News From Around the Web
> Using social media, Gnanagurudasan Prakasam, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist based in Sacramento, California, is helping young people who have diabetes use social media to connect with others who are in the same situation, according to an article at Healthcare Informatics. Social media also helps Prakasam better care for and connect with his patients. "They don't feel alone. They feel I'm with them all the time," he says. Article
> HealthStream, which provides workforce development for the healthcare industry, is acquiring HealthLine Systems Inc. Through the $88 million deal, HealthStream plans to combine HealthLine with its SyMed business to create a new company with offices in San Diego, California and Tennessee. Announcement
Health Finance News
> Hospital boards often take on the big tasks of fundraising, finance, and hiring and firing chief executive officers, but many take a hands-off approach to quality issues. Article
> Aerospace giant Boeing wants cost savings to take flight via two large accountable care organization (ACO) efforts with Seattle's biggest providers. Boeing has entered into ACO arrangements with the Providence-Swedish Health Alliance and UW Medicine, which operate Seattle's biggest hospitals. Article
Health Insurance News
> The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plans to implement new specialty payment and delivery models designed to improve oncology care at a lower cost for Medicare beneficiaries, the agency recently announced. Article
And Finally... Even New York has raised a white flag on winter. Article