Hospitals fall short on preventing infections
Eighty-seven percent of U.S. hospitals do not comply with recommended steps for preventing infections, according to a new study by the Leapfrog Group. Hospital-acquired infections add an average of more than $15,000 to a patient’s hospital bill, amounting to more than $30 billion annually. One out of every 20 patients annually contracts an infection during his/her care. Of 2 million people who acquire an infection, 90,000 of them die, Leapfrog said.
Date: 09/14/07
Drug firm pays $190M in false claims settlement
Sanofi-aventis US Inc., a subsidiary of Paris-based Sanofi-aventis Group, has paid settlements to the federal government, several states and the District of Columbia as a result of lawsuits regarding the average wholesale price of its Anzemet drug. Investigators found that Sanofi-aventis’ predecessor, Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc., created illegal discrepancies between the prices the company charged to its customers and the rates at which it was reimbursed by the federal government.
Date: 09/13/07
Survey says RHIOS still need grants to survive
Grants are still a crucial source of funding for regional health information networks, which are slow to realize that they may need to depend on outside sources of funding to sustain operations. The 2007 survey from the Healthcare IT Transition Group found that RHIO initiatives expect to need seed money to get started. “RHIOs continue to rely on grants for the lion’s share of revenues,” said Michael Christopher, a senior development analyst and the author of the report.
Date: 09/10/07
Romney on healthcare: end government ‘free rides’
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says states should put an end to “free rides” when it comes to healthcare. At the Florida Medical Association’s annual conference in Hollywood, Fla., the former Massachusetts governor said healthcare should be reformed not through more extensive federal government involvement, but through innovative solutions formulated by states for their own unique populations. “A one-size-fits-all national healthcare system is bound to fail,” he said. “It ignores the very dramatic differences between states, and it relies on a Washington bureaucracy to manage.”
Date: 09/04/07