Mayo Clinic

Observers are raising tough challenges to a newly-released spinal disk study that suggests an artificial spinal disk, Prodisc, works better to improve patient functioning than conventional... Read more...

> University of Illinois trustees are asking for $150 million over five years to expand their capacity to train doctors and other health professionals. Read more...

At least some providers are bringing the hammer down when it comes to Medicare Advantage. With the plans getting higher payments from the government, the providers say, they can pay higher rates, or... Read more...

As FierceHealthcare readers know, we've been keeping tabs on the retail/convenience market for some time now. To date, we've mostly been telling you about clinic rollouts mounted by private... Read more...

It was kudos all around this week for the University of Kansas Hospital, which has gone from a state of financial and clinical crisis to being named as a top quality performer ranked with some of the... Read more...

Here's an attempt to reverse the growing outflow of medical tourists. Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center has begun creating relationships with Japanese and Chinese hospitals and doctors, hoping to... Read more...

While it's becoming clear that overtaxed, sleep-deprived interns are a hazard, professors in U.S. medical schools seem convinced long resident shifts are important. A new Mayo Clinic survey has found... Read more...

> CMS has announced controversial new Medicaid rules that will change the way it pays for prescription drugs. Release

> Washington state has passed a new law requiring health plans to contract with more chiropractors. …

... Read more...

Policy experts meeting at a Mayo Clinic-sponsored forum are recommending some significant changes to health plan reimbursement practices which they say could improve care and reduce costs. The experts, who met this week at Dartmouth, are suggesting that plans institute shared decision making programs for major elective surgery, in which medical centers are awarded bonuses for involving patients effectively. Another of their proposals is to develop a model for a single "chronic condition …

... Read more...

> At Hospital Impact, blogger Tony Chen has a great interview with U.S. Preventative Medicine President Brian Baum. Baum discusses what makes his company unique, the public's response to the company's advertising campaign and the future of preventative medicine in the United States. Interview

> The debate over the future of SCHIP continues. …

... Read more...