CON Process...NMMC kicked in the.....

[TF Admin]

From the Djournal...

Mall area MRI plans derailed
9/17/2006 11:50:53 AM
Daily Journal




BY MICHAELA GIBSON MORRIS


Daily Journal


An MRI won't be coming soon to the Barnes Crossing area.


A joint venture between North Mississippi Medical Center and Premier Radiology pulled their application for a certificate of need for a magnet resonance imaging machine for their Barnes Crossing imaging clinic last month.


The decision came after a Mississippi Department of Health hearing officer recommended the application not be approved. A health department staff report issued earlier found there was not sufficient volume to justify another MRI.


Tupelo radiologist Dr. Mike Currie, who owns a free-standing Imaging Center, opposed the certificate of need.


"We've saturated the market," and doctors get patients scanned the same day or the next day, Currie said. "It was really unnecessary."


NMMC and the radiology group had opposed Currie's request for an MRI, which was eventually approved.


NMMC president Chuck Stokes said the joint venture board is considering other options, including applying for approval for a mobile MRI.


"We still think we need an MRI," at the Medical Imaging at Barnes Crossing, Stokes said. "We think there is enough volume."


The certificate of need process is designed to make sure scarce health care resources are well allocated. The process includes certain expensive piece of equipment, like MRIs, and large building projects.

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Funny how that CON process can work both ways. Albeit this is the excpetion and not the rule when it comes to NMMC.

I still believe we need to rework the CON process and give other Health Facilities outside the long arm of NMMC a fighting chance. What do you think?

TF

[King Rat]

I think we need to completely ditch the CON process. Let supply and demand work its magic. The fact that people are having their MRI "the same day" doesn't mean they are having it WHERE THEY WANT. If the market were saturated the price of an MRI wouldn't stagger an elephant.

[zipzam]

"The certificate of need process is designed to make sure scarce health care resources are well allocated."
what does that mean exactly? it's in place to help low income areas get needed equipment?
other than a low income area... i'd guess doctors would be smart enough to put equipment in a NEEDED area... why would they put a mri machine in not expecting to use it often?

this certainly looks like NMMC doesn't want the competition.

[King Rat]

I heard on SuperTalk MS this morning that Senator Alan Nunlee's recent assault on the state board of health is a round-about way to do away with CON in this state. Most other states have already ditched this outdated protectionist garbage. I'm not sure how CON is involved in Nunlee's call for new leadership on the board of health but we can hope.

[TF Admin]

The CON process is just that...a con perpetrated on the people of Mississippi. Alan Nunlee has picked one helluva fight, and I hope he succeeds but often when politicians become this vocal in Mississippi rarely does anything change.

TF

[King Rat]

Exactly, TF. I recall last year (or something like that) when Steve Holland and Nunlee vowed to buck the CON process and bring Baptist to Tupelo. If I remember correctly they raised quite a stink but suddenly, without explanation, fell silent and opposed the very CON they had proposed.

Money does soothe the savage beast, doesn't it?

[bigboy]

Interesting subject! What if a CON process was used for other businesses?...Someone else making decisions if we need another Walmart, or another restaurant, or any other business if someone is willing to gamble their money on putting it in? Why is it just healthcare? Anyone know?

[rutrow]

I don't know about that process bigboy, but I do know that many businesses make legal contracts with each other. If there is a business that is multi tasked, sometimes they get together and divide up the tasks and spread it out over the span of several businesses and allow each other to do those tasks to the point of referring them there. I would tell you specifically which business in this case that I am talking about, but these businesses would know who told. Don't want any repercussions on this individual.

I recently called a place who works on brakes trying to get an appointment. The first thing that they asked was what type of car I had. I found that strange as they worked on my brakes before. When I told them, they refused to work on them saying that they are referring certain vehicles back to the dealership. Their excuse was that they had a hard time finding the parts. I called up the parts place and they had all the parts I needed.

Then years ago, we were looking to buy a small, but new car. We went to every auto dealership in Tupelo. All the cars we liked were about the same price range. $12,000 back in 1988. So, we took a small trip to Amory and found an exact car for the price of $8600. We drove that car for 7 years.

There are all kinds of little tricks businesses use to keep competition out. As a consumer, I learned what many of these are. ;D My next car will be coming from the Memphis area.

Bigger businesses aren't always better for the consumer are they?

[rutrow]

BTW, I forgot to mention how pleased I am using Dr. Currie's Imaging Center. I am completely in and out in less than an hour. I am sure that an MRI would take more time, but in larger places a simple x-ray took more than 1 hour by the time they processed all the paperwork. He runs a very efficient establishment.