Joseph Conn June 22, 2009 A federal advisory panel sought to strike a balance between too much of a stretch and too little when it released a first draft of its so-called “meaningful use” recommendations last week. ... FULL STORY
Neil McLaughlin June 22, 2009 Last week’s massive protests in Iran brought to mind a pronouncement from the eminent healthcare economist Victor Fuchs: The U.S. will see major healthcare reform only in the wake of a war, a large-scale recession or large-scale civil unrest. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks June 22, 2009 The most tangible outcomes of a volatile three-year medical-political struggle in Massachusetts appear to be that you can now get your rash examined in a CVS pharmacy, but you can’t buy cigarettes while you’re there—at least not at a Boston CVS. ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 The longtime president and CEO of Park Nicollet Health Services, David Wessner, announced his retirement at the end of the year. Wessner, 57, has served 11 years as leader of the St. Louis Park, Minn., system, which owns 426-bed Methodist Hospital, St. Louis Park, and contract manages 135-bed... ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Half of healthcare workers infected with H1N1 influenza A, commonly known as swine flu, acquired the virus in a healthcare setting and did not use all recommended forms of personal protective equipment on a consistent basis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The Atlanta-based... ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Health Net agreed to stop using an Ingenix database to set out-of-network physician reimbursement rates, and it will contribute $1.6 million toward a new independent database, becoming the final health insurer to agree to such a settlement with the New York attorney general. Twelve health insurers... ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 The Federal Trade Commission gave two East Coast hospital deals antitrust clearance, including one involving a hospital that had a previous deal falter on antitrust concerns. The two deals are: Prince William Health System, Manassas, Va., becoming part of Novant Health, Winston-Salem, N.C., in... ... FULL STORY
Joseph Conn June 22, 2009 A federal advisory panel sought to strike a balance between too much of a stretch and too little when it released a first draft of its so-called “meaningful use” recommendations last week. ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea June 22, 2009 In 2007, Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Heath System partnered with one of its payers, sister company Geisinger Health Plan, to launch a quality improvement initiative called Personal Health Navigator. The program, which assigns patients medical homes with the sickest 20% also receiving nurse case... ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond June 22, 2009 A major problem stemming from the recent shutdown of a Canadian nuclear reactor is more about economics than physics, as nuclear and medical experts asked Congress for funding to solve the current supply-and-demand dilemma surrounding medical radioisotopes. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely June 22, 2009 With healthcare reform on the fast track, the question of whether employers should be required to provide coverage to their workers or pay the government to do so is taking center stage, with top Democrats supporting this idea while powerful business lobbies saying it would hurt the economy. ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson June 22, 2009 As Congress considers different reform proposals, one sizable group of the uninsured appears destined to remain outside the reform conversation no matter what plan becomes law. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans June 22, 2009 Chief financial officers and other financial executives attending the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s 2009 Annual National Institute in Seattle last week were given advice about how to deal with an operating environment that is more difficult than it used to be and likely to get worse. ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson June 22, 2009 The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is scheduled to release a comprehensive set of principles this week intended to guide hospital executives in negotiating contracts with labor unions that... ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond June 22, 2009 Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center said John Ferguson will retire as president and CEO on July 1. ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond June 22, 2009 Physician groups emphasized payment reform as a key component in changing the nation’s healthcare system after House leaders last week drafted legislation that would permanently alter the formula that calculates physician Medicare reimbursement. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks June 22, 2009 President Barack Obama’s visit to last week’s meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates in Chicago made a big splash, but whether the speech and follow-up from the physician group will have any significance on healthcare reform remains to be seen. ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias June 22, 2009 Money took center stage in the national healthcare reform debate as battle lines continued to form over how much reform would cost and who would pay for it. ... FULL STORY
Gregg Blesch June 22, 2009 Innovation is appreciated in healthcare, but executives have been reminded again to dedicate their creativity to the money they can earn providing care to patients—patients who need it. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks June 22, 2009 The most tangible outcomes of a volatile three-year medical-political struggle in Massachusetts appear to be that you can now get your rash examined in a CVS pharmacy, but you can’t buy cigarettes while you’re there—at least not at a Boston CVS. ... FULL STORY
Neil McLaughlin June 22, 2009 Last week’s massive protests in Iran brought to mind a pronouncement from the eminent healthcare economist Victor Fuchs: The U.S. will see major healthcare reform only in the wake of a war, a large-scale recession or large-scale civil unrest. ... FULL STORY
Kristiana Raube June 22, 2009 Ever since the Institute of Medicine published its seminal report on the poor state of healthcare quality in the U.S., providers, payers and policymakers have searched for the holy grail—something that would stimulate improvements in quality and cost efficiency. ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Jacob Hacker’s recent comments in the New England Journal of Medicine on what is now called the “public option” plan are exactly right. ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Arthur Gonzalez has been named the new CEO of Hennepin Healthcare System, Minneapolis, after his tumultuous departure from Tri-City Healthcare District in Oceanside, Calif. ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Carl Byers, who joined Athenahealth, Watertown, Mass., when it was founded in 1997, will be stepping down as CFO and senior vice president of the provider of Web-based practice management and electronic health-record software and services, the company said in a news release. Byers, 37, will... ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Stanley Hupfeld, president and CEO of Oklahoma City-based Integris Health, will no longer serve in that role when he becomes chairman of Integris Family of Foundations on Jan. 1, 2010, the health system said in a news release. Bruce Lawrence, executive vice president and COO at... ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 We know already that it’s good for the soul, but now Houston Northwest Medical Center hopes that chicken noodle soup will be good for discharged patients. ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 For those Outliers readers looking for a Brangelina update: The famous couple, along with Pitt’s parents and siblings, recently donated $1 million for a new pediatric center in southwest Missouri. ... FULL STORY
June 22, 2009 Perhaps you recently spied a purple bus chugging down the highway and feared a Barney the dinosaur concert replete with thousands of screaming toddlers was headed to a venue near you. But Outliers can assure you that’s not the case. ... FULL STORY
