Health Care News
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New Hospital Compare data shows disparity in blood infection rates
Newly released blood infection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Hospital Compare website has revealed a wide variation in central line-associated bloodstream infections Read more...
Patient satisfaction equal for physician, hospitalist care
Patients reported similar satisfaction scores for hospital care provided by primary care physicians and hospitalists, according to a study published this month in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. Read more...
West Penn posts widening losses
Pittsburgh's West Penn Allegheny Health System has reported a loss of $55.9 million for the first half of a fiscal year that ends June 30, according to local news reports. The financial results, Read more...
HHS panel calls for mandatory flu shots for healthcare workers
Shy of a full-scale national mandate, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' National Vaccine Advisory Committee yesterday urged hospitals to "strongly consider" making flu vaccination Read more...
Medicaid cuts loom despite overdue reimbursements
Hospitals across the country are preparing for looming cuts to Medicaid reimbursements, all while waiting for millions of dollars in owed payments. In Maine, a deal passed unanimously yesterday will Read more...
Hospitals lose reimbursement for 'unnecessary' ER visits
Designed to curb the "overuse and abuse" of costly emergency care, Washington's hospitals will no longer receive Medicaid reimbursement for any "unnecessary" emergency room visits starting April 1, Read more...
Compassionate care, high performance not limited to clinicians
The janitor at a hospital doesn't just take out the trash; he prevents infections. That was the message that Michael Frisina, head of the consulting firm The Center for Influential Leadership, had Read more...
Hospital exec arrested in $116M Medicare scheme
Officials yesterday arrested and charged an assistant administrator of Houston's Riverside General Hospital for his alleged role in a $116 million Medicare fraud scam, involving false claims for Read more...
Docs not always honest with patients
Honesty is the best policy, but according to a survey published in the February Health Affairs, that's not necessarily the case in healthcare. In fact, many physicians don't always follow the Charter Read more...
Visual social networks to catch on with hospital marketers
Hospital marketers need to think like graphic designers, meaning they should focus on images, today's Hospital Impact blog post noted. Jenn Riggle, associate vice president and social media leader of Read more...
Nonprofit hospital exec pay getting heat from struggling city
Should struggling cities get a cut of the money otherwise directed toward executive pay of nonprofit hospitals? That's the debate going on in Rhode Island, where Providence is on the brink of Read more...
14 hospitals to pay $12M over false surgical claims
Fourteen hospitals across the country will be shelling out a combined $12 million to settle allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare, involving spinal fractures procedures, the U.S. Read more...
CMS opens bloodstream infection data to public
Aiming to boost hospital transparency and accountability, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opened up blood infection data to the public. CMS has updated the Hospital Compare website Read more...
Steward backs bill to lift 3-year wait on RI hospital purchases
A bill, backed by ever-expanding powerhouse Steward Health Care System, to eliminate a rule that for-profit hospitals must wait three years in between hospital acquisitions is up for a Senate hearing Read more...
Hospital withholds patient safety report, cites legal woes
In a move away from patient safety and transparency, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas is withholding a federally mandated patient safety report for fear of lawsuits, reported The Dallas Morning Read more...
