Mercy Medical Center Des Moines is reorganizing its administrative structure effective on Feb. 1 to give physicians more control, responsibility and accountability. "The current structure is very hospital-centric and less physician-centric," said Mercy chief executive David Vellinga. The new structure places seven physicians in lead roles where they will partner with non-medical administrators to develop strategy and ensure proper delivery of medical care and services at the hospital. In the past, Vellinga said, two physicians had responsibilities for the organized medical staff, but they played limited roles in strategy and development of services.
Mitt Romney's opponents say his Massachusetts health care law is so similar to President Obama's that he'll be unable to draw distinctions as the GOP's presidential candidate, but a new poll out last week finds that voters don't see the two laws the same. The results of the Kaiser Family Foundation survey bode well for Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, who has walked a fine line as he tried to defend his own legislation while painting the president's as destructive. Of Republicans who were familiar with the Massachusetts and national laws, 62 percent said they see Mr. Obama's law as different from Mr. Romney's law, while 38 percent said the two laws were similar.
As health costs rise, employers are increasingly turning to high-deductible health plans: Insurance coverage that usually pairs catastrophic coverage with a health savings account, leaving consumers to decide what to spend that account on. The goal is to give consumers more incentives to not spend on the care they don't need, but these plans often raise concerns that subscribers will cut back on the care that they do need, too. A new study from a team of Harvard researchers explores how health insurance plans with high deductible effect the care that families do, and don't, seek.
America may be a technology-driven nation, but the health care system's conversion from paper to computerized records needs lots of work to get the bugs out, according to experts who spent months studying the issue. Hospitals and doctors' offices increasingly are going digital, the Bipartisan Policy Center says in a report released Friday. But there's been little progress getting the computer systems to talk to one another, exchanging data the way financial companies do. "The level of health information exchange in the U.S. is extremely low," the report says.
The most forceful attack on Mitt Romney's healthcare record may have come too late to make a difference in the Republican presidential race. Although Romney has faced questions and skepticism about healthcare throughout the campaign, none of his rivals mounted the kind of aggressive, sustained indictment that former Sen. Rick Santorum (Penn.) launched into during Thursday night's debate. "It was as deep as any of the criticism Gov. Romney has faced from any of the other candidates since the day he got into the race," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, who is a Romney supporter.
Green Bay Catholic Bishop took time Sunday to a read a letter during Mass, calling on Catholics in Northeast Wisconsin to take action against new healthcare regulations. The regulations Bishop David Ricken is opposing come from the Dept. of Health and Human Services, which announced this week most church-affiliated groups will be required to offer their workers coverage, that includes contraception plans. Under the new law churches and other employers with a religious base have a year to comply with the changes so they have time to adapt, but the bishop said they can never adapt. "It's a direct disconnect against our principles, our philosophy, our background, our teaching," said Ricken.