Parkland Memorial Hospital's board of managers announced Monday that Dr. Fred Cerise is the finalist for chief executive officer of the Dallas County facility. Cerise, 51, is associate dean for clinical affairs at Louisiana State University but previously headed LSU's statewide public hospital system. "We had three great candidates and, obviously, this was one of the toughest decisions any of the Board members had to make," said Debbie D. Branson, Parkland board chairwoman. "Dr. Cerise is going to bring a lot of experience and fresh energy to this position." The Parkland board has not finalized Cerise's contract, including how much he will be paid and when he will start the job in Dallas.
New Medicaid patients in Oregon failed to use their benefits effectively because they did not understand how to use insurance or health care, according to a study released Monday in the journal Health Affairs. As a result, researchers told USA TODAY, patients did not receive preventive health screenings, schedule appointments to manage chronic illnesses or use their new insurance coverage for anything beyond medical emergencies. These findings, researchers said, should be considered in future health policy decisions, particularly those related to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion.
If you're shirking your security systems' obligations all to save a few pennies, better think again. Chances are, it will end up costing much more down the road -- a whopping $1.6 billion more. Most healthcare organizations nationwide, some 61 percent to be exact, reported a security related incident in the form of security breach, data loss or unplanned downtime at least once this past year, according to a new health IT report by MeriTalk, a public-private organization working to improve government information technology. These security events cost U.S. hospitals an estimated $1.6 billion each year. Breaking it down by incident, hospitals should expect to hand over on average $810,000 per security breach, which occurs at nearly one in five healthcare organizations nationwide.
Before 2007, the potentially deadly super bug MRSA stalked patients at the Louisville Veterans Affairs Medical Center — with infection rates 20 times higher than they are today. That was before the VA began screening every patient admitted or moved from one unit to another, to see if they unknowingly carried the antibiotic-resistant and highly contagious bacteria, and then, if they found it, taking extra care to ensure it wouldn't spread. The result? MRSA infections have fallen to 0.09 infections per 1,000 "bed days of care," or days patients stay in a bed, compared with 1.89 infections per 1,000 in 2008.
Patients or their representatives may now see their medical test results directly from the laboratory, rather than having to request them from a doctor's office, according to a new rule announced Monday. "Information like lab results can empower patients to track their health progress, make decisions with their health care professionals and adhere to important treatment plans," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. Although people may still get their results from their doctors, the new rule changes the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act so they may also get personal health information from a laboratory.
Union nurses and technicians on Monday approved a new contract with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital after a labor dispute that led to a lockout last fall. Both parties announced the completed deal, which expires June 30, 2016, after a daylong vote by union members. Terms are retroactive to Nov. 16, 2013. About 800 members of two AFT Connecticut locals held a four-day strike beginning Nov. 27 and were locked out when they tried to return. The hospital ended the lockout Dec. 19. The parties had announced a tentative deal on Friday.