News From Around the Web
> A nurse working as an employee of the Sheriff's Department in Jefferson County, N.Y. allegedly accessed confidential electronic records of patients at Samaritan Medical Center, the Watertown Daily Times reports. The nurse had been authorized to look at the medical records of inmates under her care at the county jail, but a weekly audit of the system found that she also looked at other patient records. Article
> The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has posted technical descriptions and guidance for Blue Button+, a more automated version of the Blue Button, Government Health IT reports. Blue Button+ enables patients to view, download and transmit information from their electronic health records by incorporating those functions into a provider's certified electronic health record, according to Lygeia Ricciardi, acting director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's Office of Consumer Health. Article
Health Provider News
> Even with new duty hour regulations that aim to curb fatigue, surgical interns are still struggling with burnout, stress and lack of sleep, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found in a study published in JAMA Surgery. Article
> Despite legal concerns, nonprofit hospitals in New York can pay physicians for reducing the cost of care now that the U.S. Department of Justice has approved a gainsharing program, AHA News Now reported. Under the Greater New York Hospital Association's plan, roughly 100 member hospitals can pay a share of their savings to physicians whose costs drop or remain low. Article
Health Insurance News
> When Medicare Advantage insurers have a higher star quality rating, they see greater enrollment numbers, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors studied almost 1.3 million Medicare beneficiaries and found that when insurers improved their rating by one star, they also boosted their enrollment by 9.5 percent. Article
And Finally… Good luck finding this guy at your local pet shop. Article