By Dr. Elizabeth Smoots Herald Columnist Home Do you find that your medical care is sometimes confusing, disorganized and complicated? Our fragmented health care system offers such an assortment of providers, tests, treatments and procedures — each with its own set of paperwork and bills — that it’s difficult to keep track of it all. […]

By SHANNON DININNY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://seattlepi.nwsource.com As rural areas cry out for more doctors, a hospital that serves workers and their families in Eastern Washington farm country could fall victim to a crackdown on boutique hospitals that cater to the urban rich. Doctors at the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center have spent 67 years mending […]

By Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff UMass Memorial Medical Center last week adopted some of the strictest conflict of interest rules in the country, in effect sharply limiting the close ties between many doctors and the makers of drugs and medical devices. The policy should significantly reduce conversations and meetings between physicians and salespeople, and therefore […]

By Larry Wheeler, Gannett News Service http://www.usatoday.com Doctors participating in a new Medicare experiment appear to have done the impossible — delivering better care and saving money at the same time. Using electronic health records and other innovations, physicians at 10 large group practices helped thousands of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes take […]

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette http://www.post-gazette.com When confronted earlier this week about a tax trade-off needed to secure his hospital’s $100 million scholarship gift, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center general counsel Robert Cindrich reminded City Council members that “We are not obligated by law to give anything.” But the larger view of UPMC’s local obligation […]

By BARRY SHLACHTER Star-Telegram Staff Writer http://www.star-telegram.com Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has ended an 11-year legal dispute with the Texas attorney general’s office by agreeing to a $4.5 million settlement that includes $500,000 payments for indigent care to three hospitals, including Children’s Medical Center Dallas and facilities in Austin and Corpus Christi. […]

By Christopher Lee washingtonpost.com www.msnbc.msn.com Hospital emergency departments across the United States, already struggling with overcrowding and growing patient loads, are increasingly unable to find specialists to help treat seriously injured and ill patients, according to medical experts. Crucial minutes, hours and even days can go by as patients suffering from trauma, strokes, broken bones […]

By Nancy Feris http://www.govhealthit.com A new study finds that despite the widespread interest in regional health information exchanges in recent years, only 20 RHIOs in the United States are fully functional and a dozen are self-sustaining. Calling RHIOs’ survival in their current form “tenuous at best,” the study questions many of the prevailing assumptions about […]

Can Be Used For Anything From Deductibles To Surgery Reporting Kirstin Cole http://wcbstv.com We will be spending more than $26 billion on gift cards this year. And just when you thought there’s nothing new under the Christmas tree along comes one for “good health.” When it comes to Christmas presents, Stacey Smith was stumped over […]