A Kaiser Health News analysis of spending on Medicare patients at hospitals around the country once again shows the wide variance in hospital bills, even at facilities in the same city. The analysis found that even after the severity of illness and overall health were considered, Medicare paid 5 percent or more above the national median to care for patients from 657 hospitals. This chart shows average hospital spending per patient and this one shows spending by state.
A staff review of Gilead Sciences’ HIV treatment Quad shows concern about the medication’s effect on the kidneys. Fewer patients quit taking Quad because of fewer side effects, but more kidney damage was seen with this med than others.
The new “PDR Certified” program will help medical practices select EHR and eprescribing software that includes drug safety information from the FDA. PDR Network and iHealthAlliance built the system around the FDA’s recently discussed goals for drug safety services in EHRs.
Castlight Health’s continued upward trajectory seems almost certain given the news that the company just closed a $100 million Series D round. The company offers price comparison tools to self-insured businesses, has raised money from the Cleveland Clinic, and is considered to be the largest venture investment in a health IT company to date.
By Veronica Combs
I am the editor in chief at MedCityNews.com. I started writing and editing in the print world and joined a dotcom right before the 2000 crash. I was at TechRepublic/CNET/BNET for 7 years. Health was more interesting to me than the latest version of Windows, so I left for a startup tracking prescription drug news. A year later, MedTrackAlert was acquired by HealthCentral, so I shifted to audience research. The fun of daily news and interviewing smart people brought me to MedCity News in February 2012.More posts by Author
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