Paula Blankenship

Communications professional with two decades of award-winning work in journalism, corporate communications, promotional video, public relations and higher education. Always seeking opportunities to serve the public good.

Author's Posts

News

St. Lukes in Front on Kidney Research

St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix is the first in Arizona to enroll patients in a clinical trial of a procedure that seeks to protect the kidneys during a coronary angiogram. Dr. Richard Heuser, chief of cardiology at St. Luke’s, enrolled...
Arizona News

St. Lukes in Front on Kidney Research

St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix is the first in Arizona to enroll patients in a clinical trial of a procedure that seeks to protect the kidneys during a coronary angiogram. Dr. Richard Heuser, chief of cardiology at St. Luke’s, enrolled the first two U.S. patients in a clinical trial called the Prospective Randomized...
National News

"Useless" Back Care on the Rise

Physicians are drifting away from evidence-based care for back pain patients and are treating them with growing rates of referrals to surgeons and other doctors and orders for "inappropriate" CT or MRI images, a study shows. Doctors were less likely to follow established evidence-based guidelines for treating back or neck pain and...
National News

"Useless" Back Care on the Rise

Physicians are drifting away from evidence-based care for back pain patients and are treating them with growing rates of referrals to surgeons and other doctors and orders for "inappropriate" CT or MRI images, a study shows. Doctors were less likely to follow established evidence-based guidelines for treating back or neck pain and...
National News

Bracken to Leave HCA CEO Post

   Richard Bracken, who led HCA Holdings Inc. back to being a publicly traded company and helped the company post industry-topping patient volume growth, plans to retire as CEO at year-end.    Milton Johnson, a 31-year company veteran who was named president 2½ years ago and continued as chief financial officer, will assume...
National News

Hype over Hospital Rankings

Last week U.S. News and World Report released its annual list of  “Best Hospitals.”  Web sites are being updated to celebrate victories. (Johns Hopkins ranks No. 1!) Magazines will be plump with advertising. (NewYork-Presbyterian is first in New York and tied for seventh nationally!) But what does this annual exercise mean for...
National News

Berwick Names 11 Monsters Facing Hospitals Today

America's hospitals face some terrible monsters, 11 of them to be exact, said Don Berwick, MD, former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare &    Medicaid Services. Speaking to the 1,400 executives assembled for the American Hospital Association's Leadership Summit in San Diego last week. Read more in the...
News

UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Won't be Offered on Exchange

UnitedHealthcare of Arizona appears to be the only major insurance company that won’t be participating in the state health insurance exchange as part of Obamacare. UnitedHealthcare officials said they want to hold back a bit to see how the exchanges play out as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unfolds and before...
Arizona News

UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Won't be Offered on Exchange

UnitedHealthcare of Arizona appears to be the only major insurance company that won’t be participating in the state health insurance exchange as part of Obamacare. UnitedHealthcare officials said they want to hold back a bit to see how the exchanges play out as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unfolds and before entering...
National News

Big Labor Wakes Up to ObamaCare

Witness the emotional communication from three top union leaders, warning that the program will "shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40-hour workweek that is the backbone of the American middle class." Last week's open letter comes from James Hoffa (the Teamsters), Joseph Hansen (United...
News

13 Phoenix Area Hospitals Top Rated by US News & World Report

Of all 56 hospitals in the Phoenix metro area, 13 were named best regional hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. At the top of the list was Mayo Clinic, which touts 10 nationally ranked specialties and three high-performing specialties. The magazine ranks hospitals in 16 specialties and only 147 U.S. hospitals scored high...
Arizona News

13 Phoenix Area Hospitals Top Rated by US News & World Report

Of all 56 hospitals in the Phoenix metro area, 13 were named best regional hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. At the top of the list was Mayo Clinic, which touts 10 nationally ranked specialties and three high-performing specialties. The magazine ranks hospitals in 16 specialties and only 147 U.S. hospitals scored high enough...
National News

British Company Awarded Contract to Administer Health Rollout

Racing to meet an October deadline, Obama administration officials said Thursday that they had awarded a contract worth as much as $1.2 billion to a British company to help them sift applications for health insurance and tax credits under the new health care law. The company, Serco, has extensive experience as a government contractor...
Arizona News

Banner Sticking With ACOs Despite Risks

While a handful of Pioneer accountable care organizations are getting out of the business nationwide, Banner Health Network is not one of them. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid selected 32 Pioneer ACOs for its Medicare enrollees to promote quality care at lower costs. These are high-risk models that would give the ACOs a chance...
National News

Medicare enhances Doctor-Rating Web site

Medicare Thursday added new features to its Physician Compare website as it prepares to start including quality data on thousands of doctors. The federal health care law requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to publish performance data on doctors, including how patients rate them, how well the physicians’ medical...
Scottsdale Health Partners, Cigna Team on Accountable Care Initiative Arizona News

Scottsdale Health Partners, Cigna Team on Accountable Care Initiative

Scottsdale Health Partners and Cigna Corp. are teaming up to launch a collaborative accountable care initiative. Collaborative accountable care is Cigna’s approach to accomplishing the same goals as accountable care organizations, without creating a formal ACO. The initiative is designed to improve patient access to health care,...
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