Leadership & Management

The AAFP says CMS is still undervaluing primary care services, despite some steps taken by the agency to reward primary care services in its rule-making process for the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, according to an AAFP report.

The Oregon Society of Physician Assistants has proposed legislation to change the licensure process by giving more responsibility to the PA's supervising physician and less to the Oregon Medical Board, according to a Lund Report release.

Physician assistant salaries could increase in 2011 as demand for the position skyrockets, according to a Star Tribune report.

Physician groups have responded to a New England Journal of Medicine editorial that asserts surgeons suffering from sleep deprivation should disclose their condition to patients prior to performing elective surgery, according to a The Heart report.

Healthcare inspectors could lose their jobs and facility inspections could be reduced in Nevada if a panel of elected officials rejects a proposal to increase healthcare facility licensing fees, according to a Las Vegas Sun report.

Construction will soon begin on a replacement facility for New Orleans' safety-net Charity Hospital, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, as well as a new Veterans Affairs hospital, according to a Times-Picayune report.

University Medical Center in Tucson has fired four employees for accessing confidential medical records of victims of the shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz), according to a release by the hospital.

Tuomey Healthcare System in Sumter, S.C., has appealed a ruling by a federal court to award to the government nearly $45 million for alleged violation of Stark Law by the hospital, arguing its behavior was consistent with guidance by CMS…

HCA's Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., will move forward with plans to develop an 85-bed hospital on the west side of Jacksonville after reaching an agreement with Ascension Health's St. Vincent's HealthCare, also in Jacksonville, according to a Jacksonville Business…

Spectrum Health has officially opened the new 206-bed Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., according to a news release by the hospital.