Jessica Zigmond October 26, 2009 The federal government last week drew praise for its efforts so far to combat the H1N1 flu outbreak even as officials worried about the nation’s ability to cope with the disease. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans October 26, 2009 The nation's economic and financial market woes have depleted healthcare endowments and raised questions about how best to manage portfolio risk. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 The CMS issued new guidance on how insurance companies can correspond with Medicare beneficiaries about healthcare reform bills after a dust-up that had Republicans crying foul. The agency now says that insurers can send information to beneficiaries about pending state or federal legislation as... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, named federal research administrator Elizabeth Nabel to become its next president effective Jan. 1, 2010, following the promotion of the hospital's current top executive. Nabel, 57, currently serves as director of the National Institutes of Health's National... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Drugmaker Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, N.J., released an online disclosure of speaker fees paid to doctors and other medical professionals between July 1 and Sept. 30. The fees ranged between $25 for a single appearance to close to $23,000 for multiple appearances for individual speakers. Merck... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 The chief financial officer of HealthSouth Corp., Birmingham, Ala., is leaving the company to take the same job with Omnicare, Covington, Ky., which provides senior pharmaceutical services, the companies said. John Workman, 58, joined HealthSouth in September 2004 as executive vice president and... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Medical products company Becton Dickinson and Co., Franklin Lakes, N.J., agreed to purchase HandyLab, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based developer of molecular diagnostic technology, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to be closed during the first quarter of 2010 and is subject to customary... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 The U.S. Justice Department and HHS inspector general’s office won $1 billion in judgements and settlements in fiscal 2008, according to the annual report of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the departments... ... FULL STORY
Jessica Zigmond October 26, 2009 The federal government last week drew praise for its efforts so far to combat the H1N1 flu outbreak even as officials worried about the nation’s ability to cope with the disease. ... FULL STORY
Jennifer Lubell October 26, 2009 Lawmakers are looking to change the way Medicare pays doctors and hospitals before basing Medicare rates on an entirely new government-run program. ... FULL STORY
Matthew DoBias October 26, 2009 A comprehensive Senate bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system likely will contain the divisive measure known as a public option. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely October 26, 2009 Insurers, analysts and legal experts reacted with little more than a shoulder shrug at the news that congressional Democratic leaders would seek to repeal a law exempting health insurers from federal antitrust rules. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely October 26, 2009 Could a landmark new law aimed to prevent genetic discrimination have a chilling effect on workplace wellness programs? ... FULL STORY
Joseph Conn October 26, 2009 Commercial healthcare laboratories are seeking parity with other healthcare providers under privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. ... FULL STORY
Jean DerGurahian October 26, 2009 Health plan quality improvement has stalled, new figures show, with commercial plans faring better than their government counterparts, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance's 13th annual State of Health Care Quality 2009 report. ... FULL STORY
Shawn Rhea October 26, 2009 Recent action by the Food and Drug Administration to step up efforts to ban noncompliant medical researchers from participating in future clinical trials may not have provided enough assurance to lawmakers. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans October 26, 2009 Huge debt deals being undertaken by two Catholic health systems have underscored how far credit markets have rebounded after seizing last year. ... FULL STORY
Rebecca Vesely October 26, 2009 Uproar over an insurance industry-funded report alleging that pending healthcare legislation would drive up family premiums continued last week as some sought to discredit the findings while the industry continued to defend it. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks October 26, 2009 The number of medical students continues to rise, but without a corresponding increase in residency training slots, experts worry that there will not be enough physicians to meet demand. An aging population and the demand that could be created if health insurance reform is enacted could overwhelm... ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson October 26, 2009 Reeling from sticker shock, executives at a Tallahassee, Fla., hospital say their former CEO may have intentionally misled them about the size of his lifetime pension plan. ... FULL STORY
