umdnj

The problems at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey appear to be continuing. The troubled medical school and health system, which has been the focus of repeated reports of financial and political wrongdoing over the past year, has another scandal on its hands. Investigators say the school may have overbilled Medicaid by as much as $50 million to $70 million over the last decade. The crisis follows on the heels of a recent billing scandal in which UMDNJ admitted to …

> A number of tech industry publications examine President Bush pledge to modernize electronic medical records systems in the State of the Union. Other observers wonder if a further announcement is forthcoming. Article

> GE Healthcare and Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, have reached a seven-year agreement to help Aurora improve its operating expenses and patient care. …

The University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey (UMDNJ) said it would accept federal oversight of its finances in the wake of a billing scandal that has seriously damaged the school's reputation. Yesterday, the Department of Justice warned UMDNJ that it faces criminal prosecution for overbilling the government Medicaid program by as much as $10 million over the past five years. A DOJ spokesman said the deal is the first time a public university has ever been assigned a federal monitor.

- see this article from The New York Times

>  A World Health Organization official in Indonesia said there is little evidence that the bird flu virus has mutated into a form capable of human to human transmission. Story

> Trends: The California HealthCare Foundation has released its annual survey of health care in California.  HMO enrollment is down; pay for performance gaining ground. …

> The impact of UnitedHealth's merger with PacifiCare is examined in the Las Vegas Journal Review. Story

> HIT: Misys announces the launch of a web portal for physicians steering patients to consumer-directed programs. Release

> MedTech: Boston …

The New York Times reports that officials at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) routinely double-billed the government for Medicaid services over a period dating back to the early 1990s. The billing problems, which appear to involve questionable charges totaling millions of dollars, were apparently caused when the hospital system issued bills for procedures and visits for which doctors had already charged the government.

Adam Henick, a former …

Officials at New Jersey's University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ) said the school will adopt strict new spending rules following a scandal involving no-bid contracts and questionable political contributions. UMDNJ President John Petillo, who oversees the sprawling network of teaching hospitals and research facilities, also said executives at the institution will be required to give back their credit cards.

- see this story from the Newark Star-Ledger