match news from FierceHealthcare

One of the big knocks on pushing clinicians to follow specific processes--aside from the fact that it makes some feel disempowered--is that it's not clear whether they actually improve outcomes. ... Read more...

President Bush delivered a blessing for medical educational programs this week as part of new legislation. By signing the Iraq war spending bill, which contained language impacting Medicaid reimbursement, Bush also agreed to halt planned changes to federal Medicaid match funding. The Bush administration had previously proposed to eliminate Medicaid payments given directly to hospitals as a state match. Teaching hospitals have been using that money to pay for residency programs, but the …

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New proposals being developed by the Bush administration would cut Medicaid money that currently pays treatment of patients by residents. Teaching hospitals use the money, which comes in as a match for state Medicaid funds, to fund residency programs. However, Bush officials argue that Medicaid funding shouldn't be used to train residents, and say the cuts would save about $1.7 billion which could be used for other purposes. In a move that would give teaching hospitals a chance to …

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Without a doubt, last year was an important year in the evolution of the retail clinic market, with chain drug stores, retail giants like Target and WalMart, and even grocery stores welcoming them on site.

Though retail clinics may not become a household word among consumers this year, players in this niche will make dramatic progress in 2007. This …

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Researchers have concluded that yet another state health system is out of whack, in ways which seemingly differ little from other health systems across the U.S. In this case the patient is the health system of the state of New Jersey, which, according to a new study by consulting firm Avalere Health, burns through resources but doesn't seem to produce better care or outcomes as a result.

The Avalere study, which was sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and the …

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With flu season right around the corner, inevitably health experts will once again sound the bird flu alarm. In the Wall Street Journal, primary care doctor Benjamin Brewer expresses his concern that the nation’s emergency departments will be pushed beyond capacity if a pandemic does hit the U.S. Many people head to the ER each year because of the flu, and dealing with these patients in addition to a bird flu outbreak would send ERs over the edge. But Brewer notes that there may be a simple Internet tool that can keep this from happening.

In order to avoid unnecessary visits to the ER, Brewer proposes that patients have access to an online questionnaire to see if their symptoms match that of the flu and require a trip to the ER. “At a time when influenza is occurring in a community, clinical guidelines--without an in-person exam--are about 77 percent accurate in diagnosing the illness, according to a study,” Brewer notes. If patient’s symptoms don’t match the questionnaire, then they can avoid a trip to the doctor’s office. If their results are positive, they would be told to receive treatment from a pharmacy.

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> Health Management Associates warned that its quarterly and annual results will probably not match analyst expectations. Article

> Los Angeles County fires the head of a clinic run by King/Drew Medical Center, despite the recommendation of the consultant brought in to run the hospital. …

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Guidant's board declared a new $27 billion bid by Boston Scientific "superior." Johnson & Johnson has until January 24th to match the offer. As more details of the new deal emerged, it's clear that Abbott Laboratories is playing a larger role than previously believed. The company will contribute up to $6 billion in financing to support Boston Scientific's bid. Meanwhile, all the talk of medical devices is apparently exciting Wall Street and some analysts suspect that St. Jude may be …

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Despite problems in the program's first weeks, Medicare Part D is on pace to match expectations in terms of enrollment. The Bush administration announced yesterday that more than 2.6 million additional Medicare recipients have signed up for the plan. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt told reporters that enrollment will likely pass the target of 28 million of 30 million predicted by the May 15 deadline. The issue now is whether or not the emergency fixes announced over the weekend will patch …

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Boston Scientific raised its offer for Guidant to $25 billion as the bidding war between the company and Johnson & Johnson intensifies. Boston Scientific also said it has reached an agreement with Abbott Labs which would see the drug company pick up Guidant's vascular intervention business for about $4 billion. Analysts say the sale is necessary to satisfy antitrust regulators. Boston Scientific already has a strong stent business in its drug coated Taxus line, which had worldwide …

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