Top 12 Most-Read HealthLeaders Stories February 2011

Our hot stories in February were about HIPAA-scoffing hospital staff, a major management shakeup at HCA, Medicare fraud busts, the rise of a nurse practioner to medical staff president, and barriers to success with telemedicine systems.

1.       HIPAA Violations Remind Hospitals to Reinforce Privacy Rules
Some healthcare employees just can't help themselves lately, especially when high-profile patients occupy their hospital beds. A spate of high-profile HIPAA violations serves as a reminder that the toughest fight in the battle to keep medical records private may be the one against human curiosity.

2.       Gawande on Checklists: Why Don’t Hospitals Use Them?
When he's not in the operating room removing endocrine tumors, surgeon and author Atul Gawande flies around the country speaking to hospital leaders about how hard it is to get providers to adopt checklists, even with abundant evidence that they improve care and reduce complications.

3.       5 Ways to Reduce Nursing Turnover in Year One

Turnover among first-year nurses remains a huge cost driver and source of frustration for hospital managers. Here are five best practices for engaging and retaining this vital segment of a hospital's workforce.

4.      HCA Announces Management Shakeup, Subsidiary
The nation's largest for-profit hospital chain announces an immediate "internal reorganization" and creation of a new business unit that will provide services to other healthcare companies. The major changes include a new structuring of provider operations and integration of clinical quality performance with physician practice services.

5.       Breakthroughs - The Bridge to ACOs

With gaps in guidance on what exactly an accountable care organization should be, healthcare organizations have forged ahead with a myriad of strategies around clinical integration to create the foundations for accountable care. In this HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs report, leading hospital systems— Monarch HealthCare, Sisters of St. Francis Hospital and Health Systems, The Nebraska Medical Center, and Palmetto Health—share insights and lessons learned

6.       A Hospital Prevents Readmissions, but Threatens Revenue

An asthma prevention program at Children's Hospital Boston has drastically reduced emergency room visits and hospitalizations. But the program underscores the tension between a hospital's quest for quality and its bottom line.

7.       Medicare Fraud Strike Force Nabs111 in 9 Cities

Federal investigators say in total, those charged were responsible for at least $225 million in false billings. At least eight physicians, eight nurses, and several healthcare company executives were among those charged in the largest one-day sweep of its kind.

8.      Nurse Practitioner Elected Medical Staff President
A high-achieving nurse practitioner who was elected to the influential position of medical staff president with more than 50% of the all-physicianvote explains his unusual rise through the ranks.

9.    Risk of Medical Errors by ED Doctors Linked to Interruptions

Interruptions that cause emergency department doctors to change tasks and leave tasks unfinished detract from direct patient care and contribute to the potential for medical error, researchers say.

10.   Twenty Charged in $200M Medicare Scam
Three Florida physicians were among the 20 people with healthcare fraud, kickback, and money laundering charges for alleged roles in a $200 million Medicare fraud scheme, federal officials say.

11.   Nurse Anesthetists’ Scope of Practice Challenged Again in CA
Physicians in California are appealing the latest court decision that upheld the right for nurse anesthetists to administer anesthesia without physician supervision, an issue that has pitted nurses and doctors against each other in a nationwide turf battle.

12.    Does E-Health Stand a Remote Chance?
As technology advances and costs fall, the use of telemedicine expands, but obstacles to achieving e-health success remain.