Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have joined with healthcare providers and insurers to lay out ground rules for protecting the privacy of online medical records. The guidelines are designed to reassure patients that they can enjoy the convenience of keeping their medical histories online without worrying that will open a door for outsiders to peruse the data without their knowledge. The "Connecting For Health" guidelines aim to give electronic PHRs at least the same level of protection already governing paper medical records, and also call for patients to be notified in a "timely way" if their medical information is released.
A group of leaders is getting started on a year-long effort to find a new owner for the struggling Prince George's County (MD) hospital system. Kenneth E. Glover, the man chosen as chairman of the state-created authority, has three decades of experience engineering big deals—but this could be one of the hardest. The next hurdle is waiting for the state and the county to finish negotiating how much both are willing to pony up to coax a business or consortium into bidding for parts or all of the system. The system consists of Prince George's Hospital Center, Laurel Regional Hospital, Bowie Health Campus and two nursing homes.
Latinos are the fastest-growing population group in Montgomery County, MD, and more needs to be done to boost their health and well-being, according to a report. Improvements include more access to medical care and expanding transportation and bilingual services, the report's authors state. The report added that estimates from 2005 suggest that more than 50% of Latinos in the county are uninsured, and about half do not have a primary-care doctor. Among Latinos who had not seen a doctor in the past year, the primary reason was the high cost of care, according to the report.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) could soon cease to exist, if state lawmakers don't extend its authorization by the end of the month. Although the watchdog agency has strong support in the state's General Assembly, some insurance lobbyists contend PHC4 has failed in its mission to contain costs because healthcare costs continue to rise.
A patient safety bill agreement announced this week by New York Gov. David A. Paterson now requires the names of doctors charged with misconduct to be made public. Also, these physicians now will be given just one day from the time formal charges are made to provide office records to investigators. The bill was created in response to the case of a Long Island doctor who put patients' lives in danger by practicing improper infection control.
A recent HealthGrades study has found that best-performing hospitals offer higher quality of maternity and cardiovascular care for women than poor-performing hospitals. The study shows that top-performing hospitals report much fewer maternal complications than lower-performing facilities, and that mortality rates for women treated for cardiovascular disease have dropped in recent years.