By the Associated press November 04, 2009 State lawmakers are criticizing a plan from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to ask outpatients for their permission to contact them about making donations to medical research. ... FULL STORY
November 02, 2009 “I explained to people 65 or older, ‘The reason we are doing this is for children. I told them: ‘They are at very high risk for this flu, and you’re at low risk. I am sure you wouldn’t want to get a shot that left a kid who is at risk in harm’s way.’ ” ... FULL STORY
November 02, 2009 Six Harvard Medical School researchers got more than a morning jolt of caffeine from their coffee recently. According to reports from administrators, the group experienced dizziness and in some cases fainting after drinking coffee from a brew machine located inside a research building lounge. All six had to be taken to Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center emergency room for treatment. ... FULL STORY
November 02, 2009 Historic video and audio interviews, photos and scholarly presentations were all compiled to commemorate the special moment. ... FULL STORY
November 02, 2009 William McGuire's reputation in healthcare was permanently tarnished when a stock backdating scandal forced his ouster as chairman and CEO of UnitedHealth Group in 2006. But he remains a hero in the field of lepidopterology—the study of butterflies and moths. ... FULL STORY
By the Associated Press October 29, 2009 Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness. ... FULL STORY
By the Associated Press October 28, 2009 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina acknowledges its timing on two recent mailings was unfortunate. ... 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 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 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 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, but instead focus on major drug suppliers and traffickers. ... FULL STORY
By the Associated Press October 21, 2009 Ever wondered how that "Smart Choices" sticker wound up on the front of Froot Loops or Cocoa Puffs? Well, federal health officials are having similar thoughts, and they're warning food manufacturers. ... FULL STORY
October 19, 2009 “We just finished the first quarter. There are three quarters to play. The bench is worn out. The quarterback keeps getting sacked. And the crowd has about had it, too.” ... FULL STORY
October 19, 2009 While the twisting legal saga of Richard Scrushy has had a yard sale air lately, the case took another turn last week when the imprisoned former CEO of HealthSouth Corp. claimed he just didn’t know where many of his assets are located. Scrushy, who is serving a sentence in federal prison in Texas for a bribery case, has already seen his fleet of automobiles auctioned off. More sales are on the way, with plans to auction a lakefront estate, some boats and other property. ... FULL STORY
October 19, 2009 Nurses worn down by the demands of the job may have a stylish new champion. The Urban Zen Foundation, founded by the fashion designer Donna Karan, has added a two-day nursing workshop to its roster of wellness events. ... FULL STORY
October 19, 2009 Although he's only been in office a few days, Forrest “Dean” Danner Jr., the new board chairman of the Medical Group Management Association and the vice president and chief operating officer of Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Clinics, has already had an immediate impact on at least one aspect of day-to-day life at the MGMA: How to pronounce his home state. ... FULL STORY
October 12, 2009 Hospitals and universities tend to offer the same prize to their big donors: name recognition. So it's no surprise that the College of William & Mary slapped the name of alumnus, donor and hospital executive Alan Miller on the new home of its Mason School of Business. Miller is the founder of Universal Health Services, King of Prussia, Pa., and remains its chairman and CEO. ... FULL STORY
October 12, 2009 “We will fight pretty doggedly attempts to tax benefits because we've paid for those benefits over the years—we've forgone wage increases, pension increases, days off and everything else to get those medical benefits.” ... FULL STORY
October 12, 2009 As curator of the Art of Dr. Seuss, Bill Dreyer wants to see the late Theodore Geisel's characters come to life, and there's probably no better place for that to happen than at a children's hospital. ... FULL STORY
October 12, 2009 They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, but it appears that even feared superbugs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii can be easily defeated by a little handwashing. ... FULL STORY
By the Associated Press October 09, 2009 A law inspired by a New Hampshire woman's determination to stay in school while fighting cancer is now in effect across the country. ... FULL STORY
By the Associated Press October 07, 2009 Running a marathon, grab a carbohydrate bar. Lifting weights, gulp a protein shake. But climbing into a fighter jet? Butter-soaked lobster might help. ... FULL STORY
October 05, 2009 “There are a number of companies that endeavored, in good faith, to follow the rules and went to their lawyers and consultants to make sure their programs complied, and when the (state) went in to audit, they found them not in compliance. … The staffing industry is struggling with this, and so are restaurants and retailers, where they have a lot of part-timers.” ... FULL STORY
October 05, 2009 Even as hopes appear to be fading for a bipartisan healthcare reform bill, an even greater divide than the one between Democrats and Republicans may have already been narrowed. Outliers is talking about the fierce rivalry between New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox fans. ... FULL STORY
October 05, 2009 Stephen Pagliuca resigned from the board of Nashville-based HCA last month in order to run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Putting aside other private equity investors like Pagliuca, who hails from Bain Capital (which counts former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney among its founders), deciding to jump into politics, several other directors at investor-owned hospital companies have the background, at least, to make similar announcements. ... FULL STORY
