LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Baptist Health says it will lay off 170 workers across its network in Arkansas. The hospital organization said Tuesday the layoffs will mainly affect workers who aren't nurses. Arkansas Business reports the job cuts are expected to be completed by the end of the week. Baptist Health has 73,000 workers and hospitals in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Arkadelphia, Heber Springs and Stuttgart. Spokesman Mark Lowman says the cuts will not affect quality of care.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a preliminary study of patients who had simple surgeries, most did well and seemed satisfied with post-operative checkups by telephone instead of seeing their surgeon in a clinic visit.The phone follow-up saved doctors and patients the time and effort involved in clinic visits without compromising patient care, according to the study of California patients. "These clinic visits are usually five minutes or less, very brief, the doctor asks how are you, do you feel well, are you going to the bathroom okay, that kind of thing," said senior author Dr. Sherry Wren of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
An Indiana doctor accused of killing four people with ties to a Nebraska medical school that fired him was denied medical licenses in at least two states after the dismissal from Creighton University more than a decade ago. Authorities have not disclosed a motive in the slayings, except to note the firing. But documents show that the dismissal for erratic behavior in 2001 had long-lasting effects on Anthony Garcia's career. The slayings took place in two separate attacks five years apart.
Lowering healthcare costs is tougher than improving the quality of care, according to first-year results from a key pilot program under the federal health law. All of the 32 health systems in the so-called Pioneer Accountable Care Organization program improved patient care on quality measures such as cancer screenings and controlling blood pressure, according to data to be released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But only 18 of the 32 managed to lower costs for the Medicare patients they treated?a major goal of the effort. Two hospitals lost money on the program in the first year. Seven have notified CMS that they intend to move to another program where they will face less financial risk. Two others have indicated they intend to leave the program, CMS says, but it declined to identify them. [Subscription required.]
Most primary care doctors are still waiting for that Medicaid pay raise that was scheduled to begin in January under the Affordable Care Act, but a federal official says the government has now approved applications from 48 states to begin paying the higher rates. A spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says with those approvals in hand, every state but California and Alaska is expected to implement the pay raise this summer. Under the law, Medicaid fees for primary care would be increased for two years to the same amount paid under Medicare. The change means an average 73 percent pay increase nationally, according to a 2012 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
(Reuters) - Community health centers expect to sign up millions of newly insured patients under President Barack Obama's health reform law, but U.S. budget cuts just as they need to beef up services may make it hard to keep the newcomers. The federally funded centers have been a safety net in the nation's poorest areas since 1965, offering primary care and mental health services to 22 million people, more than a third of them without insurance. When the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, takes full effect on Jan. 1, the 1,200 clinics plan to help enroll many of the newly insured. That campaign is expected to bring 10 million new patients within a year.