News From Around the Web
> A physician's email account at UC David Health System was recently compromised by an unknown source, the hospital announced. The announcement states that the email contained personal or medical information for 1,326 patients, all of whom have been notified of the breach. The health system's email program is encrypted. Announcement
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital are forming a strategic partnership to address "major challenges in clinical medicine," MIT announced. The hospitals have committee to provide up to $3 million total over two years to fund research projects tackling such challenges. Several technology efforts were among the first grant recipients announced, including a pair of researchers who use "machine learning" to analyze changes to a patient's lab test results to facilitate prediction of clinical problems. Announcement
Provider News
> State-level malpractice reforms for emergency physicians produced no discernible reduction in the intensity of care, according to a RAND Corp. study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Article
> If the average patient's ability to understand medical information is poor, the U.S. public's comprehension of the current healthcare/insurance system is in dire need of improvement. For example, about half of health consumers with private insurance admit to not fully knowing what their benefits cover, according to a recent survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Article
Health Insurance News
> When insurers implement bundled payment projects, they're transforming care by focusing on quality and lowering costs, making it a strong gateway to propel payment reform, according to a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Institute. In fact, the "most attractive element" of a bundled payment pilot is often the opportunity to prepare for "future demands of healthcare transformation," the report's authors wrote. Article
And Finally... Nowhere to run; nowhere to hide. Article