Melanie Evans March 16, 2009 The White House opened the nation’s $29 billion medical research budget to embryonic stem-cell research last week and dealt a blow to Roman Catholic hospitals, which have rejected such science because it is banned by the church. ... FULL STORY
Dave May, assistant managing editor/features March 16, 2009 During your next visit to the doctor’s office, proceed with caution if you’re handed a clipboard loaded with forms to complete. One of those documents could make you gag, which is exactly what the docs hope will happen. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks March 16, 2009 While the effects of the recession are certainly being felt in the healthcare construction industry, architects, builders and engineers still had plenty on their plates in 2008 and will probably keep busy this year as well. But firms responding to the survey also noted some projects were stalled or... ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 The March 13 announcement that Charlotte, N.C.-based group purchasing organization Premier selected Susan DeVore, 50, to succeed retiring President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Norling was well-received by the GPO’s membership and board. ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 The Massachusetts Public Health Council passed long-debated regulations prohibiting nearly all forms of drug company and medical-device-maker gifting to healthcare providers. The new rules also will mandate disclosure of certain types of payments that medical product companies make to providers and... ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 Coding errors and other fraudulent and abusive practices are contributing to improper Medicare payments in home health, the Government Accountability Office reported. Upcoding—the practice of overstating the severity of a beneficiary’s condition—by home health agencies was one of the major... ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 A new HHS office promises quick, organized and transparent distribution of an estimated $137 billion in federal healthcare stimulus spending on tap to flow from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law Feb. 17. As of March 11, the department had disbursed more than $3... ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans March 16, 2009 The White House opened the nation’s $29 billion medical research budget to embryonic stem-cell research last week and dealt a blow to Roman Catholic hospitals, which have rejected such science because it is banned by the church. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely March 16, 2009 Efforts to improve access to healthcare certainly aren’t new, but there’s been a lot of renewed talk in recent months about how to get more people—both the uninsured and the insured—connected to the care they need, and do it in a way that improves quality and lowers costs. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks March 16, 2009 While the effects of the recession are certainly being felt in the healthcare construction industry, architects, builders and engineers still had plenty on their plates in 2008 and will probably keep busy this year as well. But firms responding to the survey also noted some projects were stalled or... ... FULL STORY
Dave May, assistant managing editor/features March 16, 2009 During your next visit to the doctor’s office, proceed with caution if you’re handed a clipboard loaded with forms to complete. One of those documents could make you gag, which is exactly what the docs hope will happen. ... FULL STORY
Richard Pettingill March 16, 2009 Outside my office in the Midtown Exchange in Minneapolis is a healthcare paradox: On one hand, the outstanding clinicians at one of the country’s most prominent medical centers, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, perform life-saving miracles every day. At the same time, when you walk two blocks in any... ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 Your recent editorial “No alms for ACEP” (March 2, p. 23) is inaccurate and lacks a basic understanding of the mission of the nation’s emergency physicians—to advance and improve emergency care in America. ... FULL STORY
Sang-ick Chang March 16, 2009 Not all great medical innovations involve years of research or millions of dollars. Some, such as the one developed at San Mateo (Calif.) Medical Center, are as simple and inexpensive as a sturdy vinyl lunch bag. This item may hardly seem to qualify as an innovation, especially compared with the... ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 A list of the nation's healthcare spending by industry sector analyzed in aggregate. Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Published March 16, 2009. This list includes the following data points:Industry sector name2007 expenditure ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 As Oprah Winfrey goes, so goes America. Which is why patient-safety advocates were thrilled to see the influential media celebrity feature medical errors on a recent “Oprah” show. ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 If you want to know who’s all a-Twitter about healthcare, go to twitter.com/hospitalgroup. That’s where the Web director at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore is corralling official hospital Twitter feeds to follow. As of late last week, he’d gathered 101. ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 With “ER” in its final season, “Grey’s Anatomy” losing its luster and “House” having us wonder how a team of seven people can possibly run a whole hospital, it’s time for a new medical drama on the small screen. ... FULL STORY
March 16, 2009 “It’s a Trojan horse for national health insurance where you basically rig the competition against private health insurance and you set up the economic incentives to encourage employers to dump people into the public plan.” ... FULL STORY
