Long time nurses are returning to work because of the economy

When Mariana Jordan decided to go back to work as a nurse in 2008, after four years of retirement, she had no problem finding a job. The 63-year-old from the Atlanta area is among a growing number of older nurses heading back to work because of the economy, creating a broader talent pool for hospitals that are hiring.

Health care industry isn’t immune to rising medical costs

Health care isn’t immune to rising costs, as medical expenses for hospitals, physician offices and health care workers are increasing 5% to 10% yearly. Health care facilities are joining other employers in trimming benefits, charging more to workers who smoke, encouraging preventive medicine, and raising co-payments and deductibles.

US hospitals are buying up physician practices

U.S. hospitals are buying up large physician practices and hiring physicians, to the benefit of both. For hospitals it can mean better coordinated care and lower costs, and for physicians it removes the hassles of maintaining a private practice and stabilizes income.

Scorecard identifies high risk hospital patients

Canadian researchers developed a risk-assessment tool that identifies patients at high risk of dying or returning to the hospital after treatment for a major illness. The scorecard, which includes four factors, was successful in identifying seven out of 10 high-risk patients. 

Group issues guidelines on prostate cancer screening

The American Cancer Society has released updated guidelines calling on doctors to discuss with their patients the risk and benefits of prostate-specific antigen tests by age 50 before allowing them to undergo screening. The guidelines come after two studies showed conflicting findings about whether routine PSA tests improve survival.

Only half of consumers with prediabetes try to improve health

A survey found about 50% of people told that they have prediabetes tried to lose weight or exercise more in the following year. Prediabetes patients were likely to be older, male and have heart disease risk factors such as higher weight, waist size, blood pressure and triglyceride levels, researchers said.

Asthma affects nearly 8% of the US population

Asthma affects about 7.85% of the U.S. population, increasing at a rate of 0.5% every three years, government data showed. Researchers said rates vary significantly by state, with Louisiana reporting the lowest at 5.04% and Rhode Island the highest at 10.68%.

Special drugs drive up out of pocket Medicare costs

A report from the Government Accountability Office shows that specialty pharmaceuticals, such as Pfizer’s Enbrel and Novartis’ Gleevec, reached catastrophic Medicare coverage 55% of the time and also accounted for most of seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs. The findings underscore the need for more generic competition in traditional as well as biotech treatments because it would provide patients with more options and give companies an incentive to cut prices, according to the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

Data security breaches often triggered by carelessness

Provisions in the federal stimulus package have tightened HIPAA notification and enforcement regulations and have made HIPAA violations more costly. For example, the maximum civil penalty from the Dept. of Health and Human Services for a data breach occurring after Feb. 18, 2009, rose from $25,000 to $1.5 million. In a six-month period (for all users, not just health care providers): 12,500 mobile devices were left in taxis and 4,500 USB memory sticks were left in pockets of pants sent to dry cleaners. Most users in healthcare who store patient data on mobile devices don’t encrypt them or use password protection, and few hospitals have changed or updated their security policies and procedures.