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 Steve Berberich | Gazette.net Staff Writer http://www.healthcaremaryland.org Widespread shortages in many physician specialties can be expected by 2015 in Maryland, especially in rural counties, unless action is taken soon, said a committee of top medical experts in an unpublished report due to the state government next month. ‘‘I think this is just a small […]

by Steve Berberich | Staff Writer http://www.gazette.net Widespread shortages in many physician specialties can be expected by 2015 in Maryland, especially in rural counties, unless action is taken soon, said a committee of top medical experts in an unpublished report due to the state government next month. ‘‘I think this is just a small piece […]

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 […]

http://www.pennlive.com BY DAVID WENNER Of The Patriot-News A debate in Pennsylvania focuses on the future of a program that, since 2003, has spent nearly $1 billion to help keep doctors in the state. The Mcare abatement program pays part of doctors’ medical malpractice insurance expenses. Most of the money comes from a cigarette tax. Amid […]

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 […]

By DAVID ARMSTRONG http://online.wsj.com/ A former Pfizer Inc. official in a lawsuit accused the company of illegally boosting sales of its top-selling drug Lipitor through an elaborate campaign of misleading educational programs for doctors. Jesse Polansky, claims that the educational campaign was a key part of a marketing strategy that “led thousands of physicians to […]

Author: Martha Lagace http://hbswk.hbs.edu What used to be rare is now commonplace: traveling abroad to receive medical treatment, and to a developing country at that. So-called medical tourism is on the rise for everything from cardiac care to plastic surgery to hip and knee replacements. As a recent Harvard Business School case study describes, the […]

http://www.insurancejournal.com/ Lloyds’s insurer, Marketform Group Limited, which specilizes in non-US medical malpractice and other specialty lines, announced that American Financial Group Inc. (AFG) is to become the majority shareholder in its business, increasing the Company’s presence as an international specialist insurer. The acquisition, which remains subject to approval by Lloyd’s and the UK’s Financial Services […]