Number of retail health clinics nearing 1,000
A survey of retail clinics by the healthcare list division of Verispan, of Yardley, Pa., listed 921 clinics. The clinics typically are staffed by nurse practitioners or physician assistants and provide basic, non-emergency care. The Verispan research found clinics operating in 36 states. The survey found that Minute Clinics, operated in CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide, is the fastest-growing pharmacy retail chain, with more than 390 locations. The second largest retail health chain is Take Care Clinics, operated in 136 Walgreens stores nationwide.
Livhome acquires Angelcare Services
LivHOME Inc., a Los Angeles-based provider of professionally led at-home care for seniors, has acquired AngelCare Services of Long Beach, Calif. The purchase strengthens LivHOME’s Southern California presence, providing continuous market coverage from Los Angeles to San Diego County. AngelCare Services has provided home care to seniors in the Long Beach area since 2003. LivHOME made four similar acquisitions in 2007 in California, Illinois and Texas.
Study details profits on Part D prescriptions
Margins are slim for community pharmacies, according to a report released this week by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. The OIG found that Medicare Part D payments, excluding dispensing fees, to community pharmacies exceeded the pharmacies’ drug acquisition costs by an estimated 18.1 percent. The estimated difference between Part D payments and drug acquisition costs was $9.13 per prescription when rebates were included, and $8.78 when rebates were excluded. The average dispensing fee paid to pharmacies was $2.27, which was about $2 less than the average Medicaid dispensing fee, OIG reported.
AHRQ: medical error reporting systems inadequate
Physicians are willing to report on medical errors, but find current error-reporting systems inadequate, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. A new AHRQ study says poor error-reporting systems lead physicians to depend on discussions with colleagues rather than reporting to the hospital or health organization, and important information regarding medical errors and prevention is lost. The survey reported that 56 percent of physicians had prior involvement with a serious error, 74 percent were involved with a minor error and 66 percent reported a “near miss.”