Minnesota wants dental providers to implement EHRs; Med devices linked to pressure ulcers in children;

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> All providers in Minnesota--including dentists, oral surgeons and orthodontists--will need to comply with federal requirements calling for the adoption of electronic health records by 2015, DrBicuspid.com reported. The Gopher State is the only state so far to require dental professionals to implement EHRs. Article

> Medical devices are causing an unexpectedly high number of pressure ulcers in children, according to researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. An unscientific survey taken at the hospital before the study revealed a rate of pressure ulcers in children of at least 10 percent, more than twice as high as was thought to occur in pediatrics. Announcement

Provider News

> President Obama defended and praised the Affordable Care Act, asserting that the cost of healthcare is rising at its slowest rate in 50 years, in a speech given at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., on Wednesday. Speaking on the economy, Obama said "healthcare costs are slowing down" because of the reform law, even though not everyone has seen the savings yet. But his administration is "well on [its] way to fully implementing the law." Article

> Hospitals can cut costs and improve patient care by setting up care delivery models that target Medicaid patients who have complex, unaddressed health issues and a history of frequent encounters with healthcare providers, according to The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS). These Medicaid "super-utilizers"--patients who accumulate large numbers of ED visits and hospital admissions that might have been prevented by inexpensive early intervention and primary care--are a relatively small group, yet they account for the majority of Medicare spending, CMCS said in an informational bulletin issued this week. Article

Health Finance News

> Congressional lawmakers have proposed changes to how certain services provided by doctors are valued, reported the Washington Post. The changes are in two bills--one that would eliminate the long-disdained Sustainable Growth Rate formula, and another that would create a federal oversight committee for the American Medical Association. Article

And Finally... A new level of stupidity for robbers. Article