News From Around the Web
> Researchers at the University of Manchester's Institute of Biotechnology are using of off-the-shelf computer gaming technology to capture previously unobservable atomic movements. The research is helping to chart one of nature's "most complex entities" known as "glycomes"--the entire complement of carbohydrates within a cell. Announcement
> At the American Health Information Management conference in Atlanta, the new Commonwell Health Alliance of health IT companies named its three biggest HIE hurdles, GovernmentHealthIT reports: patient matching, data access and cost issues. Article
> Internet search data could help FDA find harmful drug interactions, according to an article in CNBC. The article reports that researchers at Microsoft Research Labs, in conjunction with Stanford University, have found that Web searches can help the FDA and pharmaceutical companies discover previously unknown dangerous drug interactions--and the FDA is gladly welcoming the help. Article
Provider News
> The number of "top performer" Joint Commission-accredited hospitals increased 77 percent from last year to 1,099 organizations, according to the accreditor. The Joint Commission announced in its annual quality and safety report that 424 hospitals claimed the honor two years in a row, while 182 achieved it for three consecutive years. Article
Health Finance News
> The Internal Revenue Service will likely have little recourse to obtain tax penalties from those Americans who violate the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate by not getting health insurance next year, USA Today reported. Article
> Hospitals operating in states that do not expand their Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act will face more financial hardships than facilities in states that embrace the program's expansion, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. Article
And Finally... I hear the people who live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. give out the best candy. Article