IBM has initiated a multi-year research effort initially focusing on childhood obesity to connect and analyze collections of data from a variety of sources in order to enable individuals, governments and businesses to better understand actions to take to improve human health.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an interim final rule with a comment period to adopt the categories of information that will be collected and displayed as web portal content that HHS will require from issuers and request from states, associations and high-risk pools.

Transforming primary care into a "patient-centered medical home" model paid off in a two-year evaluation at Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative, according to an article published in the May edition of Health Affairs.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has written to governors and state insurance commissioners urging them to re-examine any WellPoint health insurance rate increases in their states. She took this action after Anthem Blue Cross, a WellPoint affiliate, withdrew its plan to raise premiums in California by as much as 39 percent when auditors found the rate hikes were based on unreasonable assumptions.

Healthcare IT company Cerner saw first quarter profits grow by 23 percent in the first quarter of 2010 on strong levels of bookings and revenue.

Nearly 40 percent of healthcare consumers have expressed discontent with the status quo, rating the U.S. healthcare system a D or F and most want to be engaged in their care, according to the 2009 Survey of Heallthcare Consumers from healthcare research firm Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

Health Access Solutions and AxSys Technology have formed a strategic alliance to develop a health IT platform that supports clinical care collaboration.

Health IT company Intermedix has acquired health IT company EMSystems for an undisclosed amount.