Downsizing Emergency Departments May Create Dangerous Loss of 'Surge Capacity' for Crisis Situations
from Science Daily
 Factors that lead to emergency department overcrowdings, ambulance diversions and other incidents that endanger patient safety have been revealed. A new study has shown that reductions in the number of hospital beds and downsizing or closure of emergency departments may create a dangerous loss of 'surge capacity.’ More
Obama Steps Up Push for Health Care Overhaul
from Reuters
The White House stepped up efforts to build public support for a far-reaching revamp of the U.S. health care system on Tuesday, arguing in a new report that it would greatly improve the U.S. economy.
More
Hospitals Mobilizing to Fight Proposed Charity Care Rules
from The New York Times
Hospitals plan to begin a lobbying campaign this week to prevent Congress from including charity care requirements in legislation to overhaul the health care system. The Senate Finance Committee is considering a bipartisan proposal that would require hospitals to provide “a minimum annual level of charitable care” as a condition for getting or keeping the tax-exempt status available to charitable organizations.
More
Health Plans Offer Providers Free Tool to Comply with Minnesota's E3 Initiative
from Healthcare IT News
Minnesota is set to become the first state to require all health care providers to electronically submit insurance claims to health plans using a single set of data standards. Referred to as the E3 Initiative, the law is designed to streamline three major components of the billing process: eligibility, claims and payment and remittance advice.
More
EDPMA Annual Conference
Attend Solutions Summit XII in beautiful Miami June 8-10! There’s still time to register!
Click here to learn more.
|
White House Report Highlights Ups and Downs of Health Care Technology
from Healthcare IT News
As President Barack Obama prepared to meet with Congressional Democrats this week to discuss health care reform, the White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report that highlights both the upside and the downside of technology. On the plus side, healthcare IT could lead to high-value care by providing key information to providers rapidly. The down side includes the overuse of diagnostic technology such as MRIs.
More
Emergency Department Crowding a Lingering Problem, GAO Report Says
from Modern Healthcare
A report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) points out that a significiant number of patient visits to the emergency rooms of the U.S. are paid for with federal funds. In addition, the report addresses overcrowding and ambulance diverting.
More
Triage Tech with Star Trek Twist
from Product Design and Development
Triage technology comes with a Star Trek twist, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T). “In the case of large-scale triage, it is not always the squeaky wheel that needs the grease,” he says. In partnership with the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), Boeing and Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis, S&T’s Tech Solutions group is developing the Standoff Patient Triage Tool (SPTT), a device that classic Star Trek fans will recognize for its resemblance to the medical diagnostic tool known as the tricorder.
More
|
