Kim Little had not thought much about the tiny white spot on the side of her cheek until a physician's assistant at her dermatologist's office warned that it might be cancerous. He took a biopsy, returning 15 minutes later to confirm the diagnosis and schedule her for an outpatient procedure at the Arkansas Skin Cancer Center in Little Rock, 30 miles away. That was the prelude to a daylong medical odyssey several weeks later, through different private offices on the manicured campus at the Baptist Health Medical Center that involved a dermatologist, an anesthesiologist and an ophthalmologist who practices plastic surgery.
The American College of Emergency Physicians has released its 2014, state-by-state report card on America's emergency care environment. Georgia got a D+, ranking 29th in the country overall. ACEP's report card "evaluates conditions under which emergency care is being delivered, not the quality of care provided by hospitals and emergency providers," the organization said in a release. It includes 136 measures in five categories. Georgia got failing or near-failing grades in three of the five: access to emergency care (F), public health and injury prevention (D+) and disaster preparedness (D+); its passing grades came in quality and patient safety environment (C) and medical liability (B-).
What's the difference if you get hurt at a Bruce Springsteen concert or a performance of "Die Fledermaus"? To your wrenched back, not much. But to the folks who process your medical records, it's a distinction worth noting. The difference between an injury at a music hall and one at an opera house is one of many thousands of details that will be parsed by a new health care classification system that begins in the U.S. on Oct. 1 — a deadline that presses on every health care provider and insurer in the nation.
Partners HealthCare does not hold back in the response it plans to file today with the state's Health Policy Commission (HPC). The commission issued a report last month that marked a rare effort to crimp Partners' dominance in the Massachusetts market. The commission said that if Partners adds South Shore Hospital in Weymouth to its growing network, costs will increase around $23-26 million a year. Wrong, says Partners, in an 89-page rebuttal that includes dozens of letters and testimonials from South Shore area leaders who support the merger. The commission should withdraw its finding, concludes Partners, and not send the proposed merger to the state attorney general for further regulatory review.
Finding someone to care for an ill or aged relative at home can be challenging. Sorting through the options can be time-consuming, and the need to find help may arise during a crisis, when decisions must be made quickly. Hoping to help consumers make those choices — and to help themselves stand out in a competitive field — some home health agencies are seeking voluntary accreditation by independent organizations. "This market is crowded," said Margherita C. Labson, executive director of the home care program at the Joint Commission, one of the major health care accreditation organizations. "These companies had no credible way of distinguishing themselves as better than others in the marketplace."
Consumer-run health insurance cooperatives, which were included in the Affordable Care Act to stimulate competition and lower prices, have been stymied by the insurance industry and a lack of publicity, industry and health care experts say. The consumer-operated and run insurance companies, called co-ops, are often funded by government loans. Cooperatives can sell their policies through the state and federal health insurance exchanges where Americans can buy coverage. The co-ops have been created by consumer groups, doctors, membership associations — such as for small businesses — and other non-profit organizations with the idea that they will vote on a board made up of the co-op's enrollees in the first year.