Hospitalists with lower base salaries outperformed hospitalists with higher base salaries, a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) survey shows.

Adult hospitalists who received 50% or less of their compensation as fixed base salary reported the highest median work relative value units (RVUs) at 5,407, the MGMA and SHM says. The study showed other hospitalists who:

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has turned to health care providers for help in curbing the amount of pharmaceuticals making their way into the nation's water supply.

This "60 Minutes" report aired over the weekend. Steve Kroft's piece on Medicare fraud shows you what is driving Medicare enrollment and program integrity changes over the last few years.

CBS interviewed former CMS official Kim Brandt, who mentioned the agency has tightened its enrollment standards.

Newly minted CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, is striking back against a claim by former HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt that the projected savings from health reform are "an illusion" born of statistical sophistry. In an op-ed piece published in today's (Sept. 3) issue of The Washington Post, Dr. Berwick says Leavitt is "incorrect" and cites a variety of provisions in the law that would improve health outcomes for seniors.

Leavitt had argued in his op-ed -- also published in The Post -- that the hundreds of billions in projected savings over the next decade are based on "double counting" of the Medicare savings generated by health reform (read more on Berwick clashes with Leavitt) ...

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is wrangling with new CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, over obtaining a list of donors providing funding to Dr. Berwick's former employer, the not-for-profit Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Cambridge, Mass. Grassley says he was promised the information but Berwick never delivered.

"The reason for seeking key donor information by correspondence is Dr. Berwick was recess-appointed without even a committee hearing, which would have looked at his organization's funding and identified possible conflicts of interest in his control of the nation's health care programs," Grassley says.

Berwick responded to Grassley (pdf) with a letter on Aug. 26 stating he has no financial interest in IHI, its donors or clients. He referred to his Public Financial Disclosure Report with the Office of Government Ethics for a list of his financial history and work with donors.

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