Colorado Medicaid officials and a private insurer have quietly sought access to the state's prescription drug registry to help stop doctor-shopping and pharmacy-hopping for pain pills, but a state board denied them. The healthcare interests wanted access as part of wider efforts to slow an epidemic of painkiller overdoses and opioid misuse, which has resulted in a doubling of Colorado deaths and addicts seeking treatment. The state registry records every dispensed prescription for controlled substances, and allows doctors and pharmacists to review drug histories for their patients.
As new care models emerge, new types of leader are taking the helm: physician and nurse executives. There has been a major uptick in the number of requests for physicians and nurses who are prepared to lead health systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals, and managed care organizations. They are exchanging their lab coats for a seat in the C-suite, taking advantage of opportunities to lead during the post-reform era.
Partners Healthcare, one of 10 hospital systems that has joined a nationwide health care consortium designed to reduce health care’s environmental impact, says it will save $15 million per year as part of an energy overhaul. Partners is the parent of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Healthier Hospitals Initiative, launched by California’s Kaiser Permanente, includes 500 hospitals nationwide who will take steps to conserve energy, reduce use of toxic chemicals, and reduce waste, including hazardous waste.
Partners Healthcare, one of 10 hospital systems that has joined a nationwide health care consortium designed to reduce health care’s environmental impact, says it will save $15 million per year as part of an energy overhaul. Partners is the parent of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Healthier Hospitals Initiative, launched by California’s Kaiser Permanente, includes 500 hospitals nationwide who will take steps to conserve energy, reduce use of toxic chemicals, and reduce waste, including hazardous waste.
Highmark Inc.'s board of directors has enlisted the help of an executive recruiting company to conduct its search for a new CEO. Finding a new CEO is one of the first steps Highmark's board must take in cleaning up after the firing of former CEO Kenneth Melani, who was jettisoned this week after getting in a fight with his girlfriend's husband. Highmark in particular, and Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers in general, have looked internally when it comes to appointing a new CEO.
The Henry Ford Health System last year overcame lackluster investment returns and ever-growing costs to care for uninsured people to make $21.5 million on $4.22 billion in revenues, down from a $60-million gain the year before. But the health system, the region’s largest, with five hospitals, 24,000 employees and 36 primary care centers in southeast Michigan, continued to show gains in hospital admissions.
Patients cut back on prescription drugs and doctor visits last year, a sign that many Americans are still struggling to pay for healthcare, according to a study released Wednesday. The report, issued by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, said 2011 was also a breakthrough year for the drug industry, which introduced 34 new medicines, the most in a decade. The number of prescriptions issued to patients declined by 1.1 percent compared with 2010, and visits to the doctor fell by 4.7 percent, the report said. Visits to the emergency room, by contrast, increased by 7.4 percent in 2011, an increase that the report's authors said was linked to the loss of health insurance resulting from long-term unemployment.