News From Around the Web
> Healthcare workers considered partial public employees do not have to pay agency fees for union representation, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday in Harris v. Quinn. Decision (.pdf)
> Provider directories given to low-income patients across California include many doctors who are not accepting new Medi-Cal patients, have moved out of the area, retired or no longer practice medicine, making it difficult for these patients to access care, according to The California Health Report. Article
> UnitedHealthcare has made strong inroads into the consulting business, owning a consultancy that advises hospitals on determining whether a stay qualifies as inpatient, The New York Times reported. Article
Health IT News
> Few hospitals can say how much it costs them to care for each patient admitted, but the University of Utah is working to change that, according to an article from Kaiser Health News. Professionals from information technology, the data warehouse and the medical group created a tool to pull data from a variety of departments. Article
> The ability to protect patient data while simultaneously ensuring that clinicians can use that data to provide adequate care requires a tremendous ability to balance priorities, according to Gaylon Stockman, chief information security officer at Providence, Rhode Island-based Lifespan. Article
And Finally... The old "the dog ate my diamond ring" excuse. Article