> Medicare could been paying twice for prescription drugs made to hospice organizations, once under the Medicare Part A hospice per-diem payments and again under Medicare Part D, the Office of Inspector General said an audit report released last Thursday. Report (.pdf)
> NextCare, an Arizona-based urgent care facility, settled for $10 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday. The allegations included unnecessary testing and inflated billing. Statement
> Part of the growing trend of payer-driven accountable care organizations, John Muir Health and Blue Shield of California this week launched their full-risk ACO, which relies on data measurement and strong clinical leadership, reported AIS Health's ACO Business News. The project will run for an initial three-year period. Article
> The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has begun testing a new system for residency programs, according to AHA News Now. Under the process, which will launch in late September, medical residents and fellows must show competency in the core areas of patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, professionalism and interpersonal skills and communication. News brief
> Healthcare organizations may benefit from considering applicants' interests, such as hobbies and activities, prior to making hiring decisions, according to research published in the July 2012 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science from the Association for Psychological Science. That's because researchers found employee interests to be a better predictor of job performance. Research announcement
And Finally… Twitter helps find lost dog's owner. Article