AmeriNet--how "super" is this super group?

Only a year old, St. Louis-based AmeriNet is making waves among both product suppliers and healthcare providers as it flexes its muscle as the country's largest group purchasing organization.

The Boston Center for Liver Transplantation (BCLT). Initial experience of a new surgical consortium

Improved survival following liver transplantation has led to a rapid increase in the number of centers providing this expensive and demanding therapy. In January 1984, four Boston hospitals launched a cooperative program known as the Boston Center for Liver Transplantation (BCLT). From January 1984 through July 1985, 47 liver transplantations were performed in 41 patients ranging in age from 8 months to 60 years. Donor organs were retrieved from 22 states within a 2,500-mile radius. Thirty-five of the 47 procedures were performed by teams consisting of surgeons from at least two BCLT member hospitals. Twelve-month actuarial survival was 54.1% without significant institutional variability. The BCLT has developed into a unique transplant consortium capable of sharing manpower, equipment, and organs without sacrificing quality of care of disrupting preexisting medical services.

Focus on: SwedishAmerican Corporation's Biomedical Services Division

This paper describes the Biomedical Services Division of Heritage Health Management Corporation, a subsidiary of the SwedishAmerican Corporation. Located at Swedish-American Hospital in Rockford, IL, the Division operates as an independent agency servicing 20 facilities. The staff of ten full-time and two part-time employees is responsible for over 5000 pieces of equipment. In addition to in-house maintenance, field service is accomplished with the aid of a fully-equipped van.