Pennsylvania healthcare watchdog gets good news

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has announced that he has extended through June 30 his executive order enabling the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, known as PHC4, to remain open. Without that action, the independent agency would have been forced to shut down at the end of November. PHC4 is widely recognized for its reports on health quality and cost, including the nation's first statewide study of infections contracted by patients during hospital stays.