News From Around the Web
> The American College of Physicians has launched online decision support tool, according to an announcement. "ACP Smart Medicine offers physicians high-quality, easy-to-access clinical information that is rigorously peer-reviewed and continually assessed for currency and accuracy,'" Steven Weinberger, M.D., ACP's executive vice president and CEO said in the announcement. "It is a versatile tool that runs the gamut from providing evidence-based guidance to facilitating CME credit, and is the only clinical decision support tool developed by a physician medical society." Announcement
> Vista Equity Partners will take Greenway Medical private in $644 million deal, according to Reuters--less than two years after the medical software provider debuted on the U.S. stock market. Reuters reports that the terms of the deal call for Greenway to combine with Vitera Healthcare Solutions LLC. Article
Mobile Healthcare News
> In an effort to ensure the information contained in medical apps available in its App Store is appropriately validated, Apple has asked a number of developers to release or update apps rejected on the basis of incomplete metadata, according to an article in iMedicalApps. Apple is requesting information from developers regarding the source of the medical information contained in their apps, according to the article. "This is an exciting development from Apple as it suggests they are concerned about the potential for misinformation contained in medical apps," the author writes. "By asking developers to verify the information contained in the app, Apple will encourage developers to cite the sources of the information contained--similar to how medical journals are written. Whether or not Apple has the ability to accurately assess the validity of the sources cited remains to be seen." Article
Health Finance News
> Although there have been mergers and acquisitions involving hundreds of hospitals in the U.S. in recent years, they reflect only a small part of the overall acute care landscape, AHA News Now reported. "There's no question that the healthcare field is undergoing a period of fundamental transformation in which the very model of healthcare delivery is being changed in order to improve quality and lower costs," said Sharis Pozen, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, during testimony on behalf of the American Hospital Association for the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Commercial and Antitrust Law. Article
> Since the state of Kansas moved its Medicaid population into managed care earlier this year, hospitals in the Sunflower State have collided with the tight-fistedness of commercial insurers, the Wichita Eagle reported. The conflict between payers and providers on the Medicaid issue could multiply, as other states have recently pushed to move their program enrollees into managed care. These states include a few who wish to do so as a condition for expanding their Medicaid programs. Article
And Finally… Sweet potatoes just happen to be my favorite food. Article