new york state
Aetna strikes doctor-ratings deal with NY
Aetna has struck a deal with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo under which it will adopt a model limiting its approach to rating physicians. The new model, which is backed by the AMA and the... Read more...
Study: Smoking ban cut heart attacks
Here's a stat you may want to consider if your facility is mulling no-smoking rules. A new study by New York state health officials suggests that a 2003 ban on smoking in many public places cut the... Read more...
New York another front in retail clinic battle
Here's another dispatch from the Read more...
N.Y. AG concerned about MD ranking system
New York State's attorney general has taken a firm position on a hot-button issue--whether insurance companies are doing a fair and reasonable job in ranking their physicians. In a new statement, AG... Read more...
ED boarding major issue for NY-area hospitals
Like peers around the country, hospitals in the sprawling region surrounding New York City are facing a emergency department crowding crisis. A recent survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians found that more than half of physicians responding from New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut reported that ED boarding had increased significantly in recent years. More worrisome, nearly …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: Genetic testing bill stalls; FL nurses, hospitals battle over bill; and much more...
> Republican concerns seem to have stalled a new genetic discrimination bill working its way through the House. Article
> Florida nurses and hospitals are battling over proposed state legislation which would make hospitals install patient lifting equipment. Article
> While big changes are …
... Read more...SPOTLIGHT: Should doctors bring faith to medical treatment?
According to one researcher, about two-thirds of U.S. medical schools now offer some form of training on religion and spirituality in medicine. Other researchers--with support from NIH grants--are studying the effect of third-party prayers on cancer patients. Some doctors are even calling for clinicians to take a "spiritual history" when they examine patients. But is this appropriate? Probably not, given the weak scientific evidence for a connection between religious practice and better …
... Read more...Editor's Corner
Though it's been brewing for more than a year,the announcement this week of New York state's planned hospital closures has hit with gale force. Not …
NY plan harsher than expected
A New York state commission tasked with downsizing the state's healthcare industry has released its final recommendations--and the recommendations are tougher than the first round of predictions had anticipated. While original rumors had suggested that the commissioners would recommend the closure of nine hospitals, the group is actually calling for steps that would effectively eliminate 20-odd hospitals, taking thousands of jobs with them. Other hospitals will be asked to eliminate or …
... Read more...NY to close nine hospitals, cut 4,100 beds
According to several sources in the know, a New York state commission will recommend closing nine hospitals across the state and force several others to merge or cut beds. In addition to the nine that would be closed outright, others would be forced to become clinics or outpatient centers, effectively being closed as acute care centers. Ultimately, the panel's recommendations would call for cutting about 4,100 of the state's hospital beds, though they would also allow the addition of some …
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