Drops in patient office visits, non-emergency room hospital admissions and older patients use of retail drugs contributed to a decline in the overall per capita utilization of medicine in 2011, according to a report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. But emergency room admissions rose, all trends that point to higher costs for the healthcare system in the future.

With projections of long-term deficits dependent on projection of healthcare costs, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) has updated its HealthCare Budget Deficit Calculator to show what long-term budget deficits would look like if the U.S. did not pay as much for healthcare. Spoiler alert: it doesnt look good.

As the healthcare community tries to transform itself from a volume-based to a value-based system, costs may become even more constrained. To succeed, hospital leaders must manage costs by identifying effective resources and integrating service distribution plans, according to a report put forth by the American Hospital Association.

The Supreme Court took its final lap in the three-day oral arguments in the case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Geographic section and department rank were found to influence compensation in academic settings, according to a report from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).

The Supreme Court justices and orators on behalf of Department of Health and Human Services v Florida parties laced up their debating gloves as they entered into the second day of oral arguments on the case of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Negligent insiders are the top cause of data breaches but malicious attacks are 25 percent more costly, according to the findings of the "2011 Cost of Data Breach Study: United States," published by Symantec and the Ponemon Institute.

While striving to provide the most innovative and valuable care to patients is the overarching goal of healthcare, the costs associated with this care are astronomical. Several strategies have been implemented into practice to curb these high expenditures, yet current healthcare costs are nearly 18 percent of the gross domestic product. Donald M. Berwick, MD, and Andrew D. Hackbarth, MPhil, say cut waste, not care.