Report: Interim LSU hospital costly, inefficient

A new report says the Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans is costly, inefficient, administration-heavy and still reacting to the effects of Hurricane Katrina rather than looking for ways to improve efficiency. The report says the hospital spends $5,031 per patient per day—compared to $2,794 at other teaching hospitals that are about the same size. It says the hospital has one manager to every three nurses, compared to a normal ratio of one to eight. The firm Alvarez & Marsal says that using all its recommendations could cut costs $66 million and add $6.7 million in revenue, for a $72 million improvement. The Times-Picayune obtained the 161-page report from hospital consultants on Sunday in response to a public records request. For the full Times-Picayune report click here.