Community Benefit

An analysis of hospices active in Medicare between 1999 and 2009 published in the June issue of Health Affairs is an attempt to shed some light on the degree of the changes transforming the industry and to point the industry in the direction it should be focusing on.

The home care industry has enormous potential for business people. One segment of the business world has already figured this out: franchise business owners

Ardis Dee Hoven, MD President-elect, American Medical Association Medical director, Bluegrass Care Clinic Lexington, Ky.

The obesity epidemic in the U.S. will eventually bankrupt the nation if left unchecked, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, which held a webcast June 5 to outline its recommendations for curbing the crisis.

Soliant Health, a specialty healthcare staffing provider and part of Adecco Group, announced its list of America's 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals on July 3.

A recent Yale study of the care quality received at safety-net hospitals in metropolitan areas of the U.S., which provide care for the majority of uninsured, low-income and other vulnerable populations, found that the quality at these facilities is nearly the same compared to non-safety-net hospitals in the same areas.

The business of healthcare is complex and is often not clearly understood by the patient or even by the medical office staff. Here are five steps that medical practices should take to help patients understand medical bills and be better prepared to handle them.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill Monday designed to control the state's healthcare costs. Included in the legislation is an overhaul of the medical liability system, which proponents say will decrease the cost of defensive medicine.

According to a recent study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, nurse burnout has been linked to higher rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which therefore costs hospitals millions of additional dollars each year.

A trio of conservative health economists say that while the 2010 federal health law aims to slow health spending through programs such as value-based purchasing and bundled payments, it fails to fundamentally alter the healthcare financing system.