Her 27 months at physician assistant school was an intense experience, says Timber Wages. “It’s like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant,’’ says Wages, 31, who attended the PA program at Georgia Regents University in Augusta. A fire hydrant? “The volume of information is overwhelming,’’ she explains, adding with a chuckle, “but not…
Seven years ago, Baha Zeidan and two of his Valdosta colleagues entered a local competition for business plans, looking to build on their idea for a health care software startup. At the time, the three young men, all graduates of Valdosta State University, were working at a medical lab company in the South Georgia city….
Hospital chain HCA’s push to have its Augusta hospital designated as a trauma center has unsettled leaders in the state’s hospital industry. A trauma center is a medical facility that’s specially equipped and staffed to treat seriously injured people. Georgia authorizes four levels of such centers, depending on their capabilities. The critics of the HCA…
Medical malpractice reform got a big push prior to the 2014 Georgia General Assembly session, but a sweeping bill never made it out of a Senate committee. Supporters of tort reform vow to bring the proposal back again next year. They note that four rural hospitals have closed in the past two years, and argue…
A panel of health care and political leaders appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal kicked off its work this summer to address the ongoing crisis in rural medical care. Its focus: the very survival of hospitals outside metropolitan communities through the state. The Rural Hospitalization Stabilization Committee is holding hearings to identify potential solutions to keep…
“Meaningful use.” It’s another confounding term in the often opaque lexicon of health care. But it represents a concept that is important for health care providers’ bottom lines. The basic idea is that Medicare and Medicaid will pay incentives for hospitals and doctors to demonstrate “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs) to improve patient…
The state’s pipeline for new physicians is getting wider. Gwinnett Medical Center has joined a phalanx of hospitals developing residency programs in primary care – an effort that could help ease Georgia’s physician shortage. The Lawrenceville-based health system launched its new family medicine residency program last week, the first physician training offered there in the…
Four hospitals have closed in the past two years. Many areas can’t attract doctors, or have trouble keeping the ones they have. Some counties are without a hospital or other critical health services. Those rural health care problems in Georgia were among the issues discussed at the initial meeting Monday of the Rural Hospital Stabilization…
Despite recent changes to ease employees’ concerns, the State Health Benefit Plan can’t seem to escape controversy. Medical groups told GHN this week that they’re upset about having to collect money from state employees and teachers – payments that are linked to a benefits shift earlier this year. These provider organizations say they’re being told…
Dr. J. Thomas Taylor’s patient rating is 4.8 on a scale of 1 to 5 — with 5 being the best score. Comments from the internist’s patients include these: “The best primary care doctor in the world.” “Really cares about his patients.” “Very friendly and upbeat.” One of the comments is not so complimentary: “Maybe…