Health care reform has catalyzed providers—especially independent hospitals—to consider the business models and structures within which they will operate going forward. As such, many will contemplate mergers or acquisitions, but there is much to consider before pursuing such a path.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched its Innovation Fellows Program, which aims to bring novel ideas and expertise from outside the agency to help HHS accelerate health and healthcare innovation.

Existing prescription drug use data will be made available to providers and pharmacists when treating patients in ambulatory and emergency departments through a new pilot program launched by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

The National Quality Forum (NQF) is throwing its weight behind a grouping of 14 patient safety measures that, if widely adopted by the healthcare provider segment of NQFs membership, could cut the number of complications caused by preventable errors. The newly endorsed measures are aimed at heading off such afflictive flubs as foreign bodies left inside patients during or after procedures, accidental punctures and wrong-site surgeries.

HERNDON, Va.During a presentation at the 2012 Healthcare IT Connect Summit on June 20, panelists discussing social media and patient engagement drove home a mantra that CMIOs should make a note of: Know. Your. Audience.

Two healthcare organizations serving central Pennsylvaniaa provider and a payorare teaming up to form what they are calling an Accountable Care Arrangement (ACA). According to a joint release from PinnacleHealth and Capital BlueCross, the alliance will work to decrease utilization of acute-care services.

Making patient records available in the emergency department (ED) through a health information exchange (HIE) could boost adherence to guidelines and reduce unnecessary CT and MRI exams among patients who present to the ED with chronic headache, according to a study published online May 31 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. However, the study reported HIE use did not reduce costs.

Between 2011 and 2013, U.S. healthcare spending is projected to grow at least 4 percent, on averageslightly above the historically low growth rate of 3.8 percent in 2009, according to an article published June 12 in Health Affairs.