News From Around the Web
> Thousands of nursing school graduates in California are in danger of losing out on job opportunities because they can't take the state's licensing exam due to the rollout of a new state computer database, KTVU.com reported. The database, known as BREEZE, is being rolled out by the California Department of Consumer Affairs. According to a department spokesperson, after discovery of a glitch, the department decided to launch the database without a page that allows licensing applicants to enter their own information. Article
> The Institute of Medicine is calling on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to develop an online registry of service members exposed to roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press. The registry would have the ability to track long-term consequences of such events. Article
Health Provider News
> Healthcare providers could significantly reduce costs if they eschew five low-value, often unnecessary emergency medicine procedures, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers, led by Jeremiah D. Schuur, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, assembled a panel of technical experts, who brainstormed low-value procedures and then ranked them according to cost, benefit and actionability. After the ranking process, the researchers polled the panel for the final ranking. Article
Health Insurance News
> To compete on premium price in a post healthcare-reform market, insurers need to reduce the amount they pay providers for services delivered to members, according to a Health Affairs blog post. Payers have been turning to controversial narrow provider networks to do this--using the most cost-efficient providers or offering provider rebates linked to the medical-loss ratio. Article
Health Finance News
> Idaho lawmakers, fearing their state is falling behind in terms of healthcare price transparency and quality reporting, are now pushing a bill that would require hospitals to post procedure prices and costs, the Idaho Statesman reported. Two bills are under debate in the statehouse, one of which would require the state to build both a website and mobile application that would permit consumer access to the prices for the 50 most common procedures at Idaho's hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. Providers would also have to provide more detailed information regarding estimated charges for patients prior to their admission for a procedure or treatment. Article
And Finally... I'm not sure any movie, let alone this one, is worth jail time. Article