A Georgia court case on public access to hospital records has sent tremors through legal circles, the state’s hospital industry and the media. A major question is at stake: Does a nonprofit hospital have the right to reject requests for information about its financial documents and other matters? So far, two Georgia courts say the…
Eleventh-hour contract talks between Piedmont Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare ended Thursday evening without an agreement. So starting at midnight, five Piedmont hospitals, along with Piedmont physicians, would be out of network to tens of thousands of United members. That means they will face higher out-of-pocket costs to visit those facilities. Disputes over renewal of contracts between…
Less than two months after a doctors’ group called for it to close, the McDonald’s restaurant at Grady Memorial Hospital is shutting down as of midnight Friday. Grady announced the fast-food chain’s action, saying in a news release Friday that “no reason for the abrupt closure was provided.’’ The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine — a…
This article was done in partnership with Kaiser Health News. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia faces separate lawsuits accusing it of sending reimbursement money for emergency room care directly to patients — and not the hospital that delivered the service — because the latter isn’t part of the insurer’s network. And that’s costing…
North Georgia Medical Center in Ellijay has closed and will be replaced by an emergency department under an agreement that its owner recently signed with Piedmont Mountainside Hospital in nearby Jasper. Piedmont will lease the ER as well as a nearby medical official building and facilities that have physician offices and other services. The owner…
Piedmont Healthcare is sending letters to about 150,000 Georgians, warning them that its network agreement with UnitedHealthcare will end unless a new contract is approved soon. The letter, obtained by GHN, indicates the current three-year contract between the two organizations expires June 30. And Piedmont officials said Wednesday that they have little hope for a…
Stratus Healthcare, an alliance of hospital systems, said Wednesday that it’s entering partnership talks with a large physician organization in Central Georgia. The talks between Stratus and Central Georgia Health Network could lead to forming a “clinically integrated network’’ to treat patients in South and Middle Georgia. Such integrated provider networks are an increasing trend…
Alone . . . back . . . crib. Those words highlight the message that Georgia’s first lady and health officials are emphasizing in a push to prevent sleep-related infant deaths. “We must educate parents about creating a safe sleeping environment for their babies,’’ Sandra Deal, wife of Gov. Nathan Deal, said in a statement….
The CEO of Memorial Health said Tuesday that the Savannah safety-net hospital system “has to do some regrouping’’ in the wake of Novant Health’s decision to back off a partnership. North Carolina-based Novant terminated negotiations Monday after months of talks, citing a conflict with the Chatham County Hospital Authority. In a memo to Memorial Health, Novant…
This is the fifth in a series of articles about health care in Southwest Georgia, an area of the state that has great health needs and challenges, but also some innovative approaches to such problems. The series is the product of a collaboration between Georgia Health News and the health and medical journalism graduate program at UGA…