Bernie Monegain

Massachusetts has awarded $32.6 million in grants and increased Medicaid rate payments to 69 hospitals and community centers across the commonwealth.

South Carolina's 65 acute care hospitals are banding together to prevent healthcare-acquired infections across the state. The effort is expected to save hundreds of lives and as much $40 million a year.

Two physician organizations are weighing in on the healthcare piece of the economic stimulus package, calling on the president and Congress to support healthcare information technology, additional funding for primary care training, Medicaid funding for states and comparative effectiveness research.

Humana, one of the nation's largest health-benefits companies, has promised to adopt machine-readable patient ID cards and, in the process, won the acclaim of the Medical Group Management Association, which estimates the cards could save physician offices and hospitals as much as $1 billion a year.

Healthcare IT leaders in Indiana say they have a tested model of healthcare data exchange - and the government would get a quick return on its investment if it were replicated around the nation.

MTBC, a revenue cycle management and healthcare IT company, is taking to the air to call attention to its offerings.

Eastern Maine Medical Center, the 2008 winner of the Davies Award that recognizes excellence in use of information technology, has joined the ranks of hospitals coping with tough economic times. Hospital officials say they will cut 76 jobs, reduce overtime and put several projects on hold.

Patients at Texas hospitals that have automated some of their health information systems appear to have fewer complications, lower death rates and reduced costs, according to a report in the Jan. 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Universal healthcare tops the list of 11 healthcare reform priorities being advocated by the American Medical Group Association as the new administration and Congress start promised work on healthcare reform.

Don't overemphasize traditional electronic medical records as the answer to transforming healthcare, cautions the head of the Center for Connected Health.