In a case involving a Westport doctor's office, the state Supreme Court has ruled that patients can sue for negligence if a medical office violates regulations that dictate how medical offices must maintain patient confidentiality. This is the first time the state's highest court has ruled regarding this issue. Connecticut now joins Missouri, West Virginia and North Carolina in similar rulings. "Before this ruling, individuals could not file a lawsuit claiming violation of their privacy under the (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) regulations," said Trumbull lawyer Bruce Elstein, who brought the case. "It was for that reason that we filed a negligence claim, claiming the medical office was negligent when it released confidential medical records contrary to the requirements set forth in the regulations."
The Columbus Regional Health system has announced plans to eliminate 219 positions to reduce costs. Officials said Tuesday that 99 of the positions that are being eliminated are currently staffed by employees . Administrators of the hospital system say the cost cutting is necessary because of declining reimbursement from commercial insurers and government programs, and growing debt. Leaders of the health care system said in a statement that they're expecting a decline of more than $10 million in reimbursement for patient services this year.
Health in Charlotte and Winston-Salem will get pay cuts early next year, system officials have confirmed. The employees were notified last week about the pay cuts as well as changes in their titles and duties. Officials with the Winston-Salem-based Novant said the changes result from implementation of electronic medical records in recent years. In the past, "the most demanding and complex part of the 'medical unit secretary' role was physician order entry," according to a hospital statement. Now those orders are entered into the electronic record automatically by the physician, and the work of the secretary has "dramatically changed," the statement said.
Memorial Hermann stroke experts are using wearable technology at sites of emergencies to determine whether the new tool can reduce time in diagnosing and treating the life-threatening condition, as well as save medical costs. Dr. James Grotta, director of Stroke Research at Memorial Hermann's flagship Texas Medical Center hospital, recently began using Google Glass to communicate medical information with colleagues at the hospital as he responds to 911 emergency calls involving possible stroke victims. The device, as thin as a head band and worn like a pair of glasses, includes a tiny camera that transmits in real time via the Internet what the wearer hears and observes to another doctor's computer or smart phone, no matter their location, for patient consultation and diagnosis.
We are a medical and nursing family — I'm a retired nurse, and my husband, brother and sister-in-law are doctors — and we'd long since had her undergo exhaustive tests to check for serious underlying conditions. The tests had revealed nothing other than a slow heart rate and an occasional drop in blood pressure. At 93, Mom was resolutely independent, although in recent years she had preferred to stay at home where, day or night, she knew the lay of the land and felt safe. While caring for someone else's elderly mother or grandmother during my nursing days, I had always accepted the patient's mental condition at face value.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday took no action on a closely watched case that challenges a key part of the Obamacare healthcare law and could limit the availability of federal health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans. The legal fight concerns whether the subsidies vital to the implantation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act should be available in all 50 states or only in some. The case was brought by conservative challengers to the law who were appealing a July ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the subsidies. The high court could have announced on Monday whether or not it would hear the case. The next chance for the court to announce if it plans to take it up is Nov. 10.