SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 29, 2013--Consumers expect that the upcoming process to sign up for health insurance in October will be a complicated one according to new poll data from HealthPocket. When asked, "Do you believe shopping for a new Obamacare health insurance plan within a government exchange will be an easy process," more than 50 percent of those surveyed said that it will be complicated.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is proposing a pilot study that leverages an emergency department (ED) discharge tool to reduce unnecessary visits, cut healthcare costs and streamline the quality of care delivered to ED patients, according to an Aug. 27 Federal Register notice.

Physician leaders are split over whether the government should release information on Medicare reimbursement payments to physicians, according to a poll conducted by the American College of Physician Executives.

The University of Florida College of Pharmacy is working on a new scoring system that would help hospitals determine the best pharmacist staffing to prevent adverse events and improve patient safety, according to a press release.

A healthcare lawyer is urging federal agencies to modernize and harmonize their regulatory approaches as healthcare transitions from individual, discrete products to an era of more connected diagnostic and therapeutic systems.

The Consumer Partnership for eHealth (CPeH), a nationwide coalition of more than 50 consumer, patient and labor organizations, released a plan addressing disparities in Stage 3 of the EHR incentive program.

A bill requiring hospitals to provide public pricing information on 140 common medical procedures and services was signed into law in North Carolina.

The Medical Group Management Association officially weighed in on the Meaningful Use (MU) program, urging the Department of Health and Human Services to institute an indefinite moratorium on penalties for physicians who successfully met MU Stage 1 requirements.