A new report from the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit health advocacy group, has found that community health programs that encourage prevention were a better investment than those concentrating primarily on treatment. Researchers calculated potential decreases in several chronic diseases based on a $10 investment per person. They found that community health programs could reduce rates of diabetes and high blood pressure by 5% within two years and reduce the incidence of some forms of cancer and arthritis within 10 to 20 years.
Piedmont Health Services, University of North Carolina Health Care, and the UNC School of Medicine have teamed up to cut rising emergency room costs and streamline specialty care for uninsured North Carolina residents. Through Carolina Health Net, patients with frequent emergency room visits, diseases, and multiple medications are identified. It encourages them to enroll in the program, which connects them to primary care doctors at Piedmont and specialists at UNC. Approximately 800 patients are currently enrolled.
A study set to be released by the Commonwealth Fund highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its health system and the quality of care it delivers, especially when compared with many other industrialized nations. The report shows that the United States spends more than twice as much on each person for healthcare as most other industrialized countries, but it has fallen to last place among those countries in preventing deaths through use of timely and effective medical care. The study assesses the United States on 37 healthcare measures, and finds little improvement since the last report.
Former HealthSouth Corp. executive Ken Livesay was sentenced to five years' probation for a third time for his role in a billion-dollar accounting fraud at the company. U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre noted Livesay's "invaluable" cooperation, his lack of a criminal history, and his decision to stop participating in the fraud before it was uncovered among reasons for the sentence. Livesay testified for four days at the trial of former HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy, who was acquitted of all charges in the fraud, and Hannibal "Sonny" Crumpler, a former vice president and division controller, who is serving an eight-year term.
Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the residents of Los Angeles against Blue Shield of California. The suit contends that Blue Shield has illegally canceled the coverage of more than 850 policyholders since 2002. Blue Shield spokesman Tom Epstein defended the cancellations, and called the suit "a cheap political stunt" that was "totally without merit." The suit is similar to those that Delgadillo filed earlier this year against insurers Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net. Like Blue Shield, those companies have denied wrongdoing and say they rescind coverage only when necessary.
Representatives of the UNC Health Care System and Chatham Hospital have signed a letter of intent for UNC Health Care to buy the 25-bed hospital for $11.3 million. UNC Health Care has worked closely with Chatham Hospital for 10 years and has managed it since 2006, according to a release. Under the terms of the letter of intent, UNC Health Care would acquire 100% control of Chatham Hospital and its assets by becoming the hospital's sole corporate member. Chatham Hospital would remain a separate, private, not-for-profit hospital, and all current liabilities and long-term debt of Chatham Hospital will remain in place.
Amid financial troubles, GM is canceling health coverage for salaried retirees age 65 and older. Officials anticipate this and other cuts, including thousands of jobs, will generate savings of more than $15 billion through 2009. Retirees will lose their benefits in January.
Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD, writes in The New England Journal of Medicine about nontraditional medical students who enter medicine at a later age and without the traditional pre-med background. Medical schools now routinely admit students in their 30s or 40s who already have families or are well into another career before turning toward medicine, he notes. He adds that in general, these students have been welcomed into the profession because they bring maturity, diversity, broader perspectives, and "life experience."
Compensation for specialists increased only 3.16% last year, or just 0.31% when adjusted for inflation, according to the latest MGMA compensation survey. “Although primary care physicians posted modest gains in compensation as a result of increased productivity and reweighting of evaluation and management codes, overall practice costs continue to rise at staggering rates,” said MGMA President and CEO William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, in a statement. “The continued uncertainty of the reimbursement environment creates an untenable situation for physician groups.”
Richard Friedman, MD, writes in the New York Times about his initial high hopes when he began giving patients his e-mail address and the inevitable problems that followed. Friedman notes that for all the convenience and clarity of e-mail, it can be perilous for a clinician. He also notes that e-mail must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which has complex rules to safeguard patient privacy and confidentiality. These and other problems are all obstacles that can present huge problems for psychiatrists, he says.
