Daily news & Analysis
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By: Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
Though the rise in healthcare spending has slowed, it's taking up a much bigger space in the nation's budget, says a new report.
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By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, May 5, 2009
With an estimated 2.4 million workers having lost their health coverage provided through their jobs since the start of the recession, is now the time to start talking about a public plan option? According to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont), the answer is in due time. "This is one of the 800-pound gorillas. Some say they will not support legislation without a new public insurance plan. I have told everybody that everything is on the table," Baucus said during a conference call introducing new reports from the Center for American Progress on the uninsured in the U.S.
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By: Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
A new federal report says rural Americans pay a lot more for healthcare that is tougher to find and less specialized than for citizens in urban areas. And, the report said, the situation is exacerbated by the recession.
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By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
Almost half of the medically underserved areas nationwide lacked a community health center site in 2007—down 3% since the previous year, according to Government Accountability Office (GAO). This increase in centers is related in part to more federal funding for the centers, according to a GAO official.
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By: Lisa Eramo, May 4, 2009
The long-awaited fiscal year 2010 Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule is out, and with it comes good and bad news for hospitals. Although there aren't a whole slew of changes related to Medicare Severity DRGs, hospital acquired conditions, and the present on admission indicator, hospitals will see historically low payment updates with a phased-in documentation and coding adjustment to take place over time.
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By: Heather Comak, May 4, 2009
To prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections, Swedish Medical Center in Seattle has found sharing information with staff members and simplifying techniques has made all the difference.
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By: Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is using peer pressure and the threat of humiliation in a playful game of "Tag, You're It!" in hopes of reducing hand-washing lapses among the busy emergency staff.
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By: Scott Wallask, for HealthLeaders Media, May 5, 2009
A trio of hospitals in a Florida community will be among the latest to embrace smoke-free campuses this year, but a bumpy road may be ahead of them in terms of dealing with the practical repercussions of the transition. The three hospitals involved, all in Panama City, FL, include Bay Medical Center, Gulf Coast Medical Center, and HealthSouth Emerald Coast Rehabilitation Hospital.
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By: John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
Hospital officials are not in denial about the potential problems posed by swine flu, nor are they ignoring the issue. But they expressed confidence in their hospitals' measured responses to the virus.
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By: Michelle Ponte, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
Hospitals have been making big preparations for the HAC provision, the latest installment of CMS' value-based purchasing initiative. But with the threat of lower reimbursements right around the corner, agility is the key.
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