News From Around the Web
> Hospitals focus more on improving service and throughput in their emergency departments in an attempt to retain more patients and revenue, The Advocate reported. Article
> When healthcare costs come up in conversations between clinician and patient, cost-reduction strategies were often employed--however, such discussions are relative rare, according to Forbes. Article
> Lawmakers in Missouri are close to approving a bill that would only consider actual medical costs and not the value of healthcare received in civil lawsuits, the Associated Press reported. Article
Provider News
> The physician who coined the term "post-hospital syndrome" told U.S. News & World Report Health that the effort to fight the phenomenon must begin during the patient's original stay. Hospitals and healthcare institutions must take a proactive approach to fighting PHS, a window of vulnerability in the first 30 days after a hospital stay, Harlan Krumholz, M.D., said in an interview with the publication. Article
Healthcare IT News
> IBM aims to improve the capabilities of its Watson Health system by acquiring Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Truven Health Analytics, it announced Thursday. IBM will pay $2.6 billion for Truven, a health data analytics company that counts federal and state government agencies, hospitals and health plans among its 8,500 clients. Truven's "technology, methodologies and health claims data will be integrated into the Watson Health Cloud over time," the announcement notes. Article
And Finally... 18-year-old opens medical clinic, holds opening day party, fraudulently practices medicine. Article