More physicians opting for salaries, other health care industry news

News outlets report on various ways the health care industry is changing.

The New York Times: More Physicians Say No To Endless Workdays
Even as a girl, Dr. Kate Dewar seemed destined to inherit the small-town medical practice of her grandfather and father. ... But when she finishes residency this summer, Dr. Dewar, 31, will not be going home. Instead, she will take a job as a salaried emergency room doctor at a hospital in Elmira, N.Y., two hours away. An important reason is that she prefers the fast pace and interesting puzzles of emergency medicine, but another reason is that on Feb. 7 she gave birth to twins, and she cannot imagine raising them while working as hard as her father did (Harris, 4/1).

Earlier, related KHN story: Hospitals Lure Doctors Away From Private Practice (Gold, 10/13/10)

The New York Times: Tipping The Odds For A Maker Of Heart Implants
Las Vegas is a city of few sure bets. But there are overwhelming odds on one thing — the brand of heart device that patients at a major hospital get. Within the last few years, a little known company called Biotronik has cornered the market on pacemakers and defibrillators at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Last year, 250 of the 263 patients, or 95 percent, who had a heart device implanted at the hospital center got one made by Biotronik. The company's hold at the hospital center is all the more striking because its implants were not used there before 2008, and its national share of the heart-device market barely exceeds 5 percent, according to industry estimates (Meier, 4/2).

MinnPost: Mayo Clinic Expands Wellness Offerings
Mayo Clinic will be adding four floors to its Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, the organization announced this week. ... The new space will be used to increase Mayo Clinic's wellness offerings. It will focus on lifestyle behavioral changes, support and disease prevention. ... Mayo Clinic isn't the first clinic to expand its wellness services for patients. Cleveland Clinic is a leader in the wellness industry. That clinic runs a wellness program called Lifestyle 180, which focuses on diet, exercise and stress reduction (Grauer, 4/1).