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Sullenberger urges hospitals to adopt aviation culture of safety HealthLeaders Media Share     Hospital leaders attending the American Hospital Association's Leadership Summit in San Diego got a stern lecture from Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who advised them they should adopt the safety culture of the aviation industry. They must stop thinking of accidents "as inevitable and start thinking about them as unimaginable," he said. "We in aviation have learned a lot, and we’re anxious to share it with you." More
Why picking a doctor is harder than ever NPR Share
In just a few weeks many people who get health insurance on the job will have to pick a health plan. Often the decision boils down to which one has your favorite doctors within the network. Your choices might be even more limited this year than in previous ones, if your employer is looking, as most are, to slow the rise in health costs, So if you're in the market for a new doctor, how do you decide? It's not easy. More Covering new ground in health system shift The New York Times Share
In late March, after passage of the landmark health care legislation, the Obama administration sent a sternly worded notice to insurance companies, saying they must cover children, regardless of any pre-existing conditions. Insurers acceded to the demand, and the White House declared victory. But it came at a price. Four months later some insurers said they would stop writing new coverage for children in the individual insurance market. If parents could buy "child only" policies at any time for any reason, they might wait until their children got sick, insurers said. More
Targeting infant mortality The Baltimore Sun Share
Although the infant mortality rate in Maryland showed a promising decline in 2009, there is little cause for celebration in Baltimore City. In contrast to much of the rest of the state, its infant mortality rate increased from 12.2 in 2008 to 13.5 in 2009. While the mortality rate among white infants in Baltimore dropped slightly, the mortality rate in black children rose to a shocking rate of 15.8 per 1,000 live births, a rate higher than that of many third world countries. Last year there were 128 deaths of Baltimore City children under age 1. Of those deaths, 26 were sleep related, and likely preventable. More Breaking the cycle: Nurse-led efforts reduce hospital readmissions Nurse Week Share
Judith Figueroa was once a familiar face in the ED, visiting the hospital almost every month, she says. The 69-year-old New York resident has numerous chronic health problems, including diabetes, a heart condition and a failing liver. She takes multiple medications. But since last year, when Carolyn McCrea, RN, began implementing a series of best practices proven to reduce hospital readmissions, Figueroa’s visits to the ED have dropped considerably. "She tells me how to take care of myself," Figueroa says of McCrea, who is a care coordinator for Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the largest not-for-profit home-care agency in the U.S. "She tells me to go to the doctor, and not to wait until I get worse. She makes sure I keep my appointments, and if I've having problems, she writes them down to show the doctor." More
Administration sees $8 billion Medicare savings in 2011 Associated Press via The Miami Herald Share
The new health overhaul law is starting to produce savings for Medicare and will eventually add more than a decade of solvency to the program's trust fund, the Obama administration said in an upbeat report recently released. Medicare will save about $8 billion by the end of next year, and as much as $575 billion over the rest of the decade, the report said. More Bedbugs biting all over US WebMD Share
The bedbugs are biting, and not just in New York City. The largest-ever survey on bedbug infestations suggests that the creepy, blood-sucking creatures are being found and fought all over the United States — in single-family homes, apartment buildings and condos, hotels and motels, retail establishments, and even schools and churches. The survey, sponsored by the National Pest Management Association, found that bedbug-related calls to exterminators have risen by 81 percent over the last decade and by 57 percent over the last five years. More
Americans cut back on visits to doctor The Wall Street Journal Share
Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs. The drop in usage is showing up as health-care companies report financial results. Insurers, lab-testing companies, hospitals and doctor-billing concerns say that patient visits, drug prescriptions and procedures were down in the second quarter from year-ago levels. More FDA cites its food safety website HealthDay News Share
More than 100 reports of potentially hazardous food products were filed with the U.S. government's food safety Web site in its first seven months of operation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said. The Reportable Food Registry requires manufacturers, processors, packers and distributors to immediately report safety problems with food, animal feed and pet food that are likely to cause serious health problems. The registry was mandated by Congress in 2007, following a series of high-profile outbreaks of food-borne illnesses across the country. More
H1N1 in steep decline Omaha World-Herald Share
H1N1 flu, which nearly caused a national panic last year before collapsing by year's end, remains very low across the U.S., with no indication it will worsen as the fall flu season nears, federal health officials recently said. The country will do away with last year's crisis handling of flu, they said, in two ways. More Restaurants call health website unfair The New York Times Share
The new requirement that New York City's 24,000 restaurants prominently display letter grades for cleanliness has provoked dire predictions that would-be customers will flee when they see a big green B or dreaded yellow C in the window. But while health department officials have only begun the yearlong process of assigning the grades, a potentially more powerful — and, restaurateurs say, misleading — tool is already in use: a health department website that has made a wealth of older inspection data easily accessible. More Doctor discounts for the asking Kaiser Health News with Los Angeles Times Share
Looking to save money on health care? Consider asking your doctor for a discount. That's what Shelly Gordon of Palo Alto did. Gordon, who has a Blue Cross health plan with a $5,000 deductible and a $500 monthly premium, buys her own insurance since starting her own public relations and communications firm. When she had her annual checkup, she learned that it came with a $350 price tag. Gordon explained to the doctor that her insurance would not pick up any of the expense because she had not yet met her deductible and that the payment would be a financial struggle for her. So the doctor removed a few routine tests from the bill, saving Gordon about $125. More |
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