Healthcare delivery may work better if organized like airlines; El Centro hospital pays $2.2M in alleged Medicare fraud;

> El Centro Regional Medical Center in California has agreed to pay $2.2 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice probe that it improperly billed Medicare for higher-than-allowed payments for patient care, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hospital officials say the overbilling stemmed from confusion regarding inpatient and outpatient visits. Article

> The Center for Health Organization Transformation has secured a $290,000 grant to study whether healthcare delivery would be better off organized like airlines, wherein patients should be "overbooked" to appointments with their physicians and at hospitals. The British Medical Journal reported a 15 percent drop in hospital patient deaths when such a system was employed. Article

> A former radiology technician at Perry Hospital in Macon, Ga., has been accused of entering negative results on nearly 1,300 mammograms between last year and this April without having them reviewed by a radiologist. At least 10 of the mammograms actually tested positive. Rachael M. Rapraeger faces 10 felony and 10 misdemeanor counts connected to the case. Article

And finally ... Not exactly meaningful use of patient records. Article