By Kevin Sack The New York Times http://www.registerguard.com/ SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A year that began with great ambition for major expansions of health insurance here and in other state capitals is ending with considerable uncertainty, as a second wave of change runs headlong into a darkening economy and political divisions over how to apportion the […]

Indo-Asian News Service, Press Trust Of India http://www.hindustantimes.com An Indian American doctor has closed down her practice in the US to dedicate time and attention to a pediatrics centre for impoverished children in Gujarat. The Gujarat-born Roda Patel, who had migrated with her husband to the US in 1963, had a flourishing practice at Northbrook, […]

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. […]

The Associated Press http://www.pennlive.com HARRISBURG, Pa. — Physicians and other health care providers will not have to pay into a state-run medical malpractice insurance fund for the first quarter of 2008 while Gov. Ed Rendell and legislators joust over what to do with the fund’s surplus. Rendell said Monday that collections on bills for the […]

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 Christy Gutowski | Daily Herald Staff The debate regarding limits on medical malpractice awards is heating up again after a Cook County judge struck down a law capping certain damages for patients. At issue is the system in which Illinois holds medical professionals accountable. Illinois used to have a lawsuit-friendly reputation. Doctors and other […]

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 […]