Selling Teaching Hospitals and Practice Plans: George Washington and Georgetown Universities

by John A. Kastor MD

Overview

Why would a university renowned for its school of medicine ever sell its teaching hospital? In his newest book, Dr. John A. Kastor presents an insider’s view of why university medical centers decide to sell teaching hospitals, why the decision might be a good one, and how such transitions are received by the faculty and administration.

Kastor tells the story of two universities that, under financial duress for more than a decade, chose to sell their teaching hospitals. George Washington University sold to a national, for-profit corporation, Universal Health Services, Inc., and Georgetown University sold to a not-for-profit, local company, MedStar Health. Through interviews with key players involved in and affected by these decisions, Kastor examines the advantages and disadvantages of selling and describes the problems that can afflict medical schools that separate from their faculty practice plans. For the current leaders of medical schools facing similar financial challenges, Kastor analyzes how much it costs to teach clinical medicine and offers valuable advice on how to reduce expenses and increase surpluses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801888113
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	07/15/2008
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John A. Kastor, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is the former chief of the Cardiovascular Division at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and former chair of the Department of Medicine at Maryland. He is the author of Arrhythmias; Mergers of Teaching Hospitals in Boston, New York, and Northern California; Governance of Teaching Hospitals: Turmoil at Penn and Hopkins; and Specialty Care in the Era of Managed Care: Cleveland Clinic versus University Hospitals of Cleveland, the last two published by Johns Hopkins.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Washington and Its Academic Medical Centers
2. George Washington University: Selling the Hospital
3. George Washington University: Separating the Practice Plan
4. George Washington University: Closing the HMO
5. George Washington University and Its Medical School
6. Georgetown University: Selling the Hospital
7. Georgetown University: Selling the Practice Plan
8. Georgetown University and Its Medical School
9. MedStar Health
10. Conclusions
Appendix A: Other Universities with Teaching Hospitals Owned by For-Profit Companies
Appendix B: Reducing Deficits and Increasing Surpluses in Private Medical Schools That Do Not Own Their Primary Teaching Hospitals
Appendix C: Interviewees
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Kastor presents an insider's view.
—The Grapevine NYU School of Medicine

Kastor's analyses are valuable not only because of his own experiences as a former chair of a department of medicine in an academic medical center, but also because of the candor he provokes in his interviews with hundreds of physicians, administrators, and hospital and university leaders . . . This volume should be essential reading for leaders of academic medical centers.
—John T. Potts, Journal of Clinical Investigation

The book raises questions about the future of all academic medical centers.
—Health Affairs

An excellent book, well informed and especially readable . . . The author has written a captivating story that will become a classic in the contemporary history of US health care for many years to come.
—Hector O. Ventura, MD, JAMA

Selling Teaching Hospitals and Practice Plans joins John Kastor's three other excellent volumes in a series that uniquely documents how the vast changes in the U.S. health care system have led to the restructuring of leading American academic medical centers. Like its predecessors, it is superbly researched, well organized, and an engaging read. It is must reading for all those involved in health care, hospital administration, and medical education.
—Pascal James Imperato, MD, The Pharos

From the Publisher

An excellent book, well informed and especially readable . . . The author has written a captivating story that will become a classic in the contemporary history of US health care for many years to come.

JAMA - Hector O. Ventura

Selling Teaching Hospitals and Practice Plans joins John Kastor's three other excellent volumes in a series that uniquely documents how the vast changes in the U.S. health care system have led to the restructuring of leading American academic medical centers. Like its predecessors, it is superbly researched, well organized, and an engaging read. It is must reading for all those involved in health care, hospital administration, and medical education.

The Pharos - Pascal James Imperato

The book raises questions about the future of all academic medical centers.

Health Affairs

Kastor's analyses are valuable not only because of his own experiences as a former chair of a department of medicine in an academic medical center, but also because of the candor he provokes in his interviews with hundreds of physicians, administrators, and hospital and university leaders . . . This volume should be essential reading for leaders of academic medical centers.

Journal of Clinical Investigation - John T. Potts

Dr. Kastor presents an insider's view.

The Grapevine NYU School of Medicine

Selling Teaching Hospitals and Practice Plans joins John Kastor's three other excellent volumes in a series that uniquely documents how the vast changes in the U.S. health care system have led to the restructuring of leading American academic medical centers. Like its predecessors, it is superbly researched, well organized, and an engaging read. It is must reading for all those involved in health care, hospital administration, and medical education.

— Pascal James Imperato, MD

The Pharos

Kastor's analyses are valuable not only because of his own experiences as a former chair of a department of medicine in an academic medical center, but also because of the candor he provokes in his interviews with hundreds of physicians, administrators, and hospital and university leaders... This volume should be essential reading for leaders of academic medical centers.

— John T. Potts

Journal of Clinical Investigation

An excellent book, well informed and especially readable... The author has written a captivating story that will become a classic in the contemporary history of US health care for many years to come.

— Hector O. Ventura, MD

JAMA