News From Around the Web
> 3-D structures have been added to the world's largest database for cancer drug data, canSAR. The database is the work of The Institute of Cancer Research in London, and with the newly added structures, researchers can view nooks and crannies on cancer-causing molecules. Announcement
> The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a code-a-thon next spring with an aim of leveraging solutions for HL7's Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) application programming interface, according to Health Data Management. The District of Columbia-based event will feature startups, research groups and federal and state organizations. Article
> Criteria for 16 accreditation programs has been adopted by the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission. The accreditation criteria are the final versions for 2016. Announcement
> A Senate committee will vote next week on Robert Califf's nomination to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Health Committee will hold an executive session for the vote on Jan. 12 at 10 a.m.
Provider News
> Critically ill patients' families are happier and the patients themselves do better when hospitals ease their restrictions on who can visit the patients and when, according to the results of a survey published in the American Journal of Critical Care. Article
Practice Management News
> Many states have a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), but not all allow clinicians to see what potentially dangerous medications patients have received across state lines. The Massachusetts state Department of Public Health recently arranged to participate in a multistate system, linking prescription monitoring programs in dozens of states. Article
> The relationship between doctors and their stethoscopes may be more romantic than practical at this point. What that means with regard to the future of the tool itself, or even for the future of medical practice, remains cloudy. Article
And Finally... Eau de Russian president. Article