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Switch to Electronic Records Getting Mixed Reviews at Hospitals and Clinics

More than five years ago, one of California’s leading hospitals decided to leap into the future of medical care by digitizing its patients’ health records. Despite a $50 million investment and countless hours trying to overcome persistent technical headaches, the system is still not fully up and running. 

This summer, the University of California San Francisco Medical Center quietly wrote off more than a third of the money it has spent, terminated its contractor and prepared to start part of the project from scratch. 

By Fred Schulte24 November 2009

Survey: Hospitals Not Protecting Electronic Health Records

Despite new federal laws to protect the privacy of medical files, many hospitals are ill-prepared to prevent security breaches that may result in patient records being stolen, lost or misused, a new survey shows. 

Three in four hospitals and health organizations said medical records of patients had been put at risk of improper disclosure “due to inadequate security controls, policies or procedures,” according to the survey released Thursday at a meeting of government health information planners in Washington. 

By Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz
19 November 2009

As Soda Tax Bubbles Up, Food Lobby Moves to Block It

Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages.

By Christine Spolar4 November 2009

Anatomy of an Attack Ad

Standing in a medical exam room, a neurosurgeon in a white lab coat stares solemnly into the camera and warns that President Obama’s health care plan “will hurt our seniors.” This ad -- one of dozens of health care spots making the rounds -- provides a case study in modern American political advocacy.

By Ben Protess and Lagan Sebert
24 September 2009

Health Insurance Denials Remain a Mystery

Are health insurance companies generally being fair and honest when they reject claims from policy holders? That would seem to be an important question in deciding how best to fix the U.S. health system, but it hasn’t been a focus of the health-care debate, possibly because the answer is not publicly available.

By Danielle Ivory18 September 2009