Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/731691
136 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Hospital Ownership of Physician Practices Up 86% By Emily Rappleye H ospitals snapped up 31,000 physician practic- es between 2012 and 2015 alone, causing the number of physician practices owned by hospitals to jump 86 percent, according to a study from Avalere Health. By mid-2015, one in four practices was hospi- tal-owned, according to the report. On top of that, nearly 40 percent of the nation's physicians, or 140,000 providers, were hospital-employed, the study found. This marks a nearly 50 percent increase in employ- ment since 2012, when 95,000 physicians were employed across the country. This growth in employment and hospital ownership was noted across the country from 2012-15. Here is how each region stacks up. Northeast Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 58 percent Growth in hospital-owned practices: 106 percent Midwest Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 44 percent Growth in hospital-owned practices: 72 percent South Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 59 percent Growth in hospital-owned practices: 98 percent West Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 33 percent Growth in hospital-owned practices: 82 percent Alaska and Hawaii Growth in hospital-employed physicians: 49 percent Growth in hospital-owned practices: 118 percent This study was published by the Physicians Advocacy In- stitute, which is a nonprofit advocacy group aimed at pro- moting fair and transparent payment policies for physi- cians. Avalere used a database from SK&A in combination with data from CMS. n Ice Maker, Sinks Linked to UW Medical Center Legionnaires' Outbreak; 2 Dead By Heather Punke A er extensive testing throughout University of Washing- ton Medical Center, the source of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak was located in the Seattle-based hospital Sept. 13, according to the Seattle Times, but not before a second patient with the infection died. e hospital started searching for the source of the infections af- ter two patients tested positive for Legionella, the bacteria that caus- es Legionnaires' disease. One of those patients died Sept. 8. Now, a third patient has been linked to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak. is patient died Aug. 27, but the connection to Legionel- la was not made until the autopsy, according to a Public Health-Se- attle & King County blog post. e bacteria may have contributed to this patient's death. On Sept. 16, hospital officials stated a fourth patient contracted Le- gionnaire's disease, but was in "satisfactory condition." e subsequent investigation revealed Legionella bacteria was dwelling in an ice machine and two sinks in UW Medical Center's cardiac unit in its Cascade tower. Patients, visitors and staff have been instructed to not use drinking fountains on the unit, and the hospital shipped in bottled water to use in the interim. e wa- ter system could be off-limits for at least two weeks, according to the Seattle Times. In addition to testing the water supply to find the outbreak's source, UW Medical Center tested patients in the cardiac unit who had symptoms of respiratory problems to see if they were infected also. Of 15 patients they tested, none had Legionella infections, accord- ing to the Seattle Times. Public Health-Seattle & King County noted it "can't predict if addi- tional cases will be identified at UWMC, but it is possible because of exposures that happened at the hospital before the Legionella was identified and protective actions were put in place." n Becker's Hospital Review 8th Annual Meeting April 17-20, 2017 | Hyatt Regency, Chicago To Register: call 1.800.417.2035 email registration@beckershealthcare.com visit beckershospitalreview.com/conference/ 233 Great Hospital and Health System Leaders speaking; Over 300 speakers