According to the article, Oak Hill Capital will invest $400 million and assume $495 
million in debt. Ascension which was created in 1999 currently has 69 hospitals in 20 states. The agreement also allows for the hospitals t adhere to the teachings of the Catholic religion. The goal is to give Catholic hospitals an option of staying within the Catholic health system without having to sell out completely to a private equity firm, like what occurred in Massachusetts with the Cerberus group and Caritas. BD
Ascension Health, the country's largest Catholic health care system, has tapped Leo Brideau, the former chief executive of Columbia St. Mary's, to oversee a new venture that plans to buy Catholic hospitals and health systems throughout the country.
The goal is to preserve the identity and mission of Catholic hospitals that need capital by giving them an alternative to selling out to private equity firms and for-profit chains.
Ascension, the parent of Columbia St. Mary's, and Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Menlo Park, Calif., have formed a joint venture - Ascension Health Care Network - that will buy Catholic hospitals and health systems.
Many of those hospitals and health systems are burdened by debt, unfunded pension obligations, older facilities and limited access to the capital. That could force them to consider offers from for-profit chains and private equity firms.
Ascension Health venture seeks to preserve Catholic care ideals - JSOnline
providers and to evaluate their effectiveness compared to current payment methods in California, according to an IHA news release. 
crowd develop out of some of this if not implemented correctly with the proper privacy.
research. Recent advances in mobile technologies and the ubiquitous nature of these technologies in daily life (e.g., smart phones, sensors) have created opportunities for research applications that were not previously possible (e.g., simultaneously assessing behavioral, physiological, and psychological states in the real world and in real-time). The use of mobile technology affords numerous methodological advantages over traditional methods, including reduced memory bias, the ability to capture time-intensive longitudinal data, date- and time-stamped data, and the potential for personalizing information in real-time. However, challenges in mobile health (or mHealth) research exist. Importantly, much of the work being done in mHealth arises from single disciplines without integration of the behavioral, social sciences and clinical research fields. Without integration, mobile technologies will not be 
maximally effective. is unlikely in other discipline or trade-specific venues”.
of this already with the Cisco NOW vans that travel the US and demonstrate their capabilities. The link below will catch you up on where telepresence technology from Cisco is being used, a few videos to watch as well and see how the bank are connected already.
Aetna and United were awarded new contracts; however, Humana and HealthNet filed appeals and both Aetna and United lost the bids and they reverted back to the incumbent insurance carriers. Back in May of 2010 it was announced that HealthNet would stay in place in the north as somehow it was determined that Aetna was considered to have “cheated” with a conflict of interest and now the appeal for Humana has been granted with United Healthcare having to give up their contract too. Here’s a flashback on HealthNet below. 
seeing “scribes” appearing in emergency rooms? You have to stop and think about it as if it were so easy and simple, why do these folks now exist? 
