> Anderson, Ind., is the metro area with the highest healthcare spending for the commercially insured at $7,231 per person, according to A Thomson Reuters study released today. Interestingly, the study found that the cities with high inpatient costs were likely to also have high outpatient costs, showing little evidence that high outpatient costs offset inpatient services. Press release
> States will soon have more resources to care for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental illnesses. Under a new demonstration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide federal matching funds to states for Medicaid inpatient emergency psychiatric care, the agency announced yesterday. The increased resources could help alleviate healthcare violence, as mental illness has been linked to increased hospital violent activity.
> As hospitals prepare for reimbursement cuts, Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas, has decided to cut about 200 positions, according to KCENTV. Medicaid payment cuts are also forcing Provident Health to plan layoffs at several of its healthcare facilities, notes the Olympian. Similarly, Massachusetts-based Baystate Health will be cutting of 354 positions on Aug. 19. A healthcare workers union is urging the health system to put off the layoffs, reports the Boston Herald.
> Birmingham Children's Hospital officials in the U.K. are disputing social media rumors that there are riots in the hospital, reports Birmingham Mail. Demonstrating the speed of social media to spread information--whether factual or not--rumors tweeted on Monday night escalated within an hour, even leading to a Facebook group with 4,000 members called "Rioters Attacking Birmingham Children's Hospital Make Me Sick." Article
> Baltimore Washington has a $14,000 fine for a giving a patient an improper dose of radiation, reports The Capital. Article
And Finally... Narcissism pushes people to the top of the ladder. Article