Florida's Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida Health Science Center in Gainesville have announced a $580 million, five-year collaboration focused on quality improvement, according to a joint news release from the organizations.

Minnesota nurses have authorized the largest nursing strike in U.S. history to begin June 1, according to a news release from the Minnesota Nurses Association.

Patients can now learn about the quality of care provided at Illinois hospitals on a new website hosted by the Illinois Department of Health.

University HealthSystem Consortium, an alliance of 107 academic medical centers and their affiliated hospitals, has announced it is launching an initiative to reduce catheter-related bloodstream infections, according to a UHC press release.

A small but growing number of physicians are dropping their insurance-based practices in favor of so-called concierge models in which patients pay an up-front annual fee and premium rates in return for deluxe services, according to a report in The…

The American Academy of Pain Medicine released a statement voicing strong support of certain components of the healthcare reform legislation that will "improve the quality of life for people who suffer with chronic and acute pain," according to an AAPM…

Insured people under age 65 were as likely to visit an ED in a 12-month period as uninsured individuals in the same age group, according to a report by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

More than one-third of hospitalized Californians were readmitted to the hospital within a year, and Medicare and Medicaid patients had higher readmission rates than private-pay patients, according to a report by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

The Florida Hospital Association and the American College of Surgeons have announced a partnership to improve the quality of care and reduce costs, according to a release from the FHA.

The cost profiles insurance companies create for physicians based on their cost of care can vary widely, raising questions about the accuracy of the profiles, according to a new study by the RAND Corp. Insurance companies use these profiles to…