Beijing, China plans to invest 850 billion yuan ($125 billion) over the next three years to revamp the country's healthcare system. Leaders say this will provide all Chinese citizens, particularly those in rural areas, with access to basic care through expanded insurance and cooperative medical programs. Experts say, though, that the plan's success will not come easily.
Thailand's Bumrungrad International Hospital will soon install a wireless system to allow doctors and nurses to access electronic medical records. The system will feature Motorola handheld digital assistants for medical staff to be used for communications, to access medical records, and to scan barcodes on medicine labels to ensure they go to the right patient. The hospital will also soon feature computers in every patient room.
Hartford Hospital, which was placed on a one-year probation last February, remains on probation, and a Connecticut official said a new end date has not been determined. Earlier this year, state regulators identified a number of new healthcare violations at the hospital.
Some of the newly reported violations occurred before the hospital implemented policy changes or staff training programs to address problems that gave rise to the initial probation. Others occurred more recently.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited a struggling Hollywood, FL, health clinic to put a positive spin on the federal government's massive spending plan, days after protesters across South Florida and the country decried government largess. Broward Community and Family Health Centers is receiving nearly $1.5 million in federal aid, saving a doctor and a nurse from impending layoffs and allowing 11 new employees to launch a satellite office. The nonprofit clinic says the additional staff will serve an estimated 6,600 low-income patients.
Mayo Clinic is the latest to offer a free, secure, online website for anyone to store and organize medical information. Such sites are designed to replace the proverbial shoebox of medical documents kept at home. Unlike some of its competitors, Mayo Clinic Health Manager will offer more than a place to organize medical data. It will also push out customized information, such as reminders for checkups.
Park Nicollet Health Services announced it is cutting 233 jobs, the second big round of layoffs in less than five months at the Minnesota-based hospital and clinic chain. The 233 jobs make up the equivalent of 118 full-time employees, or 1.8% of Park Nicollet's total workforce. Park Nicollet said it would also merge several leadership positions, make some employees take two weeks' unpaid leave before the end of the year, and do away with its 401(k) match for 2009.