For breaking news and analysis throughout the day, visit HealthLeadersMedia.com or add the RSS Feed of our Daily News & Analysis.
By: Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, June 2, 2010
Congress should pass proposed legislation requiring Medicare to pay for "virtual" CT colonography screening because it is just as accurate as colonoscopy, but has lower distension rates, extremely low chance of perforation, and is less expensive and faster, the American College of Radiology says. After all, if the procedure was good enough to be part of President Obama's physical in February, it should be good for people age 65 and older, the organization says.
By: Elyas Bakhtiari, for HealthLeaders Media, June 1, 2010
Medical-device company Medtronic, Inc. has begun voluntarily posting annual physician payments exceeding $5,000 on its Web site, well ahead of the 2013 deadline for mandatory disclosure of such information that was included in the new healthcare reform law.
By: John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, June 1, 2010
Tenet Healthcare Corporation today confirmed it is in "preliminary discussions" with Healthscope about acquiring the second-largest private hospital company in Australia.
By: John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, June 2, 2010
The Idaho Orthopaedic Society, an orthopedic practice group, and five orthopedists have agreed to end a collusive scheme to drive up physicians' fees that relied on a boycott of care for injured workers, the Department of Justice announced. "The orthopedists who participated in these group boycotts denied medical care to Idaho workers and caused higher prices for orthopedic services," said Christine Varney, assistant attorney general in DOJ's Antitrust Division. "(This) action seeks to prevent the recurrence of these illegal acts and protects Idaho consumers by promoting competition in the healthcare industry."
By: John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, June 2, 2010
Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, MO, has formalized a partnership with Cardiovascular Consultants, PA. The new business is called Saint Luke's Cardiovascular Consultants and has 37 cardiologists who will provide services at Saint Luke's four metropolitan hospitals and outlying regional facilities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
By: Sarah Kearns, for HealthLeaders Media, June 1, 2010
Following the implementation of an organizationwide bar code scanning process in September 2008, Springfield, MA-based Baystate Medical Center improved its medication scanning rates to 87%-90%. The medication error rate also decreased to 0.3 errors per 1,000 patient days, a 75% reduction.
By: Karen Minich-Pourshadi, for HealthLeaders Media, June 1, 2010
Healthcare reform is designed to help millions of uninsured patients get proper healthcare coverage, yet the fallout from that coverage is likely to have some less-than-desired effects for hospitals and their bottom lines.