Shifts on for state health agency, 1-19-12, The News and Observer

Staff Writer Lynn Bonner reports on the changes expected in the NC Department of Health and Human Services following a change in leadership.

Leader of state health agency resigns, 1-14-12, The News and Observer

Staff Writer Lynn Bonner reports on the resignation of NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Lanier Cansler.

EHR incentive payments doubled in last three months of ’11, 1-18-12, Modern Healthcare

Writer Joseph Conn reports on the payouts from the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health-record incentive programs.

Consumer Corner: Medicaid opt-out possible, 1-15-12, United Press International (UPI)

UPI reporter Marcella S. Kreiter examines what might happen if a state decides against expanding Medicaid to comply with the provisions of the federal health care reform law.

Third of medical costs defensive medicine, 1-14-12, United Press International (UPI)

A UPI report on a survey done in Florida on behalf of Patients for Fair Compensation, a group that seeks to replace malpractice litigation with a patients’ compensation system to eliminate spending on defensive medicine.

Hospital’s funding on line, 1-19-12, The News and Observer/Associated Press (AP)

AP writer Michael Biesecker reports on efforts by Cape Fear Valley Medical Center to address violations that jeopardize its payments from Medicare and Medicaid.

Digitizing Health Records, Before It Was Cool, 1-14-12, The New York Times

Writer Milt Freudenheim explores the history of Wisconsin-based Epic Systems and the role it has played in the development of electronic health records (EHR).