Health Law Deadlines Under Pressure

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By Julie Appleby, Mary Agnes Carey and Marilyn Werber Serafini Kaiser Health News Staff Writers This story was produced in collaboration with With Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the health law, debate has shifted to whether deadlines key to the law’s goal of expanding coverage to tens of millions of Americans will be pushed back…. Read more »

Supreme Court to review Phoebe Putney purchase of Palmyra

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Bloomberg BusinessWeek, June 26, 2012   The U.S. Supreme Court said it will decide whether states can block antitrust scrutiny of hospital mergers such as Phoebe Putney Health System Inc.’s acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital in Georgia. The justices today said they will hear the Federal Trade Commission’s appeal of a U.S. appellate court ruling… Read more »

U.S. Overpaying for Veterans’ Healthcare

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Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media The federal government is wasting more than $3.2 billion a year because it is paying twice to provide the same care for veterans, once through capitated rates to Medicare Advantage plans, and again to finance the VA healthcare system, which actually provides the care. That’s according to a report in… Read more »

Healthcare Cost Growth Acceleration Continues

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John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media The average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 6.14% over the 12-months ending April 2012, Standard & Poor’s Healthcare Economic Indices show. The uptick continues an acceleration of cost growth that began in October, 2011 and includes an almost half a… Read more »

Hospitals Lag in Workforce Diversity

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John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the nation’s hospitals employ more than 4.8 million people, making these centers of healing powerful economic engines for the communities they serve. Unfortunately, when it comes to diversity in the workforce, hospitals are not leading the way. According to a survey from the… Read more »

10 Tips and 32 Strategies for Healthcare CEOs

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Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media An Institute of Medicine report released this month may give some cost-embattled healthcare executives just what they need, even if it’s not something they’re all ready for just yet. It’s a 10-point “CEO Checklist for High-Value HealthCare,” a list of tips on how to keep their organizations alive, written by… Read more »

Health IT a quantum leap from other industries

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By Ken Terry, FierceHealthIT Many physicians are dissatisfied with electronic health record systems, according to a recent survey of members of the professional networking site Sermo. Forty-four percent of respondents said EHRs are not designed with physicians in mind; 15 percent said they believe EHRs lower the quality of care; and 73 percent said EHRs… Read more »

Binge-Eating Hospital Employees Cost Big Bucks

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John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, June 11, 2012   While there is not a definitive link showing that healthcare workers are more susceptible to overweight and obesity than other workers, some studies suggest that is the case. Empirically it resonates because long hours, irregular work schedules, and on-the-job stress, which are virtually written into the… Read more »

6 Ways to Get Physicians on Board with Decision Support

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This article appears in the May 2012 issue of HealthLeaders magazine. The successful adoption of clinical decision support at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia came after years of work that included physicians and other clinicians in the development process, says Michael Restuccia, vice president and CIO. These are some of the important steps in the Penn… Read more »

Best EDs Focus on Flow

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This article appears in the May 2012 issue of HealthLeaders magazine. Among the greatest challenges in the emergency department is improving patient flow, and this comes with a sense of urgency amid deep concerns about patient safety due to overcrowding. In addition, the latest HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Report reveals that healthcare leaders expect worsening ED… Read more »