Threatened by lower reimbursements and increasing regulations, cardiologists are migrating to hospital employment in droves, in a trend that is even affecting the cardiology megagroups formed in the past decade or two.

This is a great time for hospital leadership and boards to reevaluate their strategies. This article contains eight core thoughts and concepts on strategic planning for hospitals.1. Development of a strategy and strategic framework. There are several different frameworks that…

Humana will be partnering with athenahealth to integrate data from its athenaClinicals' electronic health record services into its rewards program, according to a news release by Humana.

Rates of invasive MRSA infections that started in hospitals or other healthcare facilities declined an average of 9 percent annually from 2005-2008, found the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a report by Business Week. 

Hospitals are being reminded to submit quality data and acknowledge the data's accuracy and completeness by Aug. 15 in order to receive Medicare payment updates for the 2011 fiscal year, according to a report by AHA News Now.

The Society of Actuaries' Health Section has published a research report measuring the annual frequency of medical errors in the United States and the total measurable cost to the United States economy because of these errors, according to a news…

The National Conference of State Legislatures published a report examining infection reporting laws from nine states, according to a news release by NCSL.

A recent study by RAND Corp. found that performance-based accountability systems do indeed increase performance throughout the public sector, including healthcare.

As strategic planning becomes essential for financial stability, hospitals are prioritizing alignment with their physicians. For a large hospital system, however, aligning with many hospitals in diverse regions can be a challenge. Teri Moffitt Cardenas, senior director of strategic marketing…

Harold Dash, MD, a cardiologist, is president of the Everett (Wash.) Clinic, a group practice with more than 300 physicians. Here Dr. Dash discusses Everett's participation in the Medicare Physician Group Practice Demonstration Project, the model for the accountable care…