Skip to main content

Rene Letourneau

Rene is a former Editor for Healthcare Finance News.

By Rene Letourneau | 09:07 pm | November 06, 2011
So far this year, more than 2.2 million people with Medicare have saved more than $1.2 billion on their prescriptions, for an average of $550 per person, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday.
By Rene Letourneau | 02:38 pm | November 04, 2011
Healthcare Finance News Managing Editor René Letourneau spoke recently with Rosemary Sheehan, vice president of revenue cycle operations at Boston-area Partners HealthCare system about her organization’s ICD-10 preparedness efforts:
By Rene Letourneau | 02:33 pm | November 04, 2011
According to financial services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, healthcare real estate investment trusts (HCREITs) have raised $22.5 billion over the past 18 months, spiking third party interest in the medical property sector.
By Rene Letourneau | 01:36 pm | November 04, 2011
Physicians estimate the cost of defensive medicine to be between 26 and 34 percent of total annual healthcare costs, according to a recent report by Jackson Healthcare. At an estimated $2.5 trillion in annual spending, this means $650-850 billion is spent each year on medical orders intended to avoid lawsuits rather than treat patients.
By Rene Letourneau | 11:12 am | November 04, 2011
Wisconsin hospitals generate $28 billion in annual economic activity for the state, according to a study released Thursday by the University of Wisconsin-Cooperative Extension Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA).
By Rene Letourneau | 10:08 am | November 04, 2011
Information technology and business process services firm CGI Group, Inc. announced this week that it will now report a separate health global vertical segment.
By Rene Letourneau | 03:59 pm | November 03, 2011
Use of generic prescription drugs in the United States has saved consumers and the healthcare system $931 billion over the last 10 years, according to a new report from the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA).
By Rene Letourneau | 03:20 pm | November 03, 2011
With the October 2013 deadline for ICD-10 implementation looming, providers are looking for solutions to make the shift as painless as possible. St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Health Information Systems recently released its 360 Encompass System, which offers auto-suggested codes and real-time clinical documentation improvement prompts that are delivered at the point of care. The application codes in ICD-10 and also enables coding in ICD-9 while viewing the ICD-10 equivalent.
By Rene Letourneau | 11:12 am | November 03, 2011
Web-based healthcare information provider HealthGrades announced Wednesday that it has reached a definitive agreement to merge with CPM, a customer relationship management solutions firm.
By Rene Letourneau | 05:09 pm | November 02, 2011
The growing drug shortage crisis is the number one supply chain concern for providers nationwide says Novation, a group purchasing organization. Yet, even in these dire circumstances, there may be a glimmer of hope.