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Public hospitals are being sold amidst a general boom in hospital M&A activity.

See the rest here: Public Hospitals, ‘Poorly Equipped to Survive,’ Are Being Sold

Also: 50 million Americans on Medicaid; two studies boost Plavix rivals; pediatricians say no erectile dysfunction drug ads before 10pm.

See more here: A.M. Vitals: Genzyme Rejects Takeover Offer From Sanofi-Aventis

Will the Pope sign off on a private-equity deal?

Original post:  Hail Mary Pass? Group Asks Pope to Block Hospital Sale to Cerberus

Also: Insurance execs got raises last year; are bioweapons getting easier to produce?

Read more: A.M. Vitals: Medicaid Funding For States Clears the House

It’s not clear whether the trends Tenet is seeing are linked to some broader drop in the birth rate.

Continued here: Stork Passes Tenet By, Adding to Commercial Admissions Decline

Nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists receive about the same amount of actual anesthesia-related clinical and classroom training.

See more here: Study: No Problems if Nurse Anesthetists Work Unsupervised By Docs

Would you pick a doctor or a hospital if you knew they were more wired?

More:  How Will ‘Meaningful Use’ Factor Into Doctor and Hospital Rankings?

There are about 30,000 patient deaths a year attributable to CRBSIs, almost all of which could be prevented.

The rest is here: Survey: Central Line Infections Still a Big Problem

A long cover story in Washington Monthly has gotten people talking about group purchasing organizations again.

Original post:  GPOs Back Under the Microscope

Also: justifying insurance premium increases to regulators; Dell bets on health IT; reducing medical waste.

Continued here: A.M. Vitals: Lilly Focuses on Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Cancer