Spokane (Wash.) Cardiology and Heart Clinics Northwest, also in Spokane, will merge with Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health & Services to form Providence Spokane Heart Institute, according to a report by the Spokesman-Review.

Arkansas Heart Center, a four-physician cardiology group in Fort Smith, Ark., has joined Sparks Health System, also based in Fort Smith, according to a report by the City Wire.

Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cayuga Medical Center is looking to improve quality care and reduce costs by implementing clinical integration programs, according to an Ithaca Journal report.

A survey of approximately 5,500 physicians suggests that the elimination of consultation codes by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has negatively impacted physician efforts to improve care coordination and may reduce access to care for Medicare beneficiaries, according…

Mark Stensager is CEO of Guthrie Healthcare System, a three-hospital system in Sayre, Pa. that is integrated with the Guthrie Clinic, a 229-physician group. Here he makes some observations about healthcare reform.

A study released by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory shows that various instances of "disruptive behavior" caused patient safety to decrease, according to a news release by PPSA.

A glance at the headlines shows how badly healthcare needs to become more efficient. Healthcare spending in the United States rose 5.7 percent in 2009, to $2.5 trillion. It now commands 17.3 percent of the gross domestic product, up from…

An increasing number of midcareer physicians are leaving their independent practices to join hospital systems as salaried employees, according to a report by The Detroit News.

A study released last month from the University of California-San Diego revealed that in the month of July the number of fatal medication errors rise in teaching hospitals, although some medical experts aren't ready to accept that as fact quite…

Marc Bard, MD, chief innovation officer in the healthcare practice of Navigant Consulting, is the co-author of the recently published white paper, "Accountable Care Organizations and Payment Reform: Setting a Course for Success." Here, Dr. Bard discusses what ACOs mean…