By Andis Robeznieks March 10, 2010 Medical schools are not doing an adequate job of teaching “basic knowledge and the development of skills required for the provision of safe patient care,” according to “Unmet Needs: Teaching Physicians to Provide Safe Patient Care,” a report issued by the National Patient Safety Foundation's Lucian Leape Institute. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 10, 2010 The Senate voted 62-36 to approve a $138 billion bill that would temporarily prevent Medicare payment cuts to doctors as well as extend federal Medicaid assistance and COBRA premium subsidies. ... FULL STORY
By Gregg Blesch March 10, 2010 President Barack Obama plans to announce an expansion of payment recapture audits to fight waste and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 10, 2010 Not-for-profit Inova Health System, Fairfax, Va., has named Ryan Bosch, M.D., as its chief medical information officer. ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea March 09, 2010 Less than a third of medication studies published in top journals provide comparative-effectiveness findings that help doctors choose the best treatments for their patients, and studies that do focus on comparing available treatments are limited in their scope, according to a study published in the March 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. ... FULL STORY
By Gregg Blesch March 09, 2010 Rush University Medical Center agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that the 681-bed teaching hospital entered into prohibited lease arrangements for office space provided to two physicians and three practices, the U.S. Justice Department announced. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 09, 2010 Creating jobs takes precedence over healthcare reform, Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said during a presentation at the National Association of Health Underwriters' annual Capitol conference. ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 09, 2010 A top Democrat distanced the House from a March 18 deadline to pass healthcare overhaul legislation, saying the plan is to move swiftly but not to commit to a specific date. ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 08, 2010 The nation's top healthcare official said that hospitals, physicians and other providers would be exempt from having to publicly justify cost increases despite calling on the insurance industry to do so. ... FULL STORY
By Joe Carlson March 08, 2010 Navvis & Co., a St. Louis-based health consultancy, has acquired Tampa, Fla.-based recruitment firm Physician Executive Management Center for an undisclosed sum. ... FULL STORY
By the Associated Press March 08, 2010 President Barack Obama accused insurance companies of placing profits over people and said Republicans ignored long-festering problems when they held power as he sought to build support for swift passage of healthcare legislation. ... FULL STORY
By Vince Galloro March 08, 2010 Wellmont Health Systems, Kingsport, Tenn., said it has hired Troy Sybert, M.D., as its chief medical information officer just a week after it hired a new chief information officer. Sybert will work with that new hire, Kent Petty, and others to implement computerized physician-order entry and an electronic health record at Wellmont's hospitals over the next 18 months, according to the system. ... FULL STORY
By Andis Robeznieks March 07, 2010 Although the American Academy of Family Physicians agrees with many of the stated goals of the proposed meaningful-use criteria for receiving federal subsidies for health IT investments, the CMS needs to “significantly modify the proposed rule,” said Ted Epperly, board chairman of the group, in a seven-page letter to acting CMS Administrator Charlene Frizzera. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell March 05, 2010 The American Medical Association in a letter to Senate leadership is providing yet another nudge for the chamber to approve a permanent repeal to Medicare's sustainable growth-rate formula. ... FULL STORY
By Jessica Zigmond March 05, 2010 Renal care provider Fresenius Medical Care said its subsidiary, U.S. Vascular Access Holdings, has completed its acquisition of National Vascular Care, a Rosemont, Pa.-based company that develops, owns and manages specialty outpatient surgery centers focused on vascular care. ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea March 05, 2010 David Barrett, M.D., will step down from his post as president and CEO of the Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Clinic in January 2011, according to a news release. ... FULL STORY
By Melanie Evans March 05, 2010 Healthcare employment grew by 12,000 workers in February, a one-month increase of 0.1%, to 13.67 million, as the overall economy shed another 36,000 jobs, preliminary figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. ... FULL STORY
By Jessica Zigmond March 04, 2010 State and national reimbursement policies should remove barriers that make it hard for nurse practitioners and physician assistants to serve as primary-care providers, according to recommendations from a diverse panel representing medical associations, academic institutions, insurers, government representatives and not-for-profit organizations. ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 04, 2010 President Barack Obama stressed to House Democrats that failure to pass healthcare reform legislation in the coming weeks would cripple the party's ability to lead in the future. ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias March 04, 2010 Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) has been named the acting chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, replacing a longtime health policy stalwart who held the position for less than 48 hours. ... FULL STORY
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