Friday, March 5, 2010

Health Informatics News

Health Informatics News

Clinic doctors' average pay: $1M/year

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3/5/2010 © Miami Herald A pain clinic in Lake Worth that was raided Wednesday operated like a factory, seeing 250 patients a day and distributing more than 2 million pills a year, officials said. The five doctors who wrote prescriptions averaged $1 million a year in pay. Also, News Service of Florida reports that the state drug control director is asking the Legislature to make it harder to open such clinics.

Patients decry C-section rate

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2/12/2010 © Health News Florida Advocates for women's health are hosting a seminar today and Saturday on the alarming rate of unnecessary Cesarean sections in Miami, where the surgery accounts for more than half of births. Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reports on another patient-education effort: on the dangers of MRIs for pacemaker patients.

Plans sold in FL target of suit

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2/10/2010 © Associated Press Minnesota's attorney general is suing two Texas companies that sell discount health plans in a number of states, including Florida: One of them, Association Healthcare Management Inc., is sold in Florida under the name Family Care Card. 

'Doctors Without Borders' recruiting

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2/11/2010 © St. Petersburg Times About 200 doctors and nurses from throughout Central Florida flocked to hear a recruiter from the Nobel Prize-winning international relief organization.

Doctor facing DUI charge

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2/11/2010 © Tallahassee Democrat Dr. Thomas Bixler, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, has been placed on administrative leave in his private practice and will not be able to admit patients or perform any procedures in the hospital. In other news, TMH expands its robotic surgery program.

State agencies on trial today

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By Sammy Mack 2/9/2010 © Health News Florida A landmark lawsuit that seeks to rewrite Florida's Medicaid policy resumed today in Miami, with plaintiffs charging that state agencies' low pay for doctors and dentists and tendency to switch plans without notice often leave children with no access to care. A related story in Florida Today shows the struggle of dentists who take Medicaid. 

AvMed patients' data in stolen laptops

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2/9/2010 © Gainesville Sun The theft of two laptops from AvMed Health Plans may have compromised personal information on more than 200,000 patients and their dependents, the company says.

Red tape stalls Haiti evacuations

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2/9/2010 © New York Times Private evacuations of critically injured Haitian children for treatment have halted because many fear kidnapping charges if they transport children without proper paperwork, which is  unavailable. Meanwhile,  AP reports a UN claim that Haitian hospitals are charging patients for donated medicine. And in Tampa, donated supplies sit waiting.

'Country Doctor of the Year' in Keys

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2/9/2010 © Miami Herald Steven J. Smith of the Keys may be a general surgeon, but he treats patients at his family practice for everything from the common cold to cancer. He was named the 2009 Country Doctor of the Year.

Some defend DOH secrecy

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By Carol Gentry 2/8/2010 © Health News Florida  The state Department of Health's decision to withhold information on its consumer web site about pending actions against health professionals -- including arrests --- is entirely appropriate, say attorneys who defend doctors. The public's reaction was different. As one woman said, "I was horrified."

Shooting victim leaves hospital

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2/4/2010 © Florida Times Union About a month ago, Alex Ross, 16, was given three hours to live. On Thursday, he left a Jacksonville hospital with bullet fragments in his brain as he continues what doctors have called a miraculous recovery.

Ex must give up insurance policy

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2/4/2010 © Palm Beach Post A judge ruled Thursday that ex-husband Ron Samuels, who tried to have Heather Grossman killed in 1997 in Boca Raton, must relinquish a $1 million life insurance policy on her.

Uninsured Mexicans find care

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2/2/2010 © Orlando Sentinel When Josefina de la Rosa was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, she could not afford treatment. In stepped nonprofit Casa de Mexico, which finds doctors to help.

Patient or fetus -- whose rights prevail?

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1/26/2010 © Associated Press The case of Samantha Burton, who was forced to remain in the hospital for the welfare of her fetus, is drawing attention to the question of whether pregnancy deprives patients of their rights.

As records go digital, cultures clash

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By Sammy Mack 1/21/2010 © Health News Florida The switch to electronic medical records has been rocky for doctors in Broward who refused to pay what they called unwarranted charges and were turned over to collections. More disputes are arising as midcareer physicians bump up against the world of high-tech software sales.

Doctor wrote 1,000 scripts/week

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By Carol Gentry 1/15/2010 © Health News Florida Since 2004, a Miami psychiatrist has prescribed almost 14 million pills to Medicaid patients at a cost to taxpayers of $43 million, a feverish pace of 1,000 prescriptions a week. A state senator says the doctor should be the "poster boy for tougher enforcement actions."
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