A new study suggests that 21.2% of medical students suffer from depression, compared with the 10% rate commonly reported for the general population. The study, a survey of 2,000 students that was reported in Academic Medicine, also said that black medical students are particularly prone to suicidal thoughts, with 13% reporting "suicidal ideation," versus 5.7% of the general population.
The House gave final approval to a bill extending health insurance to millions of low-income children, and President Obama signed it later in the day. Obama hopes it is the first in what will be many steps to guarantee coverage for all Americans. Since August 2007, the House has voted at least seven times for legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, but prior efforts were thwarted by the Bush White House.
The economic downturn has caused 60% of Georgia's hospitals to cut staff or consider it, and more than one-third to reduce services or contemplate such a move, according to a survey of 63 hospitals and health systems by the Georgia Hospital Association. And about 60% of hospitals say the economy and low payments from the Medicaid insurance program have affected their ability to meet day-to-day operating expenses.
Novant Health isn't giving up on Holly Springs, NC, despite a report from state regulators that said Novant failed to show there's a need and enough support from area physicians for a new healthcare facility. "We're disappointed, and we disagree with the agency," Novant spokeswoman Kati Everett said after the release of the CON report. "This may have slowed us down, but we're not deterred."
Google Inc. is teaming with International Business Machines Corp. to allow patients to add data generated from home-health monitoring products. The companies said software developed by IBM, with consumers' permission, can shift the data into a personal health record in Google Health, the search giant's service for helping consumers manage and store their health information online. Other software lets the patient transfer the information from there to an electronic medical record kept by healthcare providers.
The Texas Medical Association said that a survey of doctors found that health insurers and government bureaucracy are hurting their ability to care for patients. The Dallas area's largest insurers responded that while they've been working to reduce the clerical burden, some of the doctors' administrative responsibilities cannot be avoided. The survey also revealed that doctors worry that their financial hardships are threatening both quality of care and their patients' access to care.
South Carolina's private and university research hospitals are banding together to identify and curb hospital infections. Curbing infections could save the state's hospitals as much as $40 million a year and reduce the length of stay of patients by up to 24,000 days annually, according to the newly formed South Carolina Healthcare Quality Trust. The trust is a partnership of Health Sciences South Carolina, SC Hospital Association, and the Premier healthcare alliance.
Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services acknowledge they've had trouble with a new $64.2 million computer system that handles Medicaid services. Glitches with the automated system caused a backlog of claims, preventing the state from processing some prior authorizations for therapies and medical equipment. The agency has been unable to process about 10% of its claims for prior authorization within the 20-day time period required under state law, and some requests have taken four times longer to be approved.
Florida's largest Medicaid insurer has announced it will leave the state's controversial Medicaid Reform program because government-set reimbursement rates are too low. WellCare of Florida's 78,000 Medicaid Reform clients will still receive state-paid health services but through another health plan, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration.
The chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board was critically injured when a powerful car bomb exploded outside his West Memphis home as the physician prepared to leave for work, federal and local authorities said. West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert said there is no immediate evidence that Trent Pierce had been threatened or took part in controversial medical procedures. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler, however, said investigators will meet with board members and other staffers to find out if the attack might have been related to his work on the panel.
