SD hospital slashes ALOS for orthopedic patients; Hospital-owned carriers charge higher premiums;

News From Around The Web

> Sanford Medical Center in South Dakota has used a variety of methods to sharply reduce its length of stays for orthopedic surgery patients, the State reported. Article

> When hospital systems buy health insurers or start their own insurance line, premiums tend to be higher. And while consumers consider the plans offered to be higher quality than other carriers, the New York Times reports that most of the premium bump was not attributed to quality. Article

> Lawmakers in New Hampshire are scrambling for a last-minute fix for the state's hospital tax, which generates $185 million in annual revenue and is in danger of lapsing, the Associated Press reported. Article

Provider News

> Inpatient volumes are down in three major metropolitan areas: Boston, Indianapolis and Newark, New Jersey, according to a new report from Kaufman Hall. To compile the report, Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Barnabas Health in Newark and Community Health Network in central Indiana analyzed inpatient use from 2010 to 2012 in their respective regions. Article

Healthcare IT News

> Other industries have been far more successful than healthcare in mashing together big datasets to learn more about their customers. The prospect raises myriad possibilities, according to a Viewpoint article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Article

And finally...Woman in coma gives birth. Article