Laura Mortkowitz

Health care reform stimulated increased improvement in health systems, but a concerning number surfaced about mortality rates after patients leave the hospital.

Physicians sometimes find themselves in the difficult situation of telling a patient "no" when he or she requests an unnecessary treatment or test.

Although the Supreme Court won't hear arguments for and against the 2010 health care law until March, the Obama administration submitted its brief defending the law and the requirement that people obtain insurance.

Since Congress put delayed making a decision on the Medicare reimbursement cut, CMS is giving physicians until Feb. 14 to decide if they are dropping Medicare participation.

At the end of 2011 there was approximately 165,000 metric tons of total mined gold in the world, which is worth close to $8.5 trillion.

In 2012 hospitals will have to simultaneously figure out how to increase patient volumes while combating limited capital and rising costs.

The Supreme Court has the Affordable Care Act on its docket for this spring, but people on both sides are calling for two justices to recuse themselves from the case. Chief Justice John Roberts has an opinion on that.

A study examining patterns in emergency room visits in Indiana finds 40% of patients visit more than one ER, challenging the concept that patients are bound to health systems and repeatedly visit local facilities.

The hottest destinations of 2012, whether you're looking for adventure, cities, culture or isolation.

Just before going on holiday recess, Congress voted to delay the Medicare payment cut, which was scheduled to go in effect Jan. 1, for two months. Congress will resume discussion on the cut when it is back in session.

There's exactly one year until the supposed apocalypse in 2012. Considering how many false predictions there have been and the lack of any evidence how seriously should you take it? And if you believe, what can you do with your money?

With less than two weeks left to go in the year, Congress has delivered disappointing and devastating news to physicians that the Medicare cut will stay linked to a tax bill that has deadlocked Congress.

Considering how low approval ratings are, it's probably no surprise that members of Congress have one of the lowest honesty and ethics ratings.

Americans consistently rate doctors, nurses and pharmacists as the most honest and ethical of professions.

Physicians are mostly pessimistic about the benefits of health care reform and believe that the best and brightest who might have considered a career in medicine will now think otherwise.

Despite the troubling economic events of the last year, the current market conditions are actually having a positive effect on Americans' financial habits in the long run.

The five emerging travel trends for 2012 that arise from the new way consumers search for deals and discounts to vacation.

In addition to being associated with obesity and increased heart disease, rotating night shift work is also linked with a modestly increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

The average time patients spend in the waiting room is 21 minutes, but that varies greatly by state. Typically, the healthiest states have the shortest wait time and the unhealthiest have the longest.

Despite three years of health improvements, the nation made no progress in 2011 and, in fact, there were dramatic increases in obesity and diabetes.

There are a lot of changes happening in the health care industry right now, which means physicians have a lot of concerns on their minds for 2012.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was the keynote speaker at the mHealth Summit, where she spoke about how mobile health technology is leading to better quality of care.

Considering how much stress physicians are reporting it's not so much of a surprise that the country is facing a physicians shortage. 86% reported being moderately to severely stressed on an average day.

Overall, pharmacies and physicians are pleased with e-prescribing technology, but there are some problems that can actually make the process more cumbersome and difficult instead of less so.

Health care is the second most important issue for the 2012 election, tying with the $15 trillion national deficit, and second only to job creation.

America's affluent, like the Fed, have a rather dismal outlook for the economy over the next six months.

Worried about outliving their retirement savings, many Americans plan to work for years past "retirement age" and even during retirement.

Physicians will be more likely to turn away obese patients for being high-risk because of ACOs, which base reimbursement partially on keeping a low complication rate.

Overall, shoppers expect to spend more this holiday season than last year's, but they also plan to take advantage of more sales and deals.

Travelers with their sights set on the Galapagos Islands might find it a bit more difficult to visit. Ecuador will begin limiting the number of visitors to the Islands by putting into place new rules and regulations regarding cruise routes.