Business Intelligence

Providers utilize business intelligence to monitor referral patterns and collaborate with clinicians who order their services. Such analytics tools have also been deployed in the specialty to improve productivity, track patient satisfaction and bolster quality.

Connecticut passes law to curb hospital sale-leaseback deals, favored by private equity firms
Senate Bill 196 was signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont a year after the state saw Prospect Medical Holdings, an investor-backed health system, fall into bankruptcy as investors extracted hundreds of millions of dollars in fees from its hospitals.
Company behind Black physician finder website accused of racial discrimination in a lawsuit
The lawsuit against Find a Black Doctor was filed by Travis Morrell, MD—a dermatologist based in Colorado—who alleges he was harmed by being excluded from the directory on the basis of race. His case has the backing of the conservative-aligned advocacy group Do No Harm.
Walmart expands virtual patient care offerings with Teladoc integration
Teladoc, the popular telehealth platform, will provide urgent care, dermatology and nutrition support through Walmart’s existing virtual patient care platform. The companies made the announcement Thursday.
National health system buys the College of Health Care Professions to recruit new staff in Texas
HCA Healthcare said the acquisition comes after years of working with CHCP to recruit medical assistants into emergency rooms at hospitals. The full terms of the deal were not disclosed.
‘Advanced access’ scheduling pleases patients, strengthens PCPs
Primary care providers can significantly improve practice performance as well as patient satisfaction by making one workaday adjustment: leaving some appointment slots open to accommodate walk-ins throughout the day.

AMA Wants Congress to Postpone ICD-10 Adoption Deadline

UPDATE ON 2/16/12 — HHS has agreed to postpone the ICD-10 deadline. A new deadline has not yet been set.

Utah Bill Would Urge Rads to Include Density in Mammo Reports

Proposed legislation in Utah would urge radiologists to include information about breast density in mammogram results, according to an article in the Deseret News.

Florida Committee Rejects Transparency Bill

A bill in Florida that would have required greater cost transparency on the part of diagnostic imaging facilities and other health care providers was defeated by a Senate Committee last week.

False Positives Low for CT Lung Cancer Screening

Addressing concerns that CT imaging to screen for lung cancer would increase the number of false-positives, researchers found it actually resulted in a low rate for benign nodules.

Radiologist Referrals Generate Few High-Cost Exams

A study in the latest issue of the journal Radiology says that a radiologists recommendation accounts for only a small portion of high-cost imaging procedures.

Congress Restarts “Doc-Fix” Talks as Med Groups Weigh-In

Congressional lawmakers re-opened negotiations Tuesday over a deal to avoid deep cuts to Medicare reimbursements set to take effect March 1 based on the Sustainable Growth Rate formula.

GE Healthcare to Open New Facility in Saudi Arabia

GE Healthcare announced a memo-of-understanding this week with a Saudi Arabia firm to build a radiopharmaceutical plant and PET imaging facility in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Varian Ends First Quarter Down 1 Percent

Varian Medical Systems, the Palo Alto-based maker of oncology and X-ray equipment, announced first quarter net earnings were down 1 percent from last year.

Business Intelligence

Connecticut passes law to curb hospital sale-leaseback deals, favored by private equity firms

Company behind Black physician finder website accused of racial discrimination in a lawsuit

Walmart expands virtual patient care offerings with Teladoc integration

National health system buys the College of Health Care Professions to recruit new staff in Texas

‘Advanced access’ scheduling pleases patients, strengthens PCPs