Wal Mart to offer more vaccinations in stores as it seeks Growth in more areas!

The retailer will start offering vaccinations for infectious diseases beyond influenza and pneumonia at 2,700 US stores as the retailer continues edging into health-care services.

Wal-Mart said it would rely on patients to provide their own medical histories. The company will also send patients vaccination records to their primary care doctors electronically upon request.

Medicare set to penalize most NJ Hospitals!

Beginning in Q3, the federal Medicare program will withhold some money from nearly every hospital in New Jersey because too many elderly patients have to return within a month of being discharged, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Health News.

A total of 62 hospitals and hospital networks in the state will forfeit an average 0.67 percent on EVERY reimbursement – the highest loss among any other state in the nation.

Though some readmissions cannot be avoided, many public health experts say a chronically high rate points to poor planning and follow-up care after a patient leaves a hospital. The result: sicker patients and higher health care costs.

The penalty will be applied every time a hospital submits a claim for repayment.