News

Diversified Service Options (DSO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. and the holding company for First Coast Service Options (FCSO), has reached an agreement to acquire Highmark Medicare Services (HMS), a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc.

At the close of the third annual mHealth Summit, held Dec. 5-7 in Washington, D.C., keynote speakers highlighted the vast impact mobile phones and other mobile devices are having -- and will continue to have -- on healthcare delivery in the United States and worldwide.

Recent successes in creating payer-provider partnerships show some of the steps payers and providers can take in order to create effective collaborations.

Healthcare employment rose by 17,000 in November 2011, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in early December.

On Wednesday, corporate powerhouses GE and Microsoft announced they will launch a 50-50 joint venture in early 2012 that leverages the platform experience of Microsoft and GE's core healthcare competencies in clinical applications, with the goal of providing real time data to improve patient experience and clinical outcomes.

As the country faces a shortage of doctors in the coming decades as the demand for them increases, one Midwestern state has put a number on just how many extra doctors per year it will need to avoid a crisis: 100.

The Department of Health and Human Services granted more than $14 million Thursday to 45 school-based health centers across the country, increasing the number of children served at the centers by nearly 50 percent.

Edward Sim President of Physician Integration Baptist Health Jacksonville, Fla.

Robert LeWinter Vice President Regional Claims Recovery Service North Shore-LIJ Health System New Hyde Park, NY

Jim Webb Senior Vice President of Operations Provista Irving, Texas