News From Around the Web
> Fraud and error cost the global healthcare sector about $487 billion annually, according to a report from the U.K.'s BDO LLP, an accountancy and business advisory firm in partnership with the University of Portsmouth's Center for Counter Fraud Studies. Announcement
> Medicare has been overpaying renal dialysis centers for drugs due to cost miscalculations, an Office of Inspector General report concluded. Report (.pdf)
> Dermatologists may be overultizing Mohs surgery and biopsies, according to Brett Coldiron, M.D., incoming president of the American Academy of Dermatology. Article
Healthcare News
> Healthcare leaders will notice three emerging major trends this year, according to an opinion piece in Information Week. The trends include retail healthcare, an increased emphasis on compliance and operational quality, and the overlap of care management and customer service. Article
> U.S. hospitals vary widely on safety and likelihood of death from avoidable surgical complications, according to new rankings from Consumer Reports. Article
And Finally... Colorado teen faces two years in prison for a $25 medical fraud committed to buy cigarettes. Article