HHS site invites public to compare mortality rates at 4,700 hospitals Most facilities are listed with rates no different from national norms, leaving skeptics questioning the data's value. Will New Jersey Blues filing prompt for-profit rush? If Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield succeeds in becoming investor-owned, experts say, that could unleash a wave of similar moves. "If this patient had arrived in a schooner we might have made the diagnosis sooner," says James Noble, MD, assistant professor of clinical neurology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, regarding a boy eventually diagnosed with scurvy, usually associated with long sea journeys of centuries past. MORE HEADLINES ADVERTISEMENT

INSIDE THIS WEEK Courts examine peer review Recent decisions weigh the federal and state laws designed to balance the protections for all players in the process. Professional Issues Putting on the charm As government reforms loom, health plans' marketing aims at winning patient trust. Business DTC drug ads' mixed effect A novel study design allowed researchers to examine the effectiveness of ad campaigns. Health & Science NEED NEWS? E-mail alerts STAY INFORMED with RSS HEAR IT NOW on ReachMD

American Medical News - Sept. 22/29, 2008 (vol. 51 no. 36)

GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE  Go to section
  Revised language in proposed HHS rule still bolsters abortion conscience laws
  Employer health insurance mandate on Colorado ballot
  Hospital loses latest fight over tax-exempt status

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES  Go to section
  Courts examine peer review: Maintaining a proper sense of balance
  Court OKs Health Net deal over out-of-network pay
  Sponges, surgical instruments miscounted in 13% of surgeries

BUSINESS  Go to section
  Putting on the charm: Insurers try a new tack to sell themselves
  Florida law takes on overpayment claims, assignment of benefits
  Retail clinic targets Hispanic population, cultural differences
  Doctor's magnetic invention raises cane
  Practice Pointers - Staying attuned to employee needs can lower turnover

OPINION  Go to section
  Tobacco control efforts: The case for persistence
  Letters - Pharma pen, pad bans demean "boots on the ground" doctors and others

HEALTH & SCIENCE  Go to section
  Direct-to-consumer drug ads' effect seen as mixed despite billions spent
  Salmonella outbreak appears over; investigation to continue
  Scurvy rare, but cases still are popping up

American Medical News

American Medical News is the newspaper for America's physicians. Published since 1958, it is one of the most widely read publications in the United States on news affecting the medical profession. From Medicare and managed care to public health and practice management, no other source covers the same range of current events affecting medical practice.

American Medical News is published by the American Medical Association and is intended to serve as a credible forum for information affecting physicians and their practices. The content of articles and the opinions expressed in AMNews are not necessarily endorsed by the AMA.