Cheryl Powell is a health reporter for The Akron Beacon Journal, the daily newspaper in Akron and a syndication partner of MedCity News.
A new Akron company is trying to provide an affordable cure for the headaches of medical billing errors. After working 23 years in the medical billing field, Lynnette Catalanotto started Executive Medical Consultants (EMC). The company sells annual memberships for $39 per household. Members get access to a team of experienced billing specialists who analyze […]
Mercy Medical Center calls them bribes. But in court on Tuesday, Aultman Health Foundation President and Chief Executive Edward Roth defended confidential payments made to nine insurance brokers. Roth said those payments were part of a business strategy to save area businesses money by sharing the results of Aultman Hospital’s cost-cutting measures since the 1980s. […]
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
One of Ohio’s biggest health insurance companies is trying to convince doctors to forego their old-fashioned prescription pads more often. Cleveland-based Medical Mutual of Ohio is teaming up with its pharmacy benefits manager, Medco Health Solutions, for a pilot program that gives select doctors financial incentives to prescribe medications electronically. Medical Mutual is signing up […]
Want some fresh apples grown in Rittman? Try visiting the cafeteria at the Cleveland Clinic. The Cleveland-based health-care giant is among a couple of hundred hospitals nationwide in recent years to embrace local, nutritious and sustainable foods. For the past year, the Cleveland Clinic and several of its affiliated regional hospitals have been following the […]
Cleveland-based University Hospitals is bringing its medical services to Medina County next week with the opening of its newest outpatient facility. University Hospitals spent about $10 million renovating and updating the former Waterford Office Park off state Route 18 to transform it into the new UH Medina Health Center. When it opens Monday, the health […]
Mercy Medical Center and Aultman Hospital have always battled for patients in the Canton area. Now the cross-town rivals are fighting in court for millions of dollars, as well as their reputations. Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday morning in what has been deemed the largest civil case ever in Stark County Common Pleas […]
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Whether they’re for the historic health-reform bill or against it, local health-care and business leaders agree big changes likely are coming as a result. Some portions of the legislation could go into effect in as soon as three months, while others will take until 2019 to be fully implemented. While many of the details still […]
Diana Tirpak considers herself a living example of the greatest recycling program on the planet. Two years ago, her life was saved by something most hospitals treat as trash — the umbilical cord blood from a newborn. A baby’s cord blood is rich with stem cells, which increasingly are being used to cure cancer and […]
Summa Health System this morning announced plans to expand three of its hospital emergency departments and build two new full-service, stand-alone emergency rooms in the region. The new free-standing, 24-hour emergency departments will be built in Green, where the health system already has a Summa Health Center outpatient facility; and in Medina County, where the […]
Summa Akron City Hospital is expanding its emergency department to handle an increasing number of ill and injured patients. The Akron City Planning Commission is reviewing site plans on Friday for a proposed two-story, 84,000-square-foot addition to the north of the existing emergency room. The project will increase the ER size from 43 beds to […]
Gabby Everett, the site director for BioLabs Pegasus Park, offered a tour of the space and shared some examples of why early-stage life science companies should choose North Texas.
Less than 24 hours before Audrey Nichols was scheduled to undergo a cardiac stress test at a local community hospital, she received a phone message telling her to bring along payment for her portion of the bill. The amount: $2,191.39. Nichols ended up paying $600 after shopping around.
Thomas J. Strauss has been the driving force behind Akron's Summa Health System for a decade. As president and chief executive, Strauss has led Summa to expand and become a major player in the regional health-care market.
This time last year, Akron General's operating loss was about $7 million, Rindler said. Today, the medical center's operating revenue is exceeding expenses by $2.1 million. ''The better you do, the more resources you have, the more you can solicit ideas from physicians,'' Interim Chief Executive Michael Rindler said. ''It now is really feeding on itself — the cultural changes and the financial improvement.''