States line up support for Planned Parenthood in suit
A coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking a judge to rule in support of a preliminary injunction to federal funding changes for women's health programs.
As NPR reported, the Federal Opportunity Announcement released in February calls for supporting family planning methods such as "fertility awareness" or natural family planning but does not mention contraception.
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood, as well as the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association and the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit, protesting the guidance changing the federal Title X program and saying it will hurt access to crucial health services.
The brief supporting the suit claims the funding requirements for Title X are in conflict with the underlying statute and regulations. Attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont and Washington also joined in the brief. (Release)
Survey: Enrollment at U.S. medical schools up nearly 30%
First-year enrollment at U.S. medical schools is up by 29% since 2002, according to an annual survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
But while the number of medical school students is up, 64% of deans at schools across the U.S. indicated they are concerned about the availability of residency positions in their own state and 78% are concerned about the national availability of residency slots.
Nearly all respondents (99%) said they had or were planning programs to recruit a more diverse student body, up from 84% in 2015. (Report [PDF])
Systemwide records failure reported at Sutter Health
California-based Sutter Health is facing a "systemwide" failure of its electronic systems, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The Sacramento Bee reported employees were unable to access patients’ electronic health records, emails or use the phones, and officials indicated the problem was tied to the activation of the fire suppression system in an information services building. (The Sacramento Bee article)
Chicago-area hospitals lost $165M in revenue due to employee errors
About $165 million in potential revenue has been lost at the Cook County Health and Hospitals System due to poor clerical procedures and employee errors, the Chicago Tribune reported.
That was the assessment by Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard, who pointed to issues in the system’s bureaucracy, including mistakes during patient scheduling and registration as well as billing lapses. (Chicago Tribune)