Five heart treatment centers in four states, along with an atrial fibrillation (AFib) patient advocacy group have formed a national alliance to improve arrhythmia treatment by sharing information on best practices, creating better care standards and gathering outcome information.

What makes the suit particularly notable is that it involves alleged upcoding of evaluation and management (E/M) claims, a practice that normally does not generate payment differences large enough to justify the time and effort of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) conducting audits on such claims.

For a study appearing in Pediatrics, researchers took a look at the outcome measures of the Asthma Task Force changes implemented at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children and University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii. They found that yes, not surprisingly, better patient adherence to treatment plans correlated with a significant reduction in readmission rates.

The Department of Health & Human Services rated the launch of HealthCare.gov as having a low-risk of failure six months before it went live, according to the Washington Post and a recent report by the General Accounting Office. It wasn’t until closer to the launch that the department suddenly bumped up the risk from “moderately high risk” or “high risk,” the report found.

PARSIPPANY, N.J.– Aetna (NYSE: AET) and LHS Health Network, an affiliate of Lourdes Health System, today announced a new accountable care organization (ACO) agreement that will improve the coordination and delivery of patient care. The LHS Health Network will deliver a better patient experience for more than 20,000 Aetna members in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties. In addition, Aetna and LHS Health Network will begin a new Medicare provider collaboration serving more than 2,000 Aetna Medicare members.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 16, 2014) – Cumberland Consulting Group, a national healthcare technology implementation and project management firm, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Seattle-based Cipe Consulting Group, LLC, a growing healthcare technology consulting firm specializing in electronic health records and revenue cycle system implementation and support, including workflow and business analytics.

OMAHA, Neb., June 16, 2014 -- West Corporation, a leading provider of technology-driven communication services, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Health Advocate(TM), Inc., the nation's leading independent provider of healthcare advocacy services.

A Thurston County Superior Court judge has invalidated a change in the Washington State Department of Health's Certificate of Need rules that would have required hospitals to first get approval from the state for all business relationships where there is “any change of control” in “any part” of a hospital.