Why does the Mayo Clinic need a center devoted to explaining how to use blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube?  Read More →

Americans will soon be hearing more about a new type of entity: accountable care organizations. That’s because the health care reform legislation enacted earlier this year authorizes Medicare to contract with accountable care organizations, or ACOs, to provide care for enrollees. Accountable care organizations are designed to focus on delivering care to a particular population  Read More →

Partners HealthCare’s clinical and information system leaders are still poring over and absorbing the details of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) program for Meaningful Use of certified interoperable electronic health record technology by the nation’s hospitals and physicians.  But two things are already clear: These criteria will push provider organizations into  Read More →

There are about 30,000 patient deaths a year attributable to CRBSIs, almost all of which could be prevented.  Read More →

One panel member said unprofessional and abusive behavior was “pervasive in medical training.”  Read More →

By PAUL LEVY Many people involved in hospitals wonder how it can be financially prudent for investors to put their money into for-profit ventures that buy non-profit hospitals. (Examples here and here.) After all, the argument goes, the newly privatized…  Read More →

Are the suggested guidelines too much or not enough?  Read More →

Can the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act succeed in reducing the growth rate of health care spending? It must, David Cutler said in an article in the June issue of Health Affairs   and at a June 7 Washington D.C. briefing on the issue. Video and slides from the briefing are available on the Health Affairs Web site , and an …  Read More →

By JOHN GOODMAN I’ve noticed at The Health Care Blog quite a few people are obsessed with the role of profit in the health care system. Many apparently believe that for-profit entities have no legitimate role in an ideal world…  Read More →

Hospitals have renovated facilities and purchased specialized medical products ranging from blood pressure cuffs to commodes to post-mortem bags to handle the severely obese.  Read More →

Having been blessed by the new health reform legislation, accountable care organizations (ACOs) are a hot topic in the health policy world, as evidenced by the just-concluded and well-attended National Accountable Health Care Organization Summit (cosponsored by Health Affairs ) in Washington, D.C. Health Affairs has published much of the research and thinking related to ACOs. For example, in the May 2010 issue of the journal, Mark McClellan,... 

Section 9007 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , creating a new 504(r) of the Internal Revenue Code,  “Additional Requirements for Charitable Hospitals,” crowns a long-standing campaign by Senator Charles Grassley to increase the accountability and “charitability” of tax exempt hospitals.  Indeed, Republican Grassley proudly claims credit for the provision on his website , in spite of the fact that Republican senators... 

A foundation might mean more integrated care for patients, but some worry it would curb competition.  Read More →

The study, published online today in Pediatrics, found that at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, the monthly mortality rate dropped by 20%.  Read More →

The would-be kidney donor tells the paper that he received a fax on Wednesday from the hospital, saying that the hospital was concerned about his growing ties to the would-be recipient and her daughter, 9.  Read More →