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Safety and Quality
No one expects to be harmed by their health care. Emerging new rules of the road could make you safer. Learn more.
States cut mental health budgets as demand increases
More than half the states have cut their mental health budgets since the recession hit home, while the economic slump has pushed up demand for such services, according to a new report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Print PDF
PDF Needs improvement: U.S. health care not getting better, report finds
America’s health care system is not getting any better even as it gets more expensive, according to the third comprehensive scorecard issued by the Commonwealth Fund, one of the country’s biggest health care foundations. The scorecard primarily looked at data from 2007 to 2009, before the health care law was adopted last year. Print PDF
‘Comparative effectiveness research’ tackles medicine’s unanswered questions
In American health care, nobody really owns the problem of figuring out what works best. The Obama administration created a permanent stream of funding for comparative effectiveness research by establishing, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, an independent entity called the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, or PCORI. Print PDF
Los Angeles Times: California medical board fails to discipline 710 troubled doctors
California’s medical board failed to discipline 710 troubled doctors even as they were disciplined by hospitals, surgical centers and other healthcare organizations in the state, according to a report released Tuesday. Print PDF
California Watch: Senator asks Harris to review hospital sale
The most recent California Watch report detailed that after Prime acquired nearly a dozen hospitals in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Bernardino counties, the rate of elderly patients admitted from the emergency room to hospital beds jumped by 40 percent. The chain has reaped tens of millions more as a result of admitting more Medicare patients Continue Reading
California Healthline: Some California hospitals could lose Medicare funds under CMS rule
The rule outlines a new Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program that will reduce payments to hospitals with “excess readmissions” of myocardial infarction, heart failure and pneumonia patients starting in FY 2013. The rule is designed to reduce costs and boost hospitals’ coordination of care for patients after they are discharged.
Panel formed to give consumers reliable treatment information
The authors of the 2010 federal health law established an independent nonprofit organization called the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Its mission is to compare treatments to determine which options make the most sense for particular people.
CU: IOM report urges more consumer protection for medical devices
The report called on the FDA, to develop a framework for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of these devices.
Berwick appointed to head Medicare, Medicaid
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 Berwick Appointed to Head Medicare, Medicaid: Statement by Consumers Union Jim Guest, the President and CEO of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, made the following statement in support of Dr. Donald M. Berwick’s appointment to head Medicare and Medicaid: “We are relieved that President Obama moved ahead Continue Reading
CU board chair Teresa Moran Schwartz nominated for Health Advisory Panel
Teresa is a visionary whose experience, integrity, and common-sense ability to get results make her an ideal choice to serve the public interest
