> Hospitals are "getting aggressive" in the fight over hand washing, columnist Laura Landro writes in The Wall Street Journal. Some are launching surveillance programs to ensure compliance. Article (sub. req.)
> An outside buyer is reportedly considering making an offer for Portland Physician's Hospital, the specialty facility at the heart of the debate over the hospitals in Washington. Article
> The Boston Globe reports that the lobbying money flew wildly in Massachusetts as healthcare companies tried to influence the state's new universal coverage law. Article
> Intermountain Healthcare is changing the name of its insurance division to SelectHealth. Article
> Atlanta-based venture capital firm Accuitive Medical Ventures says it plans to raise $150 million to invest in early stage medical device companies. Article
> Doctors in London are studying the case of man who is believed to hold the world record for abusing the trance drug ecstasy. The patient, dubbed "Mr. A" is estimated to have taken 40,000 ecstasy capsules over a nine year period. Probably not a good idea. Article
> Acute care software specialist Picis is reportedly weighing going public. Blog
And Finally… Turn-of-the-century mental hospitals country are becoming the in thing on the real estate market for well-heeled buyers in search of mansions with that creepy Victorian-era feel. Sounds like a screenplay waiting to happen, doesn't it? Article