News From Around the Web
> The UC San Diego Health System is teaming with Qualcomm Life to pilot the company's 2net Platform and Hub for remote patient monitoring, the hospital announced this week. The platform, unveiled in December 2011, accepts data transmitted from wireless medical devices and sends it to cloud-based databank--in this case, one that will be used by UC San Diego Health System physicians--to supplement existing data and improve of patient care. Announcement
Health Finance News
> Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker is calling for an end to what he calls a "bed tax gimmick" that many states use to draw down additional funds for their Medicaid program. Forty-seven states use a hospital bed tax or a similar financing plan to obtain additional Medicaid funds. Article
Health Provider News
> Physician practice expenses rose modestly during the past year, according to the Medical Group Management Association's Cost Survey for Multispecialty Practices: 2012 Report Based on 2011 Data. In particular, physician-owned multispecialty practices reported $528,182 in total operating costs per full-time equivalent (FTE) physician, an increase of 1.27 percent since 2010. Hospital/IDS-owned multispecialty medical practices reported $387,586 in total operating costs per FTE physician, an increase of 6.45 percent from last year. Article
> After a year as an accountable care organization, Hennepin County Medical Center says its pharmacy medication management program has helped cut admissions by 42 percent, emergency room visits by 37 percent and an average cost of care by $2,500 per patient. With a grant from the Minnesota human services department, the 454-bed hospital in Minneapolis offers medication therapy management services for about 8,000 patients, with savings totaling $24 million. Article
And Finally… What good is a gingerbread house if you can't eat it? Article