The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has turned to a Web-based technology to help obtain sample medications for patients.
The UPMC eSample Center will allow physicians to order medication through a "virtual sample closet" developed by MedManage Systems Inc. UPMC has begun sending letters describing the new program to its physician offices, outpatient sites, hospital-based clinics and pharmacies. Other letters are being sent to drug manufacturers inviting them to participate.
Butler County, PA, commissioners have endorsed a bond issue of up to $175 million by the Butler County Hospital Authority to fund expansion of Butler Memorial Hospital. Attorney Thomas W. King III told commissioners that up to $150 million would go toward new equipment and a new tower containing more than 65 single-bed patient rooms. Another $25 million will be used to refinance existing debt.
West Penn Allegheny Health System and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield have announced the signing of a new five-year contract, providing coverage by the region's largest insurer in all six of West Penn Allegheny's hospitals. The agreement comes a year after West Penn Allegheny's chief executive officer accused Highmark of paying hospitals controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center substantially more for the same services.
July 1 marks the one-year anniversary of the deadline for most Massachusetts residents to carry health coverage, and those who don't face tax penalties. Since the program began, the percentage of uninsured adults has dropped by nearly half, from 13% to 7%, according to studies cited by the state. Yet the Massachusetts experiment, enacted in 2006, still faces a huge challenge: costs.
The Cleveland Clinic will join with nationally known weight control program Weight Watchers to help its employees shape up and slim down. The clinic plans to announce that it will offer Weight Watchers programs at no cost to any employee enrolled in an in-house health plan that covers more than 27,000 of its 37,000 employees. Employees will have access to weight management programs, fitness centers and smoking cessation programs at no cost.
The third report since 2004 on how California hospitals treat pneumonia found that patients at the worst- performing hospitals were twice as likely to die as those at the best-ranked hospitals. Los Angeles County is in decent shape, with 20 of 92 hospitals surveyed that rated "better than expected" and four that rated "worse than expected." The report looked at 30-day mortality rates for community- acquired pneumonia between January 2003 and November 2005.