Morning Headlines 9/8/15

What Are a Hospital’s Costs? Utah System Is Trying to Learn

The New York Times covers efforts by the University of Utah Health Care to use data analytics to calculate the cost of the care per minute in each care area, as well as across various procedures and conditions. The team has already cut $200,000 per year in unnecessary lab tests and reduced costs associated with bypass surgeries by 30 percent.

Care.data on hold again

In England, the NHS’s electronic patient data sharing program Care.data has been suspended just ahead of its pilot program launch. Concerns over the wording used on the patient consent and opt out form was the reason for the delay.

Kentucky receives nearly $1m a year for next four years to combat prescription drug abuse, heroin

The CDC issues a four-year, $4 million grant to Kentucky to help it integrate its prescription drug monitoring program with EHRs being used by hospitals in the state.