Cancer studies often downplay chemo side effects – In two-thirds of the 164 studies Tannock and his colleagues scrutinized, that meant not listing toxicities – in other words, serious side effects whether of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery – in the paper’s abstract.

U.S. could save $2 trillion on health costs – Compiled by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, the study recommends holding the $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare system to an annual spending target by having Medicare, Medicaid, other government programs and private insurers encourage providers to accelerate adoption of more cost-effective care.

Pre-surgery MRI may harm breast cancer patients – Routinely using the technology once any woman is diagnosed with a tumor may lead to more radical surgery without any benefits, says a team of Australian and U.S. researchers.

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Dramatically influence drug prices by positive action – Drug maker admitted their price point was too high. But rather than lower the price they chose to share the profits with the provider in return for market share. This means that patients still have to cover their $2200 a month copay and that Medicare still pays the full amount.

Out-of-Network Bills for In-Network Health Care – The robo-call from the physicians’ billing service had the intended effect: I panicked. It sounded like a collection agency. I almost paid what it asked. When there’s a difference between the charge and the insurance reimbursement, and a health care provider tries to collect the difference from the patient — that is balance billing. Critics call it a huge problem.

Asymptomatic Carotid Ultrasonography Jumps, and With it, More Endarterectomies and Stenting - Physician self-interest may be a factor in the shift toward use of carotid artery ultrasonography to identify patients for vascular interventions. Diagnostic radiologists and self-referring cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and interventional radiologists may have benefitted financially from the procedures.

Curbing hospital readmission rates
New Efforts to Close Hospitals’ Revolving Doors – Hospitals are dispatching nurses, transportation, culturally specific diet tips, free medications and even bathroom scales to patients deemed at risk of relapsing. Readmission rates have decreased, in some months by as much as half.

Hospitals Face Pressure to Avert Readmissions – With nearly one in five Medicare patients returning to the hospital within a month — about two million people a year — readmissions cost the government more than $17 billion annually.

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Study finds “dramatic” rise in kids’ CT scans – Emergency rooms across the U.S. have seen a steep increase in CT scans of kids presenting with belly ache, while the appendicitis rate hasn’t budged.

Why hospital pricing practices concern me – It behooves us all to comparison shop whenever possible before undergoing any kind of non-urgent hospital procedure.

Hospitals face fines over too many readmitted Medicare patients – It adds up to a new way of doing business for hospitals, and they have scrambled to prepare for well over a year. They are working on ways to improve communication with rehabilitation centers and doctors who follow patients after they’re released, as well as connecting individually with patients.

Hospitals of the future in the making – In the hospital of the future, data centers will also be supported and managed virtually. The cloud will move beyond a private model to support public and private capabilities. Healthcare IT will not need to be housed in the hospital of the future. Rather, it may be provisioned from multiple locations in a community or around the globe.

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Self-Referrals for Imaging Costly, GAO Says – Providers that began self-referring in 2009 increased MRI and CT referrals on average by 67% in 2010 as compared to 2008

Employees to face healthcare sticker shock – Over the next 18 months, between one quarter and one half of Americans who get insurance coverage through their employers will pay more of their doctor bills themselves as companies roll out healthcare plans with higher deductibles, benefits consultants say. The result: sticker shock.

Companies should not scare us to sell unnecessary screening exams – You may have seen the advertisements in your local paper, or even on your local hospital’s website. Ads that boast “Important screening tests that COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE. All for $129! NO DOCTOR’S ORDER NECESSARY!”

Study finds “dramatic” rise in kids’ CT scans – Emergency rooms across the U.S. have seen a steep increase in CT scans of kids presenting with belly ache, while the appendicitis rate hasn’t budged.

Hospitals face fines over too many readmitted Medicare patients – It adds up to a new way of doing business for hospitals, and they have scrambled to prepare for well over a year. They are working on ways to improve communication with rehabilitation centers and doctors who follow patients after they’re released, as well as connecting individually with patients.

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More signs MRI safe for people with pacemakers – Evidence is mounting that MRI scans may be safe for people with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators, according to the latest study on the issue that appeared in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Radiation may up breast cancer risk in some women – The added radiation from mammograms and other types of tests with chest radiation might be especially harmful to them and an MRI is probably a safer method of screening women under 30 who are at high risk because of gene mutations.

Most back pain patients don’t need diagnostic imaging – Most patients’ back pain symptoms subside on their own within 30 days.

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What tests you really need (and when) – Most often a skilled physician, by taking a careful history and physical exam, has a good idea of what is going on

Doctor incentives tied to better teen drug treatment – Therapists delivered more complete treatment when they were offered bonuses based on quantity and quality of patient care, a new study has found.

Ireland cuts elderly care, overtime to plug health overspend – Ireland’s health service will cut back on care for the elderly and overtime pay to find 130 million euros ($163 million) of new savings aimed at halting a spending overrun

Midlife Fitness Cuts Chronic Disease Later – The analysis finds that those who had higher fitness levels in their 30s, 40s and 50s were substantially less likely to have a chronic condition between the ages of 70 and 85.

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Hospital chain to pay $16.5 million in kickback case involving the homeless – Los Angeles Doctor’s Hospital, Inc., agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal through the payment of illegal kickbacks to “marketers” who recruited people to act as patients.

Doctors Who ‘Self-Refer’ to Radiation Clinics Add to Patients’ Burden: Study – Researchers found 28 percent of urologists in Texas currently work in practices that self-refer for radiation oncology services. This model of self-referral is under investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office over concerns that financial incentives could be causing patients to receive more costly, unnecessary or possibly less effective procedures.

Profits, Quality, and U.S. Hospitals – HCA figured out how to get more revenue from private insurance companies, patients and Medicare by billing much more aggressively for its services than ever before.

Breast cancer charity overstated screening benefits, researchers say – Women should base their decisions on whether to be screened by weighing the facts and consulting with their doctors.