A new system that assigned a medical home to patients, usually a primary care practice, cut hospital admissions by 20% and costs by 7%, according to a new report. The program at the privately-held, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health System could serve as a model for U.S. healthcare reform, researchers reported. Reports have shown that Americans pay more per capita for healthcare, and yet are more likely to die prematurely from preventable and treatable diseases than people in other developed countries. The secret to reversing this, said Geisinger officials, is paying primary care practices to look out for patients.
ClearCount Medical Solutions has developed a way to keep better track of surgical sponges: by embedding a computer chip into them. The chip will be able to be located using a low-level radio frequency wand, which also keeps a precise count of the sponges throughout the surgery process.
Neighbors of UPMC St. Margaret in Aspinwall, PA, are hoping recent talks between the town's council and the hospital's leaders will bring a solution to their ongoing problem with smokers. Last year, the hospital banned smoking on its campus, which has forced smokers off-site—mainly along Delafield Road and Lexington Avenue—where they have frequently been seen discarding their cigarette butts on sidewalks or lawns.
Parkland Memorial Hospital's foundation has kicked off its first capital campaign in hopes of raising $150 million from private donors to help build a new Dallas County public hospital. The five-year "I Stand for Parkland" campaign already has pledges totaling nearly $80 million. The current hospital, which was built in 1954, has become overcrowded and outmoded over the years, hospital officials say.
Healthcare negotiations with some Pennsylvania Senate Republicans are progressing and could result in a deal to cover hundreds of thousands of uninsured adults and pay for generic prescription drugs, Gov. Ed Rendell said during a recent conference call. The surplus in a tobacco-tax-funded account that helps doctors pay malpractice premiums has grown so large, Rendell said, that the state can insure about 200,000 more adults in the first year and about 400,000 adults within three years. He is now urging the General Assembly to add more session days before the Nov. 4 election to work on healthcare legislation.
Louisville, KY-based Humana Insurance Co. has paid the state of Wisconsin $750,000 to settle complaints about its marketing of Medicare products, customer service, and other practices. The payment settles an investigation by the Office of Insurance Commissioner that alleged the health insurer violated numerous Wisconsin laws and regulations.