St. Mary’s hospital in Michigan announced in November 2012 it was letting go employees as a result of a “challenging environment that calls for low-cost, high-quality care,” according to WNEM.

St. Mary’s is letting go 24 employees and reducing the hours of another 46 employees. The hospital cited reimbursement shrinkages as a cause for the layoffs. According to WNEM, John Graham, President and CEO of the healthcare provider said:  “While we are busy and providing volumes of care comparable to last year, the type of patients we are seeing is changing.”

Graham reported:  ”We are not caring for as many highly-complicated, surgical patients. We are seeing a mix of medical patients, which means patients with chronic medical conditions are receiving treatment in other ways that does not include being hospitalized, like outpatient treatment, which costs less than inpatient care. In addition, primary care physicians are helping patients better manage their health conditions,” according to WNEM.

St. Mary’s reported approximately 70 associates are directly affected by changes to their work schedules. The hospital announced modifying outpatient services hours of operations. At a few locations, some hospital services will be consolidated.

The layoffs at the hospital come at a time when the healthcare industry is facing challenges from President Obama’s healthcare reform initiatives.  One initiative to improve healthcare for consumers is a system for consumers to report unsafe practices by hospitals.  Such a system might cause hospitals such as St. Mary’s to further reduce costs with layoffs if they face financial penalties and malpractice liability.

According to a New York Times article, a draft questionnaire for a patient reporting system asks:  “tell us the name and address of the doctor, nurse or other health care provider involved in the mistake.” The questionnaire also asks patients for permission to share the reports with health care providers “so they can learn about what went wrong and improve safety.”

Federal officials said the patient reports on medical providers would be analyzed by researchers from the RAND Corporation and the ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization that investigates medical errors for four decades.   Some doctors have put restrictions on accepting patients for fear of medical malpractice.  For example, in South Florida, some doctors, citing challenges and risks of treating the obese, have set weight limits for acceptance of new patients. According to a poll conducted by the Sun Sentinel, 15 out of 105 surveyed said they will not see patients who weigh more than a certain amount (often 200 or 250 pounds), regardless of whether a person has any other health problems besides obesity or is pregnant.  Some doctors worry about the risk of something going wrong and a higher risk of getting sued.

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