Forty years of outreach to residents of Franklin County, Maine resulted in measurable improvements in population health: a 24.7% absolute increase in hypertension control, a 28.5% absolute increase in cholesterol control, and a smoking cessation rate that exceeded the state average.
Adults ages 65 and older who received a new prescription for antipsychotic medication had a 53% increased risk of falling, research shows. From MedPage Today.
Two of Ohio's largest health systems OhioHealth Corp. and Cleveland Clinic, are among six forming a statewide cost-control and quality improvement collaborative to get "ahead of the curve" as insurers demand better health outcomes for lower prices. Members also are studying whether and how to create a statewide super-network to negotiate with those insurers. The Midwest Health Collaborative announced Tuesday also includes Canton-based Aultman Hospital, Dayton-based Premier Health, Toledo-based ProMedica and Cincinnati-based TriHealth. "Somewhere up ahead — I cant tell you exactly when — the pressure and the demand by those paying for care are (to seek) more predictable price and predictability on outcomes," Mike Bernstein, OhioHealth senior vice president and chief strategy officer, told me. "We absolutely need to be prepared."
Aetna Inc., the nation's third-largest health insurer, said it would increase its minimum wage to $16 an hour in April. The move would boost the pay of about 5,700 workers, including about 250 in California, according to the company. The average minimum-wage employee will see a pay increase of 11%, and some will get raises of as much as 33%. Beginning in 2016, the Hartford, Conn., insurer also plans to cover more of the healthcare costs of about 7,000 of its workers. Some employees could see savings of up to $4,000, the company said in a statement.
Saying they were forced to endure unnecessary pain, anguish and in some cases "premature death," eight former patients or their estates have sued the Elizabethtown cancer doctors who paid the government $3.7 million last June to settle claims they extended chemotherapy treatments to pad their bills. The ex-patients or their families say in a suit filed in Hardin Circuit Court that the clinic negligently treated them by diluting treatment drugs and extending treatment periods, which allowed them to bill more to Medicaid and other programs. The Courier-Journal reported last June that Drs. Yusuf Deshmukh and Rafiq Rahman are under investigation by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.
The chief executive of Gundersen Health System in La Crosse says it's never good when a CEO stays too long. So, with that in mind, Dr. Jeff Thompson says he'll be leaving the post when a replacement is found. The 62-year-old Thompson has been CEO of Gundersen since 2001 and vice president from 1995 to 2001. The La Crosse Tribune reports Thompson played a key role in negotiating a merging Gundersen Clinic with Lutheran Hospital in 1996. Gundersen Health System is the largest employer in La Crosse with 6,300 workers.