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The Massachusetts Public Health Council on Wednesday unanimously approved measures to increase oversight of teaching hospital expansion projects with the aim of ensuring that new facilities do not duplicate services offered by community hospitals or imperil existing facilities, the Boston Globe reports. The measure would apply to companies looking to establish outpatient clinics that cost more than $25 million and private physician-owned outpatient surgery centers, regardless of cost.

The measures were authorized by sweeping health care legislation sponsored by state Senate President Therese Murray (D) and approved by the state Legislature over the summer. The new rules are expected to take effect next month. John Erwin, executive director of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals and a representative of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, said the state was driven by "the perception that the large teaching hospitals are moving out into the suburbs and taking business away from the community hospitals."

Bruce Auerbach, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said that the group "supports efforts to rein in the untenable and unsupportable trend in health care spending" and that reducing duplicate services is key to that goal. Donald Thieme, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, said, "Clearly, the intent of the [Massachusetts Department of Public Health] is to draw a line in the sand," adding, "We're in favor of this attempt to put some boundaries around the inappropriate growth of the large teaching hospitals."

Erwin said there are some concerns that the public health department is not well-staffed to deal with the expanded oversight responsibilities. However, a spokesperson for the public health department said there are enough staffers to address the expanded demands and the agency will continue to monitor the work force situation as applications for the outpatient clinics and surgery centers are received (Smith, Boston Globe, 11/13).

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