Calif. Lawmakers Want Prime Facilities Off List of Top Hospitals
Last month, two California lawmakers sent a letter to Truven Health Analytics President and CEO Mike Boswood urging the organization to remove two more Prime Healthcare Services hospitals from its Top 100 Hospitals list, Modern Healthcare reports (Kutscher, Modern Healthcare, 6/6).
In February, Truven rescinded the 2012 and 2013 Top 100 designation from Prime's Desert Valley Hospital after it was sanctioned by the California Department of Public Health for improper cardiac care (Bresnick, Health IT Analytics, 6/5).
Details of Letter
In the letter, California Senate Committee on Health Chair Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) and Assembly Committee on Health Chair Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) argued that Truven should also strip the recognition from:
- Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, which was sanctioned by CDPH in 2012 for administering a fatal overdose of a sedative to a patient; and
- Shasta Regional Medical Center for suspicious billing practices, such as billing CMS for a rare malnutrition disorder known as Kwashiokor at 70 times the state average.
The lawmakers also urged Truven to remove Prime from the 2013 list of Top 15 Health Systems. Prime did not make the 2014 list.
Reaction
Edward Barrera, Prime spokesperson, in an email to Modern Healthcare wrote, "Prime Healthcare is proud of the clinical and operational excellence at Shasta Regional Medical Center and Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center." He added, "We respect Truven Health Analytics for its strict reliance on unbiased, peer-reviewed methodology to arrive at its results, and we believe an impartial assessment of Prime Healthcare will continue to show that it's one of the top health systems in the nation."
A Truven spokesperson declined to discuss the lawmakers' letter. However, he said, "All 100 Top Hospitals, Top Health Systems and Top Cardiovascular Hospitals award winners are thoroughly reviewed prior to each study release"(Modern Healthcare, 6/6).
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