department of health

It's beginning to look like HHS Secretary's Michael Leavitt's proposal for reforming healthcare in Louisiana is getting a big "no sale" from the state's leaders. Gov. Kathleen Blanco flatly rejected Leavitt's plan, which would involve using federal funds for the uninsured to provide health insurance for just about half the state's uninsured, calling it "an insult to our intelligence." Blanco says the plan would not pay for what Leavitt claims, as it provides no new funding, leaving a …

Twenty-four people died from preventable hospital errors in Minnesota in the 12 months ended Oct. 6, 2006, double the number reported in the previous year, state health officials say. Half the deaths were related to preventable falls. The state also saw a high incidence of patient pressure ulcers and of foreign objects retained in the body after surgery--two of the 23 so-called "never events" that hospitals should seek to avoid.

Despite the higher numbers, WCCO-TV in Minneapolis …

The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comments through Jan. 22--that's next Monday--on a draft set of standards to sniff out fraud in billing claims and reports produced by electronic health records. Among the recommendations presented by contractor RTI International, EHR users should keep a standardized audit to make it easy for government investigators to spot malfeasance. Needless to say, some privacy advocates are crying foul, but that's why there's a public comment period.

For details:
- see RTI's anti-fraud information page

White Memorial Medical Center Statement

Press Release: Less Than 25% of Medical Privacy Complaints Merit HHS Investigation

Researchers at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP) are kicking off a program designed to improve drug therapy and lower costs for Medicaid patients diagnosed with cancer, mental health issues and HIV. Over the next two years, SCCP will hire and deploy a team of clinical pharmacist educators, whose job will be to work with physicians to fine-tune these patients' drug regimen. SCCP was awarded $2 million from the state's Department of Health and Human Services to launch the …

Hospital giant Tenet has agreed to five years of corporate integrity monitoring as part of its settlement with the Department of Health and Human Services. In June, the company was ordered to pay $725 million to resolve outstanding charges that it improperly billed Medicare and violated other federal rules governing hospitals. The five-year agreement establishes annual training requirements and compliance reviews by independent organizations in certain specific areas. The company must …

York County is one of South Carolina's fastest-growing areas, so no one questioned the need for more hospital beds in the region. However, critics do question the state's Department of Health and Environmental Control's decision to grant Tenet Healthcare--the owner of the county's only hospital--permission to build a 100-bed facility. Now the U.S. Department of Justice will examine how the state went about issuing a Certificate of Need to Piedmont Medical Center. Four providers, including …

> Premier hospital alliance CEO and founder Robert O'Leary has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Report

> Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services have signed a $19.9 million contract for ACS to outsource IT solutions. Report

And …

The Washington Post reports that since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) law went into effect three years ago, only one fine has been levied against a provider. In that time period, exactly 19,420 grievances have been filed with the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the newspaper, the vast majority of cases have been closed.

Passed by Congress in 1996, HIPAA was intended to safeguard the privacy of consumer medical information …