Hospitals: Doctor-owned facilities lacking

The deaths of two elective-surgery patients after being transferred from doctor-owned specialty hospitals has prompted the HHS Office of Inspector General to assess these hospitals' ability to manage medical emergencies. A review of 109 physician-owned specialty hospitals found:

In response to the report, Physician Hospitals of America endorsed the Inspector General's recommendations to address the deficiencies but added that similar-sized tax-exempt hospitals should come under the same level of scrutiny. "This study is a snapshot of one small part of the hospital delivery system in this country," said PHA president Douglas Johnson.