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Report Urges Relaxed E-Rules
The federal government could better foster electronic medical record keeping if it relaxed its “meaningful use” standards, according to a market analysis firm. That standard requires physicians, hospitals, and other health professionals to meet 25 wide-ranging criteria for how they use electronic medical records in order to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. The report by Kalorama Information said that the stringent requirements could limit sales of new EMR systems. The mandates “may not be effective, given the kind of real-world usage among physicians we see today,” Bruce Carlson of Kalorama Information said in a statement. “Getting physicians used to these systems is the challenge to a totally paperless health care system in the United States, and we think gradual, achievable goals would be preferable.” Some members of Congress also have backed less-stringent meaningful use requirements for both physicians and hospitals.
Hospital Sours on Sweet Drinks
In an effort to combat obesity, Fairview Hospital, a 24-bed acute care hospital in Great Barrington, Mass., said sodas and sugar-sweetened sports drinks no longer will be available on hospital grounds. Fairview, which has signed a “Healthy Food in Healthcare Pledge” developed by the advocacy group Health Care Without Harm, said it decided to eliminate sugary drinks after the state's House of Representatives voted to ban their sale in schools. “We are committed to creating a healthier community and will set the pace by influencing healthier lifestyle choices,” said hospital president Eugene Dellea in a statement. According to Health Care Without Harm, many hospitals make money by negotiating agreements with beverage companies to limit sales to single brands of soft drinks.
Academic Pay Growth Slows
Annual compensation for primary care and specialty physicians in academic settings slowed between 2008 and 2009, increasing less than 3% last year for both primary care physicians and specialists whose roles include teaching, research, and administration, according to the Medical Group Management Association. Primary care physicians in academic practice reported 2009 compensation of $158,218, while specialty care physicians had earnings of $238,587, the report said. Other differences emerged across specialties: Internists in academic practice saw their compensation rise more than 4% between 2008 and 2009, family physicians' incomes rose less than 0.5%, invasive cardiologists' pay was hiked by 7%, ophthalmologists gained by more than 9%, and neurologists' compensation fell by more than 2%. Income for physicians in academic practice continues to trail earnings of physicians in private practices, the report said.
Doctors, Hospitals Clash Over Faith
Nearly 1 in 10 primary care physicians has experienced a conflict over patient care policies with a hospital or practice affiliated with a religion, researchers from the University of Chicago reported online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Such entities hold about one-fifth of all U.S. hospital beds, according to the report. About 43% of primary care physicians have practiced in religion-affiliated hospitals, and about 19% of them experienced conflicts stemming from policies that, for instance, prohibit certain reproductive and end-of-life treatments, the researchers' cross-sectional survey found.
'Health' Is New Biz Buzzword
“Health” is joining “green” as a business strategy, according to a worldwide survey by the public relations firm Edelman. Survey respondents said businesses should support the health of their local communities, create new products that maintain and improve health, and educate the public on health topics related to products and services. More than two-thirds said that businesses should help to address obesity. Nearly three-quarters said they trust a company more that is effectively engaged in health, and two-thirds said they would either recommend or buy products from such a company. But half of respondents said business is doing a fair or poor job on health, and about a third said they trust business to address health issues.
Stricter EPA Water Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency is developing stronger standards for contaminants in drinking water. First, the agency will seek to address contaminants as groups, rather than individually, for the sake of efficiency, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a speech. And within the next year, the agency will revise standards for the carcinogenic contaminants tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which are used in industrial processes and get into ground and surface water. Then the EPA will turn to the carcinogens acrylamide and epichlorohydrin, impurities that can be introduced into drinking water during its treatment. Ms. Jackson said that the agency also will foster development of new drinking water treatment technologies to address health risks.
Report Urges Relaxed E-Rules
The federal government could better foster electronic medical record keeping if it relaxed its “meaningful use” standards, according to a market analysis firm. That standard requires physicians, hospitals, and other health professionals to meet 25 wide-ranging criteria for how they use electronic medical records in order to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. The report by Kalorama Information said that the stringent requirements could limit sales of new EMR systems. The mandates “may not be effective, given the kind of real-world usage among physicians we see today,” Bruce Carlson of Kalorama Information said in a statement. “Getting physicians used to these systems is the challenge to a totally paperless health care system in the United States, and we think gradual, achievable goals would be preferable.” Some members of Congress also have backed less-stringent meaningful use requirements for both physicians and hospitals.
Hospital Sours on Sweet Drinks
In an effort to combat obesity, Fairview Hospital, a 24-bed acute care hospital in Great Barrington, Mass., said sodas and sugar-sweetened sports drinks no longer will be available on hospital grounds. Fairview, which has signed a “Healthy Food in Healthcare Pledge” developed by the advocacy group Health Care Without Harm, said it decided to eliminate sugary drinks after the state's House of Representatives voted to ban their sale in schools. “We are committed to creating a healthier community and will set the pace by influencing healthier lifestyle choices,” said hospital president Eugene Dellea in a statement. According to Health Care Without Harm, many hospitals make money by negotiating agreements with beverage companies to limit sales to single brands of soft drinks.
Academic Pay Growth Slows
Annual compensation for primary care and specialty physicians in academic settings slowed between 2008 and 2009, increasing less than 3% last year for both primary care physicians and specialists whose roles include teaching, research, and administration, according to the Medical Group Management Association. Primary care physicians in academic practice reported 2009 compensation of $158,218, while specialty care physicians had earnings of $238,587, the report said. Other differences emerged across specialties: Internists in academic practice saw their compensation rise more than 4% between 2008 and 2009, family physicians' incomes rose less than 0.5%, invasive cardiologists' pay was hiked by 7%, ophthalmologists gained by more than 9%, and neurologists' compensation fell by more than 2%. Income for physicians in academic practice continues to trail earnings of physicians in private practices, the report said.
