Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is touting a bill aimed at providing low-cost health coverage to uninsured state residents by allowing the sale of stripped-down insurance policies. While some say the new law will not make much of a dent in Florida's growing rate of uninsured residents, Crist says the best part of the bill is that the law "doesn't cost taxpayers a dime." In many states across the country, governors and lawmakers are struggling to respond to anxiety about healthcare despite the limitations of deeply strained budgets. Bold ideas on healthcare reform have been overtaken by the worrisome economy, and lawmakers have been forced to proceed with caution.
Intensive care unit doctors are less comfortable discussing prognoses and end-of-life issues and do it less frequently with black patients than with white patients, according to U.S. researchers who analyzed interviews with ICU physicians at five major medical centers. The interviews revealed that the doctors discussed prognoses with 58% of their white patients and 41% of their black patients, and the ICU doctors were less than half as likely to report feeling comfortable during these conversations with their black patients.
Heart failure patients admitted to the hospital on Thursdays or Fridays have longer hospital stays than those admitted on other days of the week, according to a report, and those admitted on Tuesdays have the shortest stays. The day of admission does not seem to effect death rates for heart failure patients, however, the report found. The findings could lead to changes in hospital procedures, which could lead to shorter hospital stays and reduced costs, said the study's authors.
The board of trustees for Des Moines, IA-based Broadlawns Medical Center took the first step toward a $44 million renovation of the hospital. The board voted 6-0 to set a public hearing on the sale of up to $30 million worth of bonds over three years. The bonds would pay for the first phase of a project that would include expansion and improvement of the emergency room and patient waiting areas; creation of an MRI department; and increased space for clinic and rehabilitation areas.
In an attempt to improve treatment and reduce errors, Erickson Retirement Communities and three Baltimore-area hospital systems plan to create a health information exchange that would give emergency room physicians quick access to patients' medication histories. The Maryland Health Care Commission will provide Erickson, Johns Hopkins Medicine, MedStar Health and the University of Maryland Medical System with $250,000 in startup funding through the Health Services Cost Review Commission. The nonprofit venture hopes to start its exchange within six months in a couple of the partner hospitals' emergency rooms and eventually expand to all 47 emergency rooms in Maryland.
Central Florida's second-largest hospital chain, which was known in recent years as Orlando Regional Healthcare System, has announced that it has changed its name to Orlando Health. The name change for the $1.5 billion system cost approximately $300,000 and was the result of 18 months of market research and preparation, said John Hillenmeyer, the hospital system's chief executive officer. The eight facilities under Orlando Health's will retain their current names, but each will be branded as part of Orlando Health.