FDA Launches Plan to Curb Accidental Overdoses
from The Associated Press
The Food and Drug Administration is launching a program to try and prevent millions of accidental drug overdoses that occur each year due to medication errors, misuse and other problems. More    

Program Will Monitor Doctors' Hand-washing
from The Associated Press
Be sure to wash up, Maryland doctors and nurses. You're being watched. State officials said this week they're creating teams of staff members at hospitals around the state to secretly monitor their colleagues' hand-washing habits as part of a first-of-its-kind program. The monitors will contribute to a system-wide report on hand-washing, using $100,000 in federal stimulus money. More    

Now Is the Time to Weigh Medicare Options
from The New York Times
While employees now typically face a dwindling number of options, Medicare recipients may have the opposite problem -- a potentially overwhelming welter of choices. They may need to sort through dozens, even hundreds, of choices during the annual enrollment period, which runs Nov. 15 through Dec. 31. More    

CMS Tightens Rules for Physicians who Order, Refer
from AAFP
Effective Oct. 5, physicians who participate in Medicare must include their names and National Provider Identifiers, or NPIs, when ordering prescriptions, medical supplies or medical services or when making patient referrals for service. And enrollment in Medicare will be checked against the Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System, PECOS. More    

Oklahoma Hospitals Pin Success on Efficient ER Units
from The Oklahoman
Overflowing hospital emergency rooms have been getting more crowded for years, and now concerns about the H1N1 flu virus are taxing emergency care facilities and physicians even further. Yet the operations of emergency departments are vital, not only for the ability to quickly treat the seriously ill and injured, but to a hospital’s financial health. More