+ customers doubled vs. the initial study  

 According to study co-authors, Ateev Mehrotra and Judith Lave:

“It will be interesting to track demand at retail clinics after the Affordable Care Act is implemented…if wait times for appointments with primary care physicians increase nationwide, demand for the clinics might increase.”

Source:   Health Affairs blog, Chris Fleming

Urgent Care Update...

-Alliance Urgent Care to be Acquired

-Concentra Expands Footprint in KY

Capital Group Holdings announced that it will acquire privately owned Alliance Urgent Care, an organization operating six clinics in the greater Phoenix, AZ area.  Alliance will be renamed OneHealth Urgent Care to be consistent with the branding of Capital Group's telehealth subsidiary, OneHealthPass ™ (OHP).  OHP is designed to become an industry standard telehealth platform for the management and administration of patient-centric telemedicine programs.  Dr. Michael Blumhoff, Alliance CEO, will continue as CEO of the OHP Urgent Care group once the deal is finalized. -->  >>Read more

Urgent Treatment Clinics (UTC) with seven medical centers in the Lexington, KY area is Concentra's latest acquisition.  The Urgent Treatment Clinic name will be preserved according to Concentra, the national provider of urgent care services and subsidiary of Humana, Inc.  Former UTC owners, Dr. Fadi Bacha and Dr. Larry Burns, have been retained by Concentra and will continue providing patient care to residents of Lexington and its surrounding communities.  >>Read more