A bill being proposed by House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Fortney (Pete) Stark (D-CA), would create a nationwide EMR system using Medicare reimbursement to push healthcare providers to adopt the new technology. The bill would also use a matching grant program to help prompt adoption of an EMR system.
Clostridium difficile is fast emerging as one of the most dangerous and virulent foes in hospitals' war against antibiotic "superbugs." C. diff is spawning infections in hospitals in the U.S. and abroad that can lead to severe diarrhea, ruptured colons, perforated bowels, kidney failure, blood poisoning, and death. Despite hospitals gaining control of other drug-resistant infections such as MRSA, rates of C. diff are rising sharply, and a recent, more virulent strain of the bug is causing more severe complications.
Addressing an ethics dispute involving a public board overseeing construction of a hospital in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana, a divided Parish Council has taken the first step toward replacing the board with a new one. The council voted 4-2 to introduce an ordinance to create a new five-member board charged with building a hospital to replace the one destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The ordinance is set for a final vote in October, but it could be moot if parish officials negotiate an agreement with two doctors serving on the current board to resign amid conflict-of-interest concerns.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has rolled out an online tool that provides cost and quality information on doctors to nearly 2 million of its members. Members of the insurer can now see information such as what other physicians billed for procedures within a certain specialty. They also can see a doctor's record on whether he performed screenings that include things such as mammograms or a test for cervical cancer. But the new tool, and others like it, has drawn concerns from some doctors about whether that information ultimately could be used to steer consumers to the cheapest doctors, who may not necessarily be the best.
Clarian Health has detailed its plans for a $180 million hospital in Fishers, IN, including long-range plans to develop a $750 million medical campus at the 95-acre site. Clarian Saxony Medical Center would include a 250,000-square-foot hospital and a 100,000-square-foot medical office building buffered by trees, water features and a "healing garden," hospital officials said.
Elizabeth Edwards said she is discouraged that healthcare is falling on the nation's list of priorities and critiqued the plans of both leading presidential candidates. The financial crisis that has shaken Wall Street may demand national attention and money that would otherwise be invested in fixing the healthcare system, she said during a talk at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Nevada's Democratic state senators have announced their agenda for the 2009 Legislature will include a plan to reduce the number of children with no health insurance. Senate Minority Leader Steven Horsford said the Senate Democrats also want to mandate coverage of autism by insurance companies and improve consumer access to health records. Also on the agenda is a plan to help employees of small businesses get insurance.
Research released by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates many people who tune in to the prime time show Grey's Anatomy remember health messages in episodes. A second study, also released by Kaiser and the University of Southern California's Annenberg Norman Lear Center, indicates that health content is prevalent on prime-time TV. If done responsibly, embedding accurate health content in entertainment television could have a major public health impact, says Jay Bernhardt of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pfizer has launched a new website on medication safety designed to help patients bewildered over how to weigh the risks and benefits of a medication, or even how to find out what they are. The company plans to promote the site by working with medical and patient advocacy groups, as well as with online advertising on websites targeting medical professionals and patients.
A little-known benefit for Nashville's 40-member part-time legislative body is taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for life. Council members can carry the benefit even after they leave the legislative body, as long as they serve for parts of two straight terms and have the insurance while in office. The council itself recently lowered the number of years of service necessary to receive the subsidized health insurance after members leave office.
There are 18 current members and 28 former members who carry the subsidized health benefit, which cost taxpayers $362,700 this year.
