Trending News Today: Some Hospitals Fail to Flag Potentially Harmful Prescription Drug Orders

A new study by the Leapfrog group suggests that hospital software fails to flag harmful prescriptions. Kaiser Health News reported a majority of hospitals have a computerized physician-order entry system in place, but 40% of potentially harmful drug orders were not flagged by the systems. According to the study, these systems also missed 13% of potentially fatal orders.

Sutter Health, which has been accused of abusing its power in California in a report by Kaiser Health News, is now having employers sign a document to resolve any disputes. If employers choose not to sign the document, they will face higher costs. Sutter Health said that those who do not sign it will have to pay 95% of costs for out-of-network care.

Due to cumbersome US tax rules that may have killed the $160 billion merger of Pfizer Inc and Allegan Plc, the New York Times reported that it is more challenging to sue over these regulations than it is other issues. What makes US taxes different is that there is a law that bars suits until the tax is assessed. Lawyers say that companies such as Pfizer would need to go ahead with the merger, file a tax, and then the IRS would asses it. This process would leave all involved parties with a great deal of uncertainty for quite some time, the article concluded.