Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and the Web.

Iowa News

URMED program expands to five area hospitals
The innovative Undergraduate Rural Medicine Education and Development (URMED) program developed four years ago through a partnership with Buena Vista University (BVU) and Buena Vista Regional Medical Center (BVRMC) has reached another milestone. Starting in January, Lakes Area Healthcare at Spirit Lake will join the network of hospitals participating in URMED, which also includes BVRMC, Humboldt Community Hospital, Loring Hospital in Sac City and Pocahontas Community Hospital. The increase in hospital participation also created an additional internship position in the program. (Buena Vista University)

Mercy in Cedar Rapids launches new cancer center Web site
The site is a one-stop resource for anyone looking to learn more about the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center. Site visitors will be offered a preview of what they can expect once the facility opens in the spring of 2012 – from the patient-centered infusion stations to the healing gardens and meditation spaces. The site offers resources for people who are newly diagnosed and those currently undergoing treatment.  Plus, cancer survivors and family members will have access to information on support groups and wellness services. Family physicians and surgeons can also find information on patient referrals, clinical trials and other cutting-edge research. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

Hope for  Helmet
Caroline Found, 17, loved volleyball and spending time with her friends. This past August the girl with an infectious smile and bright future died tragically when the moped she was driving crashed – killing her instantly. Her friends say they now wonder- if state law forced Caroline to wear a helmet would she be sitting on this couch with them right now. “There are so many what ifs, that’s a big what if. You know, what if she had been wearing a helmet,” said friend Caroline Van Voorhis. Van Voorhis joined Hope for a Helmet after reading an editorial on the subject in the school’s newspaper. (KCRG)

National News

Medicare penalties for readmissions are likely to hit hospitals serving the poor
James Breedin cannot keep track of how often he has been admitted to Howard University Hospital for heart problems. “It’s been so many,” said Breedin, a 75-year-old disabled former truck driver from Northeast Washington. One reason for his frequent returns, he says, is that he often can’t afford the medications his doctor prescribes, “so I have to do without.” Another is that he fears exercising outside because of neighborhood violence. (Washington Post)

New partnerships aim to lower Medicare costs, improve care
The Obama administration Monday announced new partnerships with 32 of the nation’s leading medical providers that have agreed to work with the federal government to improve the quality and lower the cost of care for Americans who rely on Medicare. The partnerships, which are to reward doctors and hospitals that save money while improving care, are a key initiative sparked by the health care law the president signed last year. (Los Angeles Times)

Supreme Court to hear health care case in late March
The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would devote three days in late March to hearing arguments in challenges to the 2010 health care overhaul law. A decision in the case is expected by the end of June. The court agreed to hear the case on Nov. 14, saying it would put aside five and half hours for arguments and specifying how much time it would devote to each of four issues. Monday’s announcement assigned those issues to particular days, giving a sense of the logical sequence in which the justices will approach them. (New York Times)

Better doctors focus on mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes. But far too few people take the opportunity to learn from them. We’d all be better people if we did. And for doctors, acknowledging errors could mean the difference between a patient’s life or death. In a study where doctors were faced with a simulated medical emergency and had to choose from uncertain treatment options, a scenario requiring a certain amount of trial and error, doctors who paid more attention to their mistakes fared much better than those who focused on their treatment successes. This is a message everybody could benefit from. (The Atlantic)

Medical reform’s daunting task: hospital billing
Some — though not all — of the problem may be addressed under new insurance regulations that go into effect in 2014 under health care reform. That includes clearer plan explanations for consumers, bolstered appeals processes and more transparency. The trend toward more coordinated health care systems, already under way and accelerated by health reform, will also mean the networks patients find themselves in may be more streamlined — and the billing not so Byzantine. (Politico)