The number of inpatient hospital deaths decreased 8 percent from 2000 to 2010 while the number of hospitalizations increased 11 percent, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Roughly 13 years after the Institute of Medicine report "To Err is Human," healthcare has experienced little progress in improving patient safety, according to a commentary in BMJ Quality and Safety.

Centra Health, a two-hospital system based in Lynchburg, Va., has agreed to a five-year deal with Liberty University's College of Osteopathic Medicine to train new medical students, according to a News & Advance report.

Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Hospital has filed a letter with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to acquire Asheville Neonatology, according to an Asheville Citizen-Times report.

Under new legislation passed by New Jersey's legislature, physicians would fill out a survey every two years which could allow the state to access the federal student loan-forgiveness program, according to a NJ Spotlight report.

A free checklist developed by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology to guide implementation of a healthcare worker influenza immunization program is available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, N.C., and Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health announced a collaboration with YMCA of Western North Carolina to improve community health.

Five variables used in a scoring system can accurately predict Clostridium difficile-infected patients' response to therapy, according to a study in BMC Infectious Diseases.

While a quality improvement tool helped hospitals respond to external incentive programs, several challenges impeded optimal use of the tool, according to a study in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

CMS announced a new Medicare Chronic Conditions Dashboard to provide researchers, physicians, public health professionals and policymakers data on the geographic spread, required services and costs for beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.