Online openings for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations showed the largest decline of any employment sector in February, according to a release by the Conference Board.

Practice changes required to meet the "meaningful use" criteria of the federal government's electronic medical record incentive program would lead to significant decreases in physician productivity, according to data collected by the Medical Group Management Association.

The healthcare sector saw a significant decrease in the number of private equity transactions completed last year. Pitchbook (see: www.Pitchbook.com) reported that approximately 125 deals were completed where private equity funds invested in healthcare companies in 2009. This is down…

A new report from the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy found that private spending per member for healthcare was up 15.5 percent from 2006-2008, or 7.5 percent annually. Over 75 percent of this growth occurred in hospital…

When the Great Recession hit at the end of 2008, Catholic Health Initiatives, like many other hospital systems, entered a dark time.

In its annual report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommends lawmakers increase payments to ASCs in 2011 by 0.6 percent, at the same time requiring ASCs to submit cost and quality data, according to a MedPAC fact sheet.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is asking for $480 million more in additional Medicaid funding for hospitals as part of the federal waiver for its universal access program, according to a report by the Boston Globe.

Forty-four Democratic senators are urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to introduce a bill that would extend enhanced Medicaid funding to the states after the end of the year, according to a report by AHA News Now.

HealthSouth's CEO said the company plans to grow its inpatient division in 2010 and 2011 through joint ventures, acquisitions and building new hospitals, according to a report by the Birmingham Business Journal.

Hospitals more specialized in orthopedic surgery have better outcomes for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements, according to a new study of Medicare patients undertaken by University of Iowa researchers.