> Fewer older Americans are hospitalized for stroke, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalization rates from 1999 to 2009 dropped 24 percent for patients aged 75 to 84 and 20 percent patients older than 65, while inpatient mortality declined. Report
> Readmissions, length of stay and operating times for knee surgeries have wide variations, according to health systems in the High Value Healthcare Collaborative. "The initial findings ... provide benchmark data against which other health systems might measure themselves, demonstrate opportunities for learning and improvement within and across the healthcare delivery organizations, and identify further opportunities to improve delivery of total knee arthroplasty," the authors wrote. Announcement
> Family physicians could be the solution to fill the emergency physician shortage, according to Hospital & Health Networks Daily. Family physicians deliver a broad range of healthcare services, ideal for EDs that see many patients seeking primary care. Article
> The list of healthcare mergers in Massachusetts grows longer as Lowell General Hospital and Saints Medical Center received approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to combine, Lowell General announced Wednesday. Announcement
And Finally... No crybabies at work allowed. Article