> The American College of Physicians updated its Ethics Manual to reflect recent healthcare trends, including IT trends surrounding patient privacy and social media. The update appears this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Update (.pdf)
> The University of Mississippi Medical Center laid off 115 employees earlier this week, a move that will save the facility $12 million annually. A big reason for the move: The hospital owes $80 million over the next five years for its electronic health record system, reports the Hattiesburg American. Article
> Practice Fusion announced upgrades to its e-prescribing software this week that include improved search functionality for medications and frequently prescribed drugs, pre-populated historical data for patient prescriptions, and a simplified drug and allergy interaction alert screen. Announcement
> Insurance exchange vendor Extend Health, Inc., which allows users to compare and buy Medicare and commercial insurance online, plans to go public with a stock offering worth $75 million, Health Data Management reports. Brief
And Finally... "The King" gets a new chew toy. Article