giant news from FierceHealthcare

Over the past year, drugstore chain CVS has engaged in a protracted battle to get permission to open its MinuteClinics in locations across the Boston metro area. The effort involved not only getting... Read more...

CVS Corp. has asked Massachusetts authorities for permission to open the first 10 of a planned 100 plus retail clinics in the state. The pharmacy giant is applying under the new set of regulations... Read more...

> Here we go again. Congress has passed another version of S-CHIP, and President Bush has promised another veto. Read more...

On the surface, the deal looked like a win-win. Giant Jackson Memorial Hospital would be able to sell--and make some money on--eight years worth of outstanding bills. Collector International... Read more...

> CMS has told New York that it can't bill for chemotherapy under Medicaid provisions allowing coverage emergency services for noncitizens. Read more...

The nursing home industry has always operated on a narrow margin. However, as private investors buy out nursing home chains, they're hoping to change the picture, in part by cutting nursing rosters... Read more...

While Hospital Partners of America isn't a giant as of yet, it's made a promising beginning. Over the past years or so, the upstart hospital operator has leased or acquired a total of seven... Read more...

> New York's insurance department is beginning a series of hearings on health system reform next month. Read more...

> Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has announced that it will begun funding employee wellness programs for 20 of the state's mid-sized employers. Article

> DC-area blood donations have fallen to a "crisis" level, experts say. Article

> A new study suggests CDHPs that couple the new structure …

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IBM signed a deal with the Canadian province of Alberta that sees the tech giant lead their transition from paper-based to electronic records. Big Blue wins a two-year contract worth $10 million to lead the implementation of the new system and train users. Alberta has pledged to create an electronic medical record for every resident by 2008. Article