http://www.marketwatch.com PASADENA, Calif., Nov 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Kaiser Permanente received the most stars in the just released HMO Quality Report from the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA). Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region and Northern California Region each received seven of eight possible stars in the report — more than any other […]

By Molly Henneberg http://www.foxnews.com WASHINGTON —  In 2011, the first of the 78 million baby boomers will turn 65. But only one out of every 100 doctors is a certified geriatrician specializing in treating the elderly. And that is a growing concern for those in medicine. “The actual number of certified geriatricians is currently going down […]

By Kay Lazar As a phalanx of sign-carrying mothers rallied outside, their babies bundled against the earlymorning cold, Beverly Hospital trustees yesterday backed down from a plan to cease deliveries at the hospital’s natural birthing center, one of only two such facilities in the state. In a four-sentence statement from Northeast Health System, which owns […]

BY CHRIS RIZO http://www.legalnewsline.com SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – If the Illinois Supreme Court decides to strike down limits on medical malpractice awards it could mean fewer doctors practicing in the state, sources told Legal Newsline Tuesday. The state’s high court is examining the constitutionality of caps lawmakers placed on lawsuit awards. In 2005, state […]

By Val Willingham http://www.cnn.com (CNN) — Nearly half the respondents in a survey of U.S. primary care physicians said that they would seriously consider getting out of the medical business within the next three years if they had an alternative The survey, released this week by the Physicians’ Foundation, which promotes better doctor-patient relationships, sought […]

http://www.chteprescribing.com Primary care physicians in 12 select areas may be selected by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to receive additional Medicare dollars under a new five-year project using certified electronic health records (EHR) systems. Each physician participant could receive up to $58,000, with a limit of $290,000 per practice, over the life […]

Kay Lazar, Globe Staff The fear of being sued is driving Massachusetts physicians to order many tests, procedures, referrals to specialists and even hospitalizations for consumers that aren’t needed and drive up health costs by more than $1.4 billion a year, according to a new study that is the first of its kind. The Massachusetts […]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org Coverage, Access and Quality | Texas, Florida Facing Physician Shortages; Hispanics Largely Affected Texas will need an additional 40,000 doctors by 2025 to keep up with a growing population, particularly among Hispanics, the San Antonio Express-News reports. About 20,000 of the 37,000 doctors currently practicing in Texas will have retired or left their practices over the […]

By Jason Robertson http://www.dallasnews.com