> Capturing and reusing blood patients lose during emergency internal surgery can reduce overall blood transfusion costs by 62.5 percent per patient, according to a new study in the Archives of Surgery, reports the New York Times. Article
> Want to add a cardiac catheterization lab? A new study in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes shows that it might not be cost-effective, especially if you are building a part-time percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) lab, reports MedPage Today. Article
> Multistate inpatient rehabilitation hospital operator HealthSouth Corp., based in Birmingham, Ala., plans to purchase 50-bed Sugar Land Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston. The deal is expected to close in third-quarter 2010. Press release
> Winston Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health Systems has signed a two-year contract to continue serving health plan members for Aetna. Terms were not disclosed, but Novant will drop a lawsuit it had filed in June accusing Aetna of misrepresenting confidential financial data during negotiations, reports the Charlotte Business Journal. Article
> LifePoint Hospitals is finally on the verge of closing its acquisition of Gallatin, Tenn.-based not-for-profit Sumner Regional Health Systems. The deal had been in limbo after Sumner County decided to seek a piece of the pie. LifePoint will pay the county $15 million upfront in the revised agreement, reports the Tennessean. Article
And Finally ... Could global warming mean the end of super-sized fries? Article