News From Around the Web
> The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked Kaiser Permanente's takeover of three hospitals on the island of Maui, pending submission of a report as to how the deal would effect unionized workers at the three facilities, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser has reported. Article
> Pending federal legislation would require all hospitals to be able to perform rape kit exams on crime victims, according to CNN. Article
> Medicaid cuts in Kansas have put more pressure on doctors to stop accepting patients, KWCH-TV reported. Article
Provider News
> Medical errors are an ongoing problem in the healthcare industry--recent studies suggest that 250,000 people a year die due to such mistakes--but some simple steps may help hospitals reduce the amount of patient harm. James Lieber, a Pittsburgh attorney and author of "Killer Care: How Medical Error Became America's Third Largest Cause of Death and What Can Be Done About It," writes in The Wall Street Journal that five reforms will cut back on the number of medical mistakes. Article
Healthcare IT News
> Patient portals need to provide more personalized, direct communication with providers and interactivity to fully engage patients, according to research published at the Journal of Internet Medical Research. The researchers found that portals haven't been as widely adopted as hoped, and sought to find out why. They conducted 31 patient interviews, two clinician focus groups and reviewed 142 incidents involving portal use, 102 negative and 40 positive. Article
And Finally... Man awakes from 42-day coma, wants Taco Bell. Article