Feds: Many physician-owned hospitals poorly equipped for medical emergencies

The federal government will report today that many physician-owned specialty hospitals are poorly equipped to handle medical emergencies. (Source: "Physician-Owned Hospitals Faulted on Emergency Care," Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2008.) The report, released by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, "found that 55% of 109 physician-owned hospitals reviewed had emergency departments--and that the majority of those had only one bed." In addition, fewer than a third of the hospitals had physicians on site at all times while 34% relied on dialing 911 to get emergency medical assistance for patients in trouble. The report (available as a PDF download from the Washington Post) also found that 7% of physician-owned hospitals failed to meet Medicare requirements that a registered nurse be on duty at all times and that at least one physician be on call if none are in the hospital.

Four Ohio physician-owned hospitals were among the 109 reviewed for the report. These were the Dayton Heart Hospital, the Butler County Surgery Center, the Institute for Orthopedic Surgery in Lima, and the Three Gables Surgery Center in Proctorville. (Source: List of hospitals reviewed, PDF download, Washington Post.)