estimates

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has announced that it has become the first not-for-profit hospital system to comply fully with the strict reporting and internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which applies to publicly-held companies and was designed to prevent Enron-scale financial catastrophes in that arena. While not-for-profits don't have to comply, experts say more of them are moving in the direction of fuller disclosure, assuming that the spotlight will be on …

An internal FDA estimate of the dangers posed by a Boston Scientific pacemaker suggests that they may be far higher than earlier estimates had suggested. In the report, agency experts argue that the odds of the Contak Renewal short circuiting may be ten times higher than than its maker previously admitted. Boston Scientific acquired the pacemaker when it bought Guidant in a $27-billion deal. The news comes a day after The Wall Street Journal published a front-page piece …

The University of Pittsburgh Center for Biosecurity estimates that the cost of planning for an influenza pandemic could be as high as $5 billion. The American Hospital Association is citing the number in its efforts to win more flu funding from Congress for its members. The AHA told the Senate Special Committee on Aging that a typically-sized 164 bed hospital should expect to spend at least $1 million on preparations. The $5 billion estimate does not include the cost of buying mechanical …

Hospitals are increasingly turning to computerized systems like one made by Maryland food service provide Sodexho to track the foods patients eat during their stay. The systems flag patients with special requirements, such as those on low-sodium and low-cholesterol diets, and allow staff to guide guests in a more appropriate direction if they attempt to order something off limits. Sodexho estimates that it provides software to 1,400 hospitals around the country, including Yale-New Haven …

Shares of Cerner were off this morning, falling $3.79, or 8.15 percent, to $43.26 as Wall Street reacted to the Kansas City-based software company's first quarter numbers, which came out yesterday after the markets closed. The company missed analysts estimates of 27 cents a share, reporting 25 cents. Even though it was a great quarter for Cerner, Wall Street wanted more.

- read this release from Cerner

After months of harsh criticism, Wal-Mart bowed to popular pressure and said it will offer more generous health care benefits to its workers, including coverage for some part-timers. The company also said it plans to quadruple the number of walk-in healthcare clinics it operates in its stores. CEO H. Lee Scott is scheduled to deliver a speech on Sunday in which he is expected to lay out his company's  healthcare plans to the National Governor's Association. Wal-Mart is the largest …

There has been much fuss about the HSA, with some estimates suggesting more than 1 million accounts were opened in 2005. But the majority of those have been opened by people who already had high-deducible plans. However, as companies like UnitedHealth Group, Aetna and Cigna push these consumer-directed plans to their mainstream employer clients, they are gong to face two challenges. The first will be to educate Americans about how to evaluate the healthcare services they are asking for …

WellPoint chairman Leonard Schaeffer resigned this week. The position will be filled by president and CEO Larry Glasscock. Observers suspect that Mike Stocker (Empire Blues) will move to the board, a condition of WellPoint's planned $6.5 billion acquisition of New York-based WellChoice. In 2003, some estimates put Schaeffer's stake in the company after the Anthem-WellPoint merger at around $325 million.

- read this article from Indystar.com

Responding to criticism from patients and hospitals that supplies of seasonal flu vaccine are not getting through, officials at the Centers for Disease Control said they expect problems to be eased by a shipment of 10 million courses this month. The agency estimates 71 million courses have been delivered so far this year. Demand is believed to be higher because of increased media coverage of the vaccine shortage and concerns about a potential bird flu pandemic. Despite the increase, …

Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts released a report today which argues that the healthcare system could save $20 billion if healthcare providers switched to commonly available generic drugs instead of using more expensive brand name medicines. The company's Generic Drug Usage Report looks at costs for about 3 million people participating in its network across six drug classes, including NSAIDS, cholesterol fighting statins, GI drugs and antidepressants. Express Scripts estimates …