News From Around the Web
> A grant was awarded for a rural health information technology workforce program in Plainview, Texas, according to an announcement from Texas Tech University-Health Sciences center. The announcement states that the Area Health Education Center of the Plains in Plainview, Texas, has been awarded a $900,000 Rural Health Information Technology grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration for current rural health employees. The grant will provide tuition assistance for 120 students over three years. Announcement
> According to the Kansas City Business Journal, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) gave the Grace Award, which recognizes healthcare providers for using innovative IT solutions to help delivery care, to Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City Tuesday. "We see firsthand every day the importance of having quality health information to drive our choices, whether they are decisions about how to treat a patient or how to better serve our community," John W. Bluford, President and CEO of TMC, said in a statement. "Our HIM department plays a critical role in our organization, and we are very honored by this recognition from AHIMA." Article
Provider News
> Five years after Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers implemented a national initiative to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA cases are on the decline, according to a soon-to-be released study in the November issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. The VA established the MRSA Prevention Initiative in 2007 to prevent the spread of the bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics and often causes life-threatening bloodstream infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections in hospitals. Article
Health Payer News
> Thanks to healthcare reforms, 2014 Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles will see zero growth, while the provision to close the prescription drug donut saved more than $8 billion, the Centers Medicare & Medicaid Services announced this week. Article
And Finally... The grinch who stole Halloween. Article