Mortality rates in U.S. hospitals have improved since last year but there are still wide variations in mortality among hospitals, according to the 2009 HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study.

The Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program has adopted the 34 safe practices endorsed by the National Quality Forum's Safe Practices 2009 Update, and these practices will be implemented by HFAP-accredited hospitals, effective Dec. 1, 2009, according to a HFAP news release.

The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9, with one republican vote from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), to approve the committee's healthcare reform bill, according to a report by AHANews.

Alexander A. Hannenberg, MD, who will become president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists during its annual meeting in October, discusses 10 facts that every surgeon or hospital executive should know about anesthesiologists.

A new study, which tracked 35 Maryland hospitals between 2005 and 2007, found that the hospitals made significant improvements in reducing errors associated with mislabeling medications and educating healthcare workers on safe drug use, according to a report in the…

The cost and quality of healthcare, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's 2009 State Scorecard report.

Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., has launched a program to use surgical hospitalists, or surgicalists, to help serve the surgical needs of its emergency department, according to a report in the Nashville Business Journal.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said that the current Senate health reform proposal could cost the state $735 million over five years if completed, according to a report by The Tennessean.

Eight hospitals in the Philadelphia area saved $600,000 over two years by increasing recycling and "going green" as part of a pilot program conducted by the Health Care Improvement Foundation, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

More than 1,800 patients were put at risk of contracting hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS and other diseases due to unsanitary practices involving IV bags at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., according to a report from NBC…