News from Around the Web
> A lawsuit by House Republicans against the Obama administration regarding the reimbursement of co-payments for low-income health insurance enrollees is gaining some momentum, the Los Angeles Times has reported. Article
> The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services has released billing software to help hospitals accurately calculate bills as ICD-10 rolls out, according to AHA News Now. Article
Provider News
> Complaints that hospital noise from monitors and paging systems interrupts patients' sleep and can influence their blood pressure and heart rates has led one Michigan system to borrow a method used in music rooms to make the hospital quieter and improve patient care. The University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor says it is experimenting with sound acoustic panels to help diffuse sound in patient hallways. Findings from its pilot study, published in BMJ Quality and Safety, indicate that the sound-absorbing panels led to a three to four sound decibel drop, similar with a fall in noise generated by a car slowing down from 80 mph to 60 mph. Article
> An appellate court's decision to uphold a pair of class-action lawsuit dismissals related a 2013 hospital data breach could prove relevant to similar current lawsuits, according to a HealthcareInfoSecurity article. The lawsuits, brought by individuals impacted by a 2013 incident in which four unencrypted laptop computers were stolen from Park Ridge, Illinois-based Advocate Medical Group, alleged that parent company Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp. was in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Article
> Patients with chronic cardiovascular and pulmonary disease are at a greater risk for unplanned and expensive hospital readmissions, new research shows. Article
And finally... Good Samaritan pays hospital parking ticket. Article