Payment claim denied? Try again. Nationwide data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from insurers shows that the aggregate application denial rate for the first quarter of 2010 was 19 percent, but that denial rates varied significantly across insurers, according to a March report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Artificially intelligent (AI) neural networks demonstrate strong sensitivity and specificity in the detection of liver cancer using PET/CT, while also improving the accuracy of interpreting radiologists who took the networks findings into account, suggesting an important future adjunct role for the systems in cancer detection, according to a study published in the March issue of Radiology.

Data released by Standard & Poor's for the S&P Healthcare Economic Composite Index indicated that the average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs increased by 6.29 percent over the 12 months ending in January.

Online messaging can deliver organized follow-up care for depression effectively and efficiently, according to a randomized controlled trial by Group Health Cooperative, a Seattle-based nonprofit healthcare system, published online this month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The states of California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas have the dubious distinction of being "diabetes hot spots," where the burden of diabetes will be greatest in the next 15 years, according to a report by the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF).

Peconic Bay Medical Center of Riverhead, N.Y., will implement Biosign Technologies Healthanywhere remote patient management system.

Americans wantand increasingly expectconnectivity with their physicians office. A growing cadre of evidence bears this out, including a recent survey from Intuit Health. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they would use a secure online communication tool if doing so made it easier to get lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills and communicate with their doctors office. Healthcare organizations also strive to integrate information sources to improve communication among clinicians as well as patients, and free them from administrative chores.

Franciscan Health System, has chosen TeleHealth, a provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient education, as its interactive patient education and entertainment partner for its new hospital in Enumclaw, Wash. The new facility, St. Elizabeth Hospital, opened Feb. 2, replacing Enumclaw Regional Hospital.