personal health records (PHR) news from FierceHealthcare

> The long-awaited beta trial of Google Health, Google's personal health record, has finally been launched. Read more...

Aetna has rolled out a new online service that offers enrollees personalized medical information based on their own medical history. The service, called SmartSource, was first tested on Aetna's own Read more...

Well, as expected, the HiMSS08 show was a sprawling affair, attended by 27,000 seemingly happy party-goers. Without a doubt, it was an impressive display of professional knowledge and technical Read more...

> Efforts to bring more specialists to Florida's EDs seem to be at an impasse, with hospitals reluctant to form a specialist-sharing network. Read more...

> Six years after its collapse, executives from what was one of the country's biggest health care finance companies are standing trial for an alleged $1.9 billion fraud. Read more...

> Despite the fact that he's still on the payroll, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts got $16.4 million in retirement benefits last year to chief executive William Van Faasen. Read more...

> A dozen hospitals in the DC metro have joined a growing movement by banning smoking anywhere on their grounds. Read more...

> The state of Maryland's largest medical malpractice insurer wants to give a payout to doctors, but state officials are against it. Read more...

> The state's hospital industry has come out in favor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's health reform plans. Read more...

> Medical imaging manufacturers are lobbying Congress to overturn Medicare cutbacks which reduce how much doctors are paid for running varied diagnostic tests. Article

> As they think through the possible closure of King-Harbor hospital, Los Angeles County officials are looking at whether nearby hospitals can absorb the added patient load. …

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