Govexec.com reports on an OPM employee town hall held yesterday. The FEHBlog admires the job that Acting OPM Director Margaret Weichert does at OPM. It’s certainly not easy particularly considering she also holds a larger job at OMB and she knows how to maintain her cool.

Minneapolis Business Journals reports that UnitedHealth Group has named an Optum executive Dirk McMahon to replace Steve Nelson who is retiring after 15 successful years as CEO.

The Wall Street Journal reports that two large non-profit midwest hospital systems, Sanford Health and Unity Point, intend to merge their operations.

Sanford and UnityPoint have more than $11 billion in combined operating revenue from health-care and health-insurance operations and hospitals across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Sanford also operates long-term-care services in two dozen states after its January merger with the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit.

StatNews offers an interesting report on flu vaccine effectiveness rates. Many vaccines have effective rates of at least 90%. The flu vaccine, whose composition changes annually, is considered successful if it has a 40% effectiveness rate. Last years vaccine had a 29% effectiveness rate. Nevertheless,

Flu shots are recommended for virtually all Americans age 6 months or older. Officials say the vaccine is