Doctors, Hospitals Clash Over Faith
Nearly 1 in 10 primary care physicians has experienced a conflict over patient care policies with a hospital or practice affiliated with a religion, researchers from the University of Chicago reported online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Such entities hold about one-fifth of all U.S. hospital beds, according to the report. About 43% of primary care physicians have practiced in religion-affiliated hospitals, and about 19% of them experienced conflicts stemming from policies that, for instance, prohibit certain reproductive and end-of-life treatments, the researchers' cross-sectional survey found.
'Health' Is New Biz Buzzword
“Health” is joining “green” as a business strategy, according to a worldwide survey by the public relations firm Edelman. Survey respondents said businesses should support the health of their local communities, create new products that maintain and improve health, and educate the public on health topics related to products and services. More than two-thirds said that businesses should help to address obesity. Nearly three-quarters said they trust a company more that is effectively engaged in health, and two-thirds said they would either recommend or buy products from such a company. But half of respondents said business is doing a fair or poor job on health, and about a third said they trust business to address health issues.
Stricter EPA Water Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency is developing stronger standards for contaminants in drinking water. First, the agency will seek to address contaminants as groups, rather than individually, for the sake of efficiency, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a speech. And within the next year, the agency will revise standards for the carcinogenic contaminants tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which are used in industrial processes and get into ground and surface water. Then the EPA will turn to the carcinogens acrylamide and epichlorohydrin, impurities that can be introduced into drinking water during its treatment. Ms. Jackson said that the agency also will foster development of new drinking water treatment technologies to address health risks.
Report Urges Relaxed E-Rules
The federal government could better foster electronic medical record keeping if it relaxed its “meaningful use” standards, according to a market analysis firm. That standard requires physicians, hospitals, and other health professionals to meet 25 wide-ranging criteria for how they use electronic medical records in order to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. The report by Kalorama Information said that the stringent requirements could limit sales of new EMR systems. The mandates “may not be effective, given the kind of real-world usage among physicians we see today,” Bruce Carlson of Kalorama Information said in a statement. “Getting physicians used to these systems is the challenge to a totally paperless health care system in the United States, and we think gradual, achievable goals would be preferable.” Some members of Congress also have backed less-stringent meaningful use requirements for both physicians and hospitals.
Hospital Sours on Sweet Drinks
In an effort to combat obesity, Fairview Hospital, a 24-bed acute care hospital in Great Barrington, Mass., said sodas and sugar-sweetened sports drinks no longer will be available on hospital grounds. Fairview, which has signed a “Healthy Food in Healthcare Pledge” developed by the advocacy group Health Care Without Harm, said it decided to eliminate sugary drinks after the state's House of Representatives voted to ban their sale in schools. “We are committed to creating a healthier community and will set the pace by influencing healthier lifestyle choices,” said hospital president Eugene Dellea in a statement. According to Health Care Without Harm, many hospitals make money by negotiating agreements with beverage companies to limit sales to single brands of soft drinks.
Academic Pay Growth Slows
Annual compensation for primary care and specialty physicians in academic settings slowed between 2008 and 2009, increasing less than 3% last year for both primary care physicians and specialists whose roles include teaching, research, and administration, according to the Medical Group Management Association. Primary care physicians in academic practice reported 2009 compensation of $158,218, while specialty care physicians had earnings of $238,587, the report said. Other differences emerged across specialties: Internists in academic practice saw their compensation rise more than 4% between 2008 and 2009, family physicians' incomes rose less than 0.5%, invasive cardiologists' pay was hiked by 7%, ophthalmologists gained by more than 9%, and neurologists' compensation fell by more than 2%. Income for physicians in academic practice continues to trail earnings of physicians in private practices, the report said.
Doctors, Hospitals Clash Over Faith
Nearly 1 in 10 primary care physicians has experienced a conflict over patient care policies with a hospital or practice affiliated with a religion, researchers from the University of Chicago reported online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Such entities hold about one-fifth of all U.S. hospital beds, according to the report. About 43% of primary care physicians have practiced in religion-affiliated hospitals, and about 19% of them experienced conflicts stemming from policies that, for instance, prohibit certain reproductive and end-of-life treatments, the researchers' cross-sectional survey found.
'Health' Is New Biz Buzzword
“Health” is joining “green” as a business strategy, according to a worldwide survey by the public relations firm Edelman. Survey respondents said businesses should support the health of their local communities, create new products that maintain and improve health, and educate the public on health topics related to products and services. More than two-thirds said that businesses should help to address obesity. Nearly three-quarters said they trust a company more that is effectively engaged in health, and two-thirds said they would either recommend or buy products from such a company. But half of respondents said business is doing a fair or poor job on health, and about a third said they trust business to address health issues.
Stricter EPA Water Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency is developing stronger standards for contaminants in drinking water. First, the agency will seek to address contaminants as groups, rather than individually, for the sake of efficiency, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a speech. And within the next year, the agency will revise standards for the carcinogenic contaminants tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, which are used in industrial processes and get into ground and surface water. Then the EPA will turn to the carcinogens acrylamide and epichlorohydrin, impurities that can be introduced into drinking water during its treatment. Ms. Jackson said that the agency also will foster development of new drinking water treatment technologies to address health risks.