The current healthcare environment and significant advances in mobile and internet technology are changing the way physicians practice medicine. It is no longer about whether physicians are online, but rather how they are online.

The Senate passed a bill June 18 to block the 21 percent cut to fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for six months, after failing to pass larger tax extender legislation that also included the Medicare provision.

If employees at academic medical centers "dont eat anything and tell everything" with regards to industry interactions, it will keep them out of trouble, said Julie A. Freischlag, MD, who explained that this is the catchphrase learned by Johns Hopkins after evaluating its industry policies, at a presentation at last weeks Society of Vascular Surgery (SVS) annual meeting in Boston.

Forum Health, based on Youngstown, Ohio, and its affiliated entities filed a court motion today to sell its hospitals and other assets to Ardent Health Services, a Nashville, Tenn., hospital company, beginning a complex process to exit bankruptcy.

BOSTONIndustry relations play a key part in the success of private practices, and while new transparency laws are meant to make the relationships between industry and physicians more ethical, in reality, they have the potential to hurt more than they may help, said Russell H. Samson, MD, of the Florida State University Medical School in Sarasota, Fla., during a presentation at the 2010 Society of Vascular Surgery (SVS) annual meeting on June 10.

While a majority of ischemic stroke patients arrive during the "golden hour"60 minutes of less after the onset of symptomsstill those who arrive earlier get treated slower than those who arrive later, proving that more educational programs to make the public aware of stroke symptoms and the importance of early arrival to the emergency department (ED) are needed, according to a study published online June 3 in Stroke.

Fifty percent of healthcare organizations surveyed have had to cut back on IT investments due to the sour economic climate and reduced access to credit markets for financing, according to a survey by healthcare management consulting firm Beacon Partners.

Cardiovascular Consultants, a 37-cardiologist practice in Kansas City, Mo., that provides cardiology services to the four hospital and regional facilities within the Saint Lukes Health System, will partner to integrate care.