Contributors
Hal Andrews serves as Chief Executive Officer of Data Advantage. He is a healthcare industry veteran whose previous experience includes senior executive roles at Cogent Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest hospitalist companies and Essent Healthcare, a for-profit hospital operator. Andrews also has a wealth of experience in healthcare business development in a variety of provider settings in the U.S. and England.
Andrews began his career as a healthcare attorney at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. He earned undergraduate degrees from Southern Methodist University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was a member of The Order of Coif. He lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee.
Email: HAndrews@data-advantage.com
Phone: 615-620-8050
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John Morrow is Principal of The Ratings Guy, LLC, and advises information companies and their constituents on the use of provider performance to assist with strategic decision support and policy analysis. Morrow is the founder of 100 Top Hospitals: Benchmarks for Success®, Creator of the Patient Satisfaction Index™ and Founder of the Hospital Value Index™.
Morrow has provided Congressional expert testimony assessing the impact of Balanced Budget Act and Balanced Budget Refinement Act on the U.S. hospital industry. He has published in the areas of inpatient outcomes, performance measurement, longitudinal analysis, ambulatory outcomes, clinical and cost management for the U.S. and UK hospital industries. Mr. Morrow has resided in Canada, the United Kingdom and France, all models of nationalized health services. Today, he resides in Mid-coast Maine, USA.
Email: John@TheRatingsGuy.com
Phone: 207-323-0560
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Gunter Wessels is a Partner in TIGI, a consulting firm with an emphasis on healthcare. Prior to joining TIGI Wessels operated in independent consultancy while completing a Ph.D. Wessels firm focused on healthcare economics and the comparative value of different healthcare interventions.
Wessels clients include companies in the private sector of healthcare in the US, Canada, and Europe.
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Mark has over 30 years of healthcare experience that includes positions responsible for multiple hospitals, multiple surgery centers, and the start up of a dialysis company.
Healthcare News- Certification proclamationThe unveiling of a proposed rule that lays the groundwork to authorize organizations to certify electronic health records for a large federal EHR incentive program was greeted with enthusiasm by industry executives. […]
- Ready ... set ... waitIts authority to exist has been established and the members have been chosen, but a key ingredient is missing for the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission to start doing business: money. […]
- Late News: Price-fixing cases resolvedThe Federal Trade Commission reached separate agreements resolving price-fixing allegations with two Colorado-based independent practice associations. […]
- Stretching the limitsChristopher Howard killed his wife with an ax in her bed in 2002. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The family of the murdered woman sought to hold another party responsible for her death: the suburban Detroit hospital that... […]
- Here there and everywhereWith evidence piling up that Medicare pro-viders in some parts of the country are providing excessive care to the federal program's beneficiaries, it appears more likely that Congress is going to take some type of action to try to rein in spending... […]
- Electric short?Commercial healthcare laboratories are seeking parity with other healthcare providers under privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. […]
- Certification proclamation
- Healthcare Breaking News
- Jury rejects claims against Memorial Hermann March 11, 2010A jury in Harris County, Texas, rejected antitrust claims leveled against Memorial Hermann Healthcare System by a group of physicians whose competing hospital in Houston failed in 2007. […]
- Psychiatric Solutions studies acquisition bid March 11, 2010Behavioral healthcare provider Psychiatric Solutions said it has been approached about a possible sale of the company. As a result, the Franklin, Tenn.-based company has formed a special committee of the board of directors to consider possible... […]
- U.S., Canada OK import of molybdenum-99 March 11, 2010The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian regulatory agency Health Canada have each approved the importation of molybdenum-99 from the Warsaw, Poland-based Maria Research Reactor for use in producing the imaging isotope technetium-99,... […]
- Medtronic discloses U.S. attorneys probe in Mass. March 11, 2010Medical device maker Medtronic says federal prosecutors are investigating its relationship with cardiologists at a hospital in Massachusetts. […]
- Va. moves to block Obama's insurance mandate March 11, 2010Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation that aims to thwart any federal requirement that individuals buy health insurance. […]
- Feds seek documents from Medtronic March 11, 2010The U.S. attorney's office in Boston has asked Medtronic to turn over documents in a False Claims Act investigation into the relationship between the company's CoreValve division and cardiologists with the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. […]
- Jury rejects claims against Memorial Hermann March 11, 2010
- Healthcare Finance News
- Virginia is the first state to pass national healthcare nullification lawVirginia became the first state to enact legislation to prevent its residents from being mandated to purchase health insurance or participate in any healthcare system. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has identified 37 other states that have similar bills pending or have announced that they will introduce this legislation. At le […]
- Medicare cuts pushed to April 1The Senate voted Tuesday night to postpone the 21 percent Medicare physician payment cuts until April 1, 2010. The Senate voted 78-19 in favor of H.R. 4691, the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," which includes provisions to extend 2009 Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the month. […]
- Low-consuming Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases more costlyResearch suggests that Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases who consume the least of their benefits and services (referred to as "low consumers") and potentially under manage their disease may experience an acute event that requires costly emergency room visits and hospitalizations. […]
- HealthGrades names America's 50 best hospitals for 2010HealthGrades has named its “America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2010." The Golden, Colo.-based healthcare ratings organization examined objective patient outcomes over three years at all 5,000 of the nation’s non-federal hospitals. According to company officials, those hospitals named in its report had mortality rates that were, on average, 27 percent lower […]
- Survey: Over 26 percent of solo docs may close their practicesOver 26 percent of respondents to a poll on Sermo, the world’s largest online community for physicians, have admitted they had been forced to close, or are considering closing, their solo practice. Of the 112,000 physician members on the site, nearly 500 physicians from 40 specialties responded to the poll. […]
- Chronic conditions drive Medicare spending growthA new article in Health Affairs indicates recent annual increases in Medicare spending are the result of outpatient treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension and kidney disease. A recent study analyzed data about disease prevalence and level of – and change in – spending on the 10 most expensive conditions in the Medicare popu […]
- Virginia is the first state to pass national healthcare nullification law
- Medicare Spotlight
- Lower Your Costs During the Coverage GapThis page will help you to learn 5 ways to lower your costs during the coverage gap. […]
- Learn More About Plans in Your AreaPart of the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool that will help you to identify the plans in your state. […]
- Know What to do about the Flu.Seasonal flu shots are available right now. H1N1 (Swine) flu vaccine is being shipped and will soon be widely available. […]
- Medicare & You 2010Medicare & You contains important information about what's new, health plans, prescription drug plans, and rights and protections to help people with Medicare review their coverage options and prepare to enroll in a new plan if they choose. It is available in both English and Spanish.Each fall, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mails […]
- MyMedicare.govMyMedicare.gov provides direct Internet access to your Medicare benefits, eligibility, enrollment (including prescription drug plans) and preventive health information - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit the site, sign up, and Medicare will mail you a password to allow you access to your personal Medicare information. MyMedicare.gov also allows you to vie […]
- Lower Your Costs During the Coverage Gap