In January, officials with BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BMTI) announced they had closed on the transaction with Luitpold Pharmaceuticals Inc., under which BioMimetic sold the remainder of its dental business, including the downstream formulation, fill and finish manufacturing rights of GEM 21S, to Luitpold, which will market the product through its Osteohealth Company division. BMTI will receive $40 million in cash as a result of the transaction, plus approximately $4 million in cash from the sale of existing inventory, and royalty payments based on net sales of GEM 21S and future products in the dental and cranio-maxillofacial field. As part of the closing, BioMimetic has received an initial $15 million payment with another $15 million to be paid within 60 days of the closing. Additionally, $6 million will be paid not later than 18 months from close with the remaining $4 million to be paid no later than year-end 2009.
Last month, Emdeon Business Services announced it entered into an agreement with Tufts Health Plan to add its payment management services to their longstanding relationship. Tufts Health Plan has partnered with Emdeon for nearly 10 years for EDI services including claims, eligibility and benefits verification and other HIPAA-based transactions. Through this expanded partnership, Tufts Health Plan will roll out a full suite of payment and payment communication related solutions to its providers and members which will include print and mail services; electronic payments to providers and vendors that are supported through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) used to reconcile and post receivables; as well as electronic Explanation of Benefits (eEOB) to plan members.
Ben R. Leedle, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY), recently announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended November 30, 2007. Total revenues for the quarter increased 50% to $175.8 million from $117.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 was $11.2 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, which was above earnings guidance of $0.27 to $0.29 for the quarter. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 was $11.8 million, or $0.32 per diluted share. Mr. Leedle remarked, “Our first-quarter financial results represent a solid start to fiscal 2008, with earnings slightly ahead of our guidance and with substantial and sustained sales momentum contributing to a backlog of annualized revenue at the quarter’s end of $51 million. In addition, since the beginning of the second quarter, we have added $10 million to the backlog. This backlog reflects strong continuing demand in both our health plan and employer markets, as we have added or expanded programs with 12 health plans and 51 employers since the beginning of fiscal 2008.
Skyline Medical Center Announces Administrative & Clinical Additions
Michael Ehrat has been named the new chief operating officer at Skyline Medical Center. He has over 12 years of multidisciplinary management experience in healthcare in both the outpatient and acute care hospital setting. He comes to Skyline from Centennial Medical Center, where he was an assistant administrator. Ehrat is a member of the America College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).
Dr. Thomas Zimmerman recetly announced his affiliation with Skyline Medical Group, a group of five Internists at Skyline Medical Center. Dr. Zimmerman, who is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with qualifications in Geriatric Medicine, comes to Skyline Medical Center from Winchester, TN where he had a 27-year career operating a practice at Southern Tennessee Medical Center.
Neurologist Mary Ellen Clinton has announced her affiliation with Dr. Sonya Brooks at Skyline Neuroscience Associates. Dr. Clinton was formally a staff neurologist at Centennial Medical Center and has worked as an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt.
TAFP Installs 2008 Officers
Dr. Lee Carter of Huntingdon was recently installed as 2008 president of the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP) at the 59th Annual Scientific Assembly held in Gatlinburg. Carter is in private family medicine practice in Huntingdon and is board certified in Family Medicine.
Other elected 2008 TAFP Officers include:
- Dr. John Standridge (Harrison) – President-elect
- Dr. Scott Holder, (Winchester) – Vice President
- Dr. Gregg Mitchell, (Jackson) – Secretary-Treasurer
- Dr. Alan Wallstedt, (Brentwood) – Speaker
- Dr. Lang Smith, (Columbia) – Vice Speaker
Alive Hospice Names COO
Alive Hospice President and CEO Janet L. Jones recently announced Anne Chance, RN, BSN, has been appointed to the position of chief operating officer. In her new capacity, Chance will be responsible for providing administrative oversight of the agency’s day-to-day operations, program development and assessing and improving models of care, among other duties.
Chance’s brings nearly 18 years of end-of-life care experience to her new position. A nurse by training, she most recently served as vice president of clinical operations at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton and has worked in the healthcare sector for a total of 25 years.
