News From Around the Web
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> Nivah R. Shah, M.D., health commissioner for New York State, writes in a post to StateScoop about New York's own Blue Button initiative. "The state ... will create the technology that makes pediatric immunization records available online to parents outside of New York City, once they're authorized as 'responsible persons' by their providers," Shah writes. "Information to guide providers will be coming soon.Handing that task off to parents will reduce the number of requests that providers receive, freeing up their staff to take care of patients. It will also make it easier for parents to get the information, print it out and submit it to a school, camp or child care center." Article
Provider News
> Medicare records released last month show Medicare paid at least eight doctors with suspended or revoked medical licenses collectively more than $7 million a year, including doctors disciplined for gross malpractice, battery and violating prescription drug laws, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Article
> Confidence is up among healthcare workers, increasing 2.9 points to a level of 58.0 in the first quarter of 2014, according to the Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index. The online study was conducted among 158 healthcare professionals, including physicians, administrators and nurses. Article
Health Finance News
> The Obama administration will intensify its focus on cutting healthcare costs related to care after hospital discharge, Kaiser Health News reported. Medicare spending per capita on post-acute care services grew about 5 percent or more annually in 34 of the 50 largest hospital markets in the United States, according to an economic analysis by Kaiser Health News. Some states, such as Louisiana, spend more than 30 percent of all their Medicare dollars on such services. Altogether, the program spent about $62 billion on such services in 2012. Article
And Finally... Ah, this inspires such confidence in their product. Article