The 21.3 percent Medicare physician fee cut automatically went into effect today, but CMS is instructing Medicare contractors to hold physicians' Medicare claims for the first 10 business days in June to give Congress a chance to avert the cut.

The FTC has announced it is delaying enforcement of the Red Flags Rule, which aims to prevent identity theft, until the end of the year.

Comprehensive Cardiology Consultants, a practice of 10 cardiologists, has joined St. Elizabeth Healthcare, becoming the only group of cardiologists directly employed by the system, according to a report in the Business Courier of Cincinnati.

New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show central-line associated infections dropped nationally 18 percent during the first six months of 2009 compared to the previous three years, according to the CDC's first state-specific healthcare-associated infection data report.

CMS Transmittal 59 provides additional clarifications to the agency's Interpretive Guidelines for the Anesthesia Services Conditions of Participation, according an American Society of Anesthesiologists news release.

From 1998-2008, the number of bariatric surgeries performed in the U.S. soared from 13,386 to 220,000, but there are significant variances in complication rates and length of stay related to the procedure, according to a new study from healthcare ratings…

Anesthesia residents who had been given simulation training performed significantly better at weaning patients from cardiopulmonary bypass than residents who had undergone only standard classroom training, according to a study published in the April edition of Anesthesiology.

CMS has asked 200 hospitals, including critical access hospitals and facilities in Maryland and Puerto Rico, to help test a new process for validating inpatient quality data, according to a report in AHA News Now.

Canonsburg (Pa.) General Hospital is expected to open an outpatient complex that includes a surgery center in Peters, Pa., within the next 18 months, according to the Observer-Reporter.

Four sources of inefficiency and four best practices of high-performing emergency departmentsIt is a common assumption that healthcare reform, by providing insurance to millions of previously uninsured individuals, will reduce volumes in the emergency departments of the nation’s hospitals. But…