Contact: Lisa Garvy
Senior Vice President, Business Development
NeuroSource
312.494.4554
lgarvy@neurosource.com

Physician Staffing Top Concern Among Hospital-Based Neuroscience Clinical Program Leaders

National Survey by NeuroSource, Inc. and HealthTech Sheds Light on Pace of Technology Adoption and on Characteristics of Nation’s Top-Performing Neuroscience Programs

CHICAGO, June 7, 2005—Hospital executives responsible for neuroscience clinical programs are concerned about a dwindling supply of neurosurgeons and difficulty in recruiting other neuroscience specialists to staff clinical programs and emergency departments, according to the second annual Neuroscience Center of Excellence Survey conducted by NeuroSource and HealthTech.

According to the largest survey ever of hospital-based neuroscience programs in the U.S., five of the top six challenges facing these programs involve physician staffing – including concerns about the cost of malpractice insurance and physician equity partnerships.

The survey of 125 hospitals also found administrators concerned about insurance reimbursement issues as new technologies are introduced and some treatments move to outpatient settings. Survey respondents also reported ambivalence about adopting advanced technologies that have yet to show significant value over standard technologies.

The survey also identified trends in the development of the nation's top-performing neuroscience programs:

• High-performing programs are more than twice as likely as the norm or average program to provide stereotactic radiosurgery – a powerful but expensive tool for the treatment of tumors and other diseases.

• Top performers also typically provide specialized neurosurgical operating rooms, intensive care units and advanced operating room imaging technology. And almost universally, high-performing neuroscience programs are focused on advanced neuro research.

“The neurosciences play a vital role in the overall sustainability of many hospitals, but until now hospital administrators have had little quantitative or qualitative data to help define and or determine excellent neuro care, ” says NeuroSource's senior vice president Lisa Garvy. “That's what makes this research valuable; it provides a solid framework for understanding program performance.”

“This survey shows a clear correlation between the high-performing neuro programs and their investment in new technologies,” says HealthTech CEO Molly Coye, M.D., M.P.H. “Increasingly, it is the technology of care that drives what subspecialties hospitals can offer.”

Technology Adoption
The most common technologies employed in neuroscience programs today, according to survey findings, are: cranial image guidance systems, CT scanners (8 and 16-slice), perfusion/diffusion MRIs, spine surgery image guidance systems, and spectroscopy MRI.

The survey indicates a high rate of review for some new technologies, but low adoption rates, such as for 3.0 tesla or load bearing MRIs, and 32 slice (and higher) CT scanners. High rates of “reviewed and rejected” or “never considered” were reported for magnetic catheter guidance systems, magnetoencephalography, and intraoperative CT scanning.

Neuroscience programs and technologies treat conditions of the brain and nervous system, including brain tumors, spinal injuries, stroke, seizures, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease.

Clinical Evolution of Neuro Programs
The survey categorizes hospital programs into one of four stages based on clinical programs, staff, facilities and technology, and business structure.

• A stage one, “Clinical Service” program offers a basic level of technology and demonstrates a division between medical and surgical neuro cases;
• A stage two, the most common program found among nearly half of all respondents, a “Service Line” program tends to treat advanced surgical cases with newer but proven technology;
• A stage three, “Specialty Center” program is characterized by focused facilities and care units, early technology adoption, clinical trial involvement, and physician-led governance;
• A stage four, “Institute” level program focuses on integrated research, early technology adoption, and seeks ways to apply research findings in other sub-specialties.

The Institute-level programs identified in the survey include: Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston), Washington Hospital Center (Washington, D.C.), Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte), Memorial Hermann Hospital (Houston), Medical College of Georgia (Augusta), and Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles).

The survey also found that the healthcare industry's efforts to standardize stroke care are gaining ground. Data show that use of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) for stroke cases is becoming increasingly standard in U.S. hospitals. Stroke cases, the third-largest cause of death in the U.S., are more likely to follow EBM than any other area of the neurosciences.

Results of the analysis are available in t he just-published white paper titled Achieving Neuroscience Excellence: A Status Report. For a copy of the white paper, email lgarvy@neurosource.com.

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NeuroSource Inc., headquartered in Chicago, IL, enhances the market position of health systems and physicians. It is the most experienced development partner to the neuroscience and allied specialties, helping create focused facilities, implement new technologies, and provide essential business services. NeuroSource develops, owns and manages focused hospitals and medical technology in conjunction with health systems and physician groups across the country.

HealthTech, headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2000 by Molly Coye, MD, MPH. HealthTech is a non-profit research and education organization that develops objective technology forecasts, innovative decision-making tools and facilitates a learning network of experts. HealthTech's Partner organizations represent more than 45 healthcare systems, hospitals, safety-net providers and government agencies.

 

Copyright 2005, NeuroSource Inc.