A three-judge panel focused on questions of possible juror misconduct as it heard the appeals of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth chief executive Richard Scrushy, who were convicted two years ago on federal corruption charges. Siegelman, who served as governor from 1999 to 2003, and Scrushy were convicted on bribery and other charges stemming from $500,000 in donations arranged by Scrushy to retire undisclosed debt from Siegelman's failed 1999 lottery campaign.
Credit-reporting bureau Experian PLC said it agreed to acquire SearchAmerica Inc., a company in the business of mining patients' financial data to help hospitals determine how likely patients are to pay their medical bills. SearchAmerica uses financial data collected by credit bureaus to help hospitals determine whether patients registering for treatment will qualify for financial-assistance programs such as Medicaid or charity care. The company also generates a healthcare credit score and helps hospitals figure out who has the means to pay and who should be pursued most actively for payment after patients receive care.
Rep. Henry Waxman, incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has started laying out his healthcare priorities. High on the list after Congress comes back next year is more scrutiny of drug marketing. Health reform under Obama, Waxman added, is doable and even more important in light of the downturn in the economy. Also high on Congress' to-do list next year are help for the states on Medicaid and an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Plan.
Pressure from insurers such as Aetna Inc. and WellPoint Inc. and the need to cut hospital costs are speeding a move by doctors to computer recordkeeping, said Glen Tullman, chief executive officer of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc. Allscripts has seen a fivefold increase in the number of U.S. doctors using its electronic prescribing software, part of a "dramatic acceleration" in the use of online health records, said Tullman.
Change is coming to the U.S. healthcare system: President-elect Barack Obama wants it, Congress wants it and even the insurance industry wants it, says Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus. But the idea of doing away with the employer-based insurance system seems to be off the table, even though it has become increasingly unsustainable for businesses and has resulted in 47 million Americans going without coverage, Lazarus says.
Chicago neurosurgeon Gail Rosseau is being considered to be the next U.S. Surgeon General, according to sources close to the talks.
Rosseau, 52, is one of only 300 female neurosurgeons nationwide and currently chief of surgery at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Institute of Chicago and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center. The U.S. Surgeon General is often seen as an administration's bully pulpit when it comes to health issues that range from combating obesity to curtailing smoking.
Better coordination and care, along with improved training for healthcare providers, are among the reforms needed to improve the fragmented and poorly designed health services currently available for American teens. Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said that some teens, particularly those who are uninsured or underinsured, have little or no access to mainstream primary care services. Instead, they rely largely on "safety-net" care provided by hospitals, community centers and school-based health centers.
Too often, buzzwords are sound bites, signifying nothing, often told by poor managers to cover their own lack of shortcomings. But San Diego-based consultant and author Peter Stark doesn't quite see it that way. +
With the U.S. economy officially in recession, a new report provides five useful tips for getting electronic medical record money for federally qualified health centers. +
Empowering the individual patient to take control of his or her health could become the next frontier for disease management. However, there are a whole slew of barriers to overcome. +
Too often, buzzwords are sound bites, signifying nothing, often told by poor managers to cover their own lack of shortcomings. But San Diego-based consultant and author Peter Stark doesn't quite see it that way. +
Sangita Reddy, executive director, Apollo Hospitals Group, talks about Apollo's expansion and ability to provide care to local and international patients. +