Gregg Blesch October 26, 2009 Medical liability claims against hospitals increased in 2009 for the first time in a decade and are expected to continue rising, according to a study conducted by insurance company Aon Corp. with the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. ... FULL STORY
Andis Robeznieks October 26, 2009 So-called “clash detection” will not help healthcare executives pick the right tie for their jacket, but it may save them time and money on their organization's next construction project. ... FULL STORY
Melanie Evans October 26, 2009 The nation's economic and financial market woes have depleted healthcare endowments and raised questions about how best to manage portfolio risk. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Health Management Associates, Naples, Fla., and Novant Health, Winston-Salem, earlier this month said that they have restructured their joint venture over seven hospitals in the Carolinas. Last year, HMA sold a 27% interest in the hospitals to Novant for $300... ... FULL STORY
Joe Carlson October 26, 2009 Less than a week after abruptly losing its CEO, not-for-profit Alegent Health in Omaha, Neb., has accepted the resignations of its executive vice president, its chief medical officer and two other executives. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 CHICAGO—The county-run healthcare system in the Chicago area is notifying 335 employees they will lose their jobs as part of a comprehensive effort to balance staffing with services. The cuts, which also include the elimination of nearly 700 vacant positions, are guided by a review... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 SPOKANE, Wash.—Community Health Systems, Franklin, Tenn., signed a nonbinding letter of intent to form an integrated healthcare delivery system in Spokane with Rockwood Clinic, a 133-physician multispecialty clinic based in Spokane, the clinic said. Terms of the deal were not... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 “Enough already with the whining, moaning, demonstrating and protesting by healthcare workers. Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, nurses’ aides and anyone else who has regular contact with patients ought to be required to get a flu shot or find another line of work. ... Getting a... ... FULL STORY
Mark Rupp October 26, 2009 Preparedness and prevention are critical issues as we face the ongoing pandemic of novel H1N1 influenza and the arrival of seasonal influenza. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 I haven't followed the details of the Florida system turnaround deal with Qorval (“Dubin out at Jackson in Miami,” Oct. 19, p. 4), but can someone explain how a 31-year-old chief operating officer from a window and door company in 2008 can become a healthcare restructuring expert... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 A list of the nation's largest healthcare founcations awarding U.S.-focused grants for health, ranked by total amount awarded in 2007. Source: The Foundation Center. Published Oct. 26, 2009. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Continuum Health Partners, New York, named Gregory Calliste chief administrative officer of St. Luke’s Hospital, New York, part of the two-campus St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Calliste, 55, joined the Continuum system in early August from the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Mystikal Solutions, San Antonio, hired a hospital CEO from LifePoint Hospitals, Brentwood, Tenn., as a vice president. Michael Anaya Sr. has been CEO of LifePoint’s Colorado Plains Medical Center, Fort Morgan, since July 2005. Anaya will lead a new healthcare operations business unit,... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Roland Goertz was chosen president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians, according to a news release. Goertz, 54, is a practicing family physician in Waco, Texas, and an associate clinical professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Goertz will... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Thomas Kennedy, former administrator at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater, Texas, died Oct. 16. Kennedy, 68, had served in the position from 1989 until he retired in May of this year. “The hospital considered it a privilege to take care of him during his illness,”... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 Emergency medical specialists triaging ambulance patients at the front end of an emergency call is one thing, but using a computer to help dispatchers do the triaging is, well, something else. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 It wasn’t long ago that Charles Wesley Mumbere was working as a nurse aide at the Golden LivingCenter-Blue Ridge Mountain in Harrisburg, Pa., caring for nursing home patients and keeping mostly to himself. ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 “These are not libertarians, they are not lefties, they are not right-wing lunatics. They are healthcare professionals, and they think the vaccination is not going to be good for them.” ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 At least two trade schools are set to capitalize on the U.S. Justice Department's new guidelines on pot prosecution. In a memo last week, Deputy Attorney General David Ogden told federal prosecutors that they should not spend time seizing cancer patients' stashes or prosecuting medicinal suppliers,... ... FULL STORY
October 26, 2009 An Oct. 19 story, "Back into the Pool," (p. 6), incorrectly stated Susquehanna Health's bond rating by Fitch Ratings. Susquehanna is rated A- by Fitch. ... FULL STORY
