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In April, the government will begin boiling down the patient feedback into a five-star rating for hospitals. Federal officials say they hope that will make it easier for consumers to digest the information now available on Medicare’s Hospital Compare website. Hospitals say judging them on a one-to-five scale is too simplistic. Nationally, the hospital industry has improved in all the areas the surveys track, including clean and quiet their rooms are and how well doctors and nurses communicate. But hundreds of hospitals have not made headway in boosting their ratings, federal records show. (Rau, 3/10)

Letting patients see their medical records while they’re in the hospital might ease worry and confusion without extra work for doctors and nurses, a small study suggests. (Rapaport, 3/9)

Prescription-drug spending rose more than 12% last year in the U.S., the biggest annual increase in over a decade, according to a report by the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager. The increase was driven in large part by soaring demand for expensive new hepatitis C treatments and price increases for diabetes and cancer drugs. (Walker, 3/10)