Microsoft continues to line up HealthVault partners: the latest is Connecticut-based health insurer Aetna. Members currently using Aetna's electronic Personal Health Record feature will be able to transfer those records to Microsoft's HealthVault in November. In addition, Yahoo is bulking up its Health portal with content from HealthGrades and Waterfront Media's Everyday Health Network. HealthGrades provides hospital and physician ratings and reviews, which Yahoo will integrate into a new, searchable physician database along with related Yahoo Answers and Yahoo Group discussions.
California is one of 35 states that arranges health coverage for people rejected by commercial companies because they have blemished medical histories. This "medically uninsurable" group accounts for about an eighth of the 5 million Californians who lack health insurance. Most are self-employed, work for companies that don't provide insurance or don't have a job. But California's publicly subsidized high-risk pool has atrophied over the tenure of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger even as the governor put the plight of the uninsured at the top of his political agenda.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will require doctors to adopt computer prescription systems by 2011 if they want to qualify for bonus payments. The change will come a year ahead of a similar requirement by the federal government for doctors who treat patients under Medicare. Proponents say "e-prescribing" can reduce medication errors, complications from drug interactions and drug allergies, and overall pharmacy costs.
Drug-resistant staph bacteria picked up in ordinary community settings are increasingly acquiring "superbug" attributes and causing far more serious illnesses than they have in the past, doctors have reported. These germs used to be easier to treat than the dangerous forms of staph found in hospitals and nursing homes: a CDC study found that at least 10% of cases involving the most common community strain were able to evade the antibiotics typically used to treat them.
The St. Bernard Parish Council is asking the Louisiana Legislature for an additional $10 million to build a new hospital in a parish that has had no fully operational medical facility since Hurricane Katrina. Cobbling together enough money to build an estimated $60 million hospital has been the primary challenge for parish officials in the three years since Chalmette Medical Center was destroyed. The responsibility now lies with St. Bernard's legislative delegation to lobby for hospital money against competing project requests throughout the state.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi both favor lowering healthcare costs and decreasing the number of uninsured residents. However, their approaches to such plans differ. Gregoire says Washington legislators would maintain an active role in the plans, while Rossi believes free-market forces should be utilized to drive down costs and expand access.