Many health care systems talk about three main pillars of care for treating cancer patients: medical, surgical and radiation oncology. It turns out that having state-of-the-art radiation technology can not only help heal patients, it can also be beneficial to a hospital system’s bottom line.
A high-stakes dispute among three major hospital systems in the Triangle — Duke Health, UNC Health/Rex and WakeMed — has revealed just how financially advantageous such equipment can be.
The clash also gives a glimpse into how certificate of need, or CON, laws can be used to try to stifle competition — and provides insight into the lengths major health care systems will go to try to maintain a competitive edge in the specialized care market…