News From Around the Web
> Yet another hospital has acknowledged that its new electronic health record system has caused it financial problems. Maine Medical Center reported that the rollout of its new Epic system has created "unintended financial consequences" and is one of the reasons why the hospital experienced an operating loss of $13.4 million the first half of its fiscal year, according to Healthcare IT News. Article
> An Arizona nurse has filed a lawsuit against her former business partner, a physician, for blocking her from access to their family medical clinic's EHR system, the Payson Roundup reports. She claims that the action potentially jeopardizes patient health. The physician denies that he has blocked her from accessing patient records. A court has issued a preliminary injunction requiring the clinic to allow the nurse access to the records. Article
Health Finance News
> Contrary to the long-held belief that cuts in Medicare spending leads to cost-shifting over to private payer patients, a new study suggests that such private sector spending actually decreases. A study in the journal Health Affairs of Medicare and private payer rates between 1995 and 2009 in the 306 geographical regions outlined by the Dartmouth Atlas concluded that a 10 percent reduction in Medicare payments would translate to a reduction in private payer rates of between 3.11 percent to as much as 7.73 percent, depending on a variety of factors. Article
Provider News
> Although the number of hospital-employed physicians has increased dramatically in recent years--and is expected to keep rising--these relationships are rife with pitfalls. One of the keys to success of hospital-owned groups, said Allen D. Kemp, M.D., CEO of Centura Health Physician Group in Colorado, is to make sure the hospital doesn't just buy the practice or hire its physicians, but ensures that necessary changes to the practice's culture or operations take place."The challenge is to get the hospital leadership to understand you need to make an investment in infrastructure with knowledge and resources that are experienced with managing physician groups," he said. Article
> Doctors increasingly are providing testimony in court as expert witnesses on behalf of the plaintiff or defense in a medical malpractice case, and can play a critical role in shaping a judge or jury's opinion. But in order to keep physicians' expert testimony credible, at least 24 state laws specify that the expert's background or specialty should be similar to that of the physician on trial. But some officials are concerned with recent rulings that treat such requirements more loosely. They say the use of unqualified witnesses makes trials unfair and ups the chances of frivolous lawsuits getting into court. Article
And Finally... Maybe she should have stolen a new car instead. Article