Miller Joins Nashville Medical Group, Baptist Staff
Gastroenterologist Dr. Mark A. Miller has joined Nashville Medical Group and the medical staff of Baptist Hospital. Prior to joining the group, he practiced with Charlottesville Gastroenterology Associates in Charlottesville, Va. and Digestive Disease Associates in Rock Hill, S.C. Nashville Medical Group is a 28 physician multi-specialty group with specialists in internal medicine, family medicine, neurology, gastroenterology, pulmonary disease and cardiology.
MTMC Names New Controller
Middle Tennessee Medical Center has announced the appointment of Pearl Eakins to controller. Eakins has been with MTMC for more than 18 years. She began in 1989 as a staff accountant and has served as accounting manager for the last 9 years. In her new position, she is involved in analyzing financial trends and preparing cost impact studies that will provide decision support for administrative staff. Eakins will serve as advisor to VP of Finance, Martha Rowland.
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointments
David L. Lowrance, who has been with Cumberland Pharmaceuticals since 2003, has been promoted to vice president and chief financial officer. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s accounting and financial activities, including financial reporting and planning. Mr. Lowrance has 17 years of financial and accounting experience.
Doug Jack has joined the Tennessee-based company –– which focuses on the acquisition, development and commercialization of branded prescription products –– as senior manager of SEC Reporting. He is responsible for the preparation of all SEC-required financial reports. Jack brings more than 14 years of accounting and financial experience to his position.
Dispensary of Hope Expands after Successful Pilot Program
The Dispensary of Hope, a pioneering network of physicians, pharmacies and corporations with the aim of providing medicines to Tennesseans who can’t afford them and lack the insurance to access them, is launching in Middle and East Tennessee, officials recently announced.
A not-for-profit organization, the Dispensary of Hope plans to create a statewide –– and eventually national –– network of partners that will join with the program to assist the poor and underserved to get the medications they need for the short and long-term.
During a 36-month trial program based at Saint Thomas Health Services hospitals, The Dispensary of Hope collected more than $10 million in pharmaceuticals, filled more than 75,000 prescriptions for patients who otherwise couldn’t afford them and gave an additional $3 million in medications to other Tennessee clinics. Its network now includes more than 300 physicians and clinics as well as dispensing sites in Nashville, Murfreesboro and Knoxville.
“My vision for the Dispensary was based on my belief that no one should be deprived of the medicine they need because of an inability to pay,” said Dr. Bruce Wolf, who founded the Dispensary of Hope in 2004. “The Dispensary will not only improve the care of individuals, but it will save millions of dollars annually in unnecessary healthcare costs.”
Baptist Sports Medicine Opens Clinic in Spring Hill
In mid-December, Baptist Sports Medicine opened a 3000-square-foot healthcare and outpatient rehabilitation services clinic in rapidly growing Spring Hill. The new facility is located at 2009 Wall St. near Columbia Pike and Campbell Station Parkway, giving physicians and their patient’s convenient access to a licensed physical therapist specializing in orthopedics.
Services range from sports rehabilitation to total joint rehabilitation to therapy for back, neck and headache pain. The opening of this clinic marks the 11th Baptist Sports Medicine facility in Middle Tennessee and the second in Williamson County, complementing a location in the Maryland Farms YMCA.
NorthCrest Begins Offering Balloon Kyphoplaty
Through their partnership with Springfield Radiology, NorthCrest Medical Center is now offering Balloon Kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive treatment option for patients suffering from spinal fractures most commonly due to osteoporosis.
Designed to correct spinal deformity due to osteoporotic fractures, Balloon Kyphoplasty has been shown to significantly reduce back pain and improve a patient’s ability to return to daily activities. It is designed to repair vertebral compression fractures and restore the vertebrae closer to the correct position. The procedure generally takes less than one hour per fracture and has been performed under both local and general anesthesia.
Southern Hills Adds Two Radiologists
Radiologists Dr. Christopher Bodin and Dr. Kenneth E. Hawkins have joined the diagnostic imaging department at Southern Hills Medical Center. Both physicians are board certified in diagnostic radiology by the American Board of Radiology.
Baptist Hospital has been designated a UnitedHealth Premium Total Joint Replacement Specialty Center for 2007 to 2009.
UnitedHealthcare developed the UnitedHealth Premium Specialty Center designation program to give its members information about … and access to … total joint replacement hospitals meeting rigorous quality criteria based on nationally recognized medical standards.
Passport Announces Promotions
Franklin-based healthcare technology provider Passport Health Communications, Inc. has announced several promotions.
- Terry Anthony has been promoted to senior database administrator from database administrator. Anthony has been with Passport nearly four years and brings an additional 14 years of technical experience to the role.
- Jammy Bull, previously a national trainer, is implementation coordinator. Bull joined Passport in 2006 and has experience in insurance eligibility and Medicare regulations.
- Lee Martin is enrollment coordinator. Since joining Passport in 2005, Martin has served in various customer support capacities, most recently as technical support representative II.
- Bill Ott will serve as technical lead for Passport’s applications division, where he will manage the company’s application projects in the areas of batch file, compliance, internal support tools and the Web browser transaction processing infrastructure.
- Doug Pflueger has been named lead developer of scripting applications. Pflueger previously served as a technical lead for applications and managed several development projects.
- Lance Wilkinson is technical support analyst responsible for integrated product support. He has held various positions in his eight years with Passport, most recently technical support specialist II.
Baptist Hospital Announces 2008 Medical Staff Leaders
Baptist Hospital recently announced its medical staff officers and department chiefs for 2008.
2008 Officers:
Dr. Webb J. Earthman, chief of staff
Dr. A. Brian Wilcox, Jr., vice chief of staff
Dr. Sally J. Killian as president
Dr. Patricia A. Arns as secretary/treasurer.
2008 department chiefs:
Dr. Martyn J. Cavallo, chief of anesthesiology
Dr. Robert M. Hutton, chief of emergency medicine
Dr. Tamela P. Booker, chief of family practice
Dr. William H. Pettus, chief of internal medicine
Dr. Gregory R. Weaver, chief of medical imaging
Dr. Carl R. Hampf, chief of neuroscience
Dr. D. Phillips Altenbern, chief of obstetrics and gynecology
Dr. R. Trent Wallace, chief of ophthalmology
Dr. Stuart E. Smith, chief of orthopedics
Dr. David L. Cross, chief of otolaryngology
Dr. Raymond F. Bluth, chief of pathology
Dr. Lawrence A. Klinsky, chief of pediatrics
Dr. Joseph B. DeLozier, chief of plastic surgery
Dr. A. Brian Wilcox, Jr., chief of surgery
Dr. Raoul S. Concepcion, chief of urology
In addition, Dr. Paul C. McNabb will serve as chief of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and Dr. Tracey E. Doering as director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.
Saint Thomas Announces 2008 Medical Staff Leaders
2008 Officers:
Dr. James Lancaster, president
Dr. William Coltharp president-elect
Dr. John Price, immediate past president
2008 department chiefs & division heads:
Dr. Howard Walpole, chief of department of cardiac sciences
Dr. Todd Shuman, associate chief of cardiac sciences
Dr. Rick Bennett, cardiology division head
Dr. Mark Tedder, cardiothoracic surgery division head
Dr. Robert Latham, chief of department of medicine
Dr. Sean Ryan, association chief of medicine
Dr. James Gaume, endocrinology division head
Dr. Ronald Pruitt, gastroenterology division head
Dr. Robert Latham, general medicine division head
Dr. Stanley Lee, nephrology division head
Dr. Natalie Dickson, onc/hem division head
A. Clyde Heflin, pulmonary medicine division head
Dr. Paul Rosenblatt, radiation oncology division head
Dr. Edward McDonald, chief of pathology
Dr. Phillip Moyers, chief of radiology
Dr. Raymond Martin, chief of department of surgery
Dr. Everette Howell, associate chief of surgery
Dr. Richard Tomichek, anesthesiology division head
Dr. Doug Pasto-Crosby, emergency services divison head
Dr. Richard Geer, general surgery division head
Dr. Scott Standard, neurosurgery division head
Dr. Frank Scott, ophthalmology division head
Dr. Edward Mackey, orthopedic surgery division head
Dr. Bryan Oslin, plastic/reconstructive division head
Michael R. Baker, DPM, podiatry
Dr. Stephen Mitchell, surgical specialties division head
Dr. David Schull, urology division head
Dr. William Edwards, Jr., vascular division head
February 2008
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