New Jersey close to passing hospital tax law; California mandates post-discharge planning;

News From Around The Web

> New Jersey is on the cusp of passing a new law that would require hospitals to make payments to support their local communities, Northjersey.com has reported. Article

> Prime Healthcare Services' $35 million acquisition of Mercy Suburban Hospital in Pennsylvania from Mercy Health System has been delayed due to some yet-to-be resolved issues regarding the transaction, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. Article

Provider News

> As the U.S. healthcare paradigm shifts away from fee-for-service and toward a population health-oriented care model, physician leaders are increasingly the drivers of change within hospitals and other organizations. To be effective, however, physician leaders must possess a full range of skills and qualities beyond being a good clinician. It's up to hospitals to seek certain traits in potential physician leaders, according to the second of a two-part series in Executive Insight. Article

> In another demonstration of the trend toward patient-centered healthcare, a new California law requires hospitals to give family caregivers a seat at the table during the care process, Kaiser Health News reports. Article

Healthcare IT News

Nearly after a year after President Barack Obama announced his Precision Medicine Initiative, healthcare would be even better served by applying the precision model to preventive care, argues a Forbes opinion piece. Precision medicine so far has shown promising practical results since its announcement, Gregory R. Weidner, M.D., of Carolinas HealthCare System, told FierceHealthcare in December. Article

And finally... An intravaginal speaker to talk to your fetus. Article