Health Care Buzz Today

Patients Pick Hospitals for their Social Media Presence. In a survey, 57% of consumers said that a hospital’s social media connections would strongly affect their decision to receive treatment at that facility, according YouGov Healthcare. 81% consider a hospital with an active online presence to be more “cutting edge.”

Patients Pick Hospitals for their Social Media Presence. In a survey, 57% of consumers said that a hospital’s social media connections would strongly affect their decision to receive treatment at that facility, according YouGov Healthcare. 81% consider a hospital with an active online presence to be more “cutting edge.”

eRx Systems May Not Reduce Medication Errors. Outpatient electronic prescribing systems don’t cut out the common mistakes made in manual systems, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Medicare to Keep Paying for Avastin. Medicare will continue to pay for bevacizumab (Avastin) when it’s used to treat metastatic breast cancer, even if the FDA decides to remove that indication from the drug, a CMS spokesman said.

Mass. General Disciplines Three Psychiatrists. The Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital disclosed sanctions against Joseph Biederman, Thomas Spencer and Timothy Wilens for violating hospital ethics guidelines by failing to adequately report seven-figure payments they received from drug companies.

Facebook To Unveil Skype-Powered Video Chat Next Week. The social networking behemoth reportedly will unveil a Skype-powered video chat platform later this week.  The move may be a response to Google+, the search giant’s answer to Facebook, which already has a group video chat feature.