heart failure
Consumers Union plans to rate hospitals
The venerable organization behind the popular Consumer Reports magazine has announced that it's getting into the hospital ratings act. The publisher, Consumers Union, already offers assessments of... Read more...
Study: Admission day dictates heart failure, length of stay
A new study suggests that heart failure patients admitted to the hospital on Thursdays and Fridays have longer stays in the hospital than those admitted on other days of the week, while those... Read more...
Panel issues care guidelines for heart implant patients
In the past, much of the discussion over implantable heart devices like pacemakers and defibrillators was over which patients were suitable candidates--and how to get health plans to pay for them.... Read more...
Medicare releases volume, customer satisfaction data
For the first time, Medicare has released volume and payment information for a list of selected conditions, along with the results from its new consumer satisfaction survey, the Hospital Consumer... Read more...
PA puts hospital quality data online
A Pennsylvania group has launched a new website offering quality reports that compare hospital performance and outcomes for the state. On the site, which includes data from all 162 primary acute... Read more...
Study: Hispanics get lower-quality medical care
It's more discouraging news from the health disparity front: A new study suggests that elderly Hispanics tend to get inferior care. The study, which looked at Medicare data from 2004, found that... Read more...
Patients in top hospitals have 27% less death risk
A new study of U.S. hospitals has concluded that patients admitted to top-rated hospitals have a 27 percent lower risk of dying, and a 5 percent lower risk of complications during their stay,... Read more...
Study: Hospital bills up 90 percent over past decade
Even when adjusted for inflation, hospital bills have increased by about 90 percent over the past 10 years, according to new data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The report,... Read more...
Avandia slammed by more studies
Two more studies have come out which raise further questions about the safety of diabetes drug Avandia. The first of the two studies, which were published in The Journal of the American Medical... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: CalPERS cuts $225M deal with BC of California; D.C. retail clinic operator plans area expansion; and much more...
> The California Public Employees Retirement System, usually known as CalPERS, has agreed to pay Blue Cross of California $225 million over three years to run its self-funded PPO plans. Read more...
