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Top Stories

• Study: Workplace exposures put nurses at risk for lost pregnancies

  Nurses exposed to cancer treatment drugs or chemicals used to sterilize medical devices may be at higher risk of spontaneous abortions, according to a study appearing in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, reports Reuters, January 13.

• "Wall fountains" may be spreading Legionnaires to patients, visitors

  The calming, soothing modern-style wall fountains found in many hospitals may be getting patients, visitors, and staff sick.

• CMS revises HIPAA 5010, COBA MLN Matters article

  CMS revised this week guidance it issued in December to help providers understand why they were seeing greater instances of Medicare correspondence letters that said error N22226 serves as the basis for why their patients’ claims could not be crossed over.

• State health officials will not investigate heightened security during celebrity’s delivery

  Shortly after famous pop singer Beyonce Knowles gave birth at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on January 10th, complaints from other parents in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that private security disrupted their own patient access reached the media.

• Study: HIPAA breaches on the rise

  Patient information data breaches climbed 32% in 2011, according to the Ponemon Institute’s “2011 Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security” report, released in December 2011.

• Triaging and treating during disaster

  Physicians facing medical disasters will face ethical concerns not always taught during emergency preparedness drills, reports a new American Medical News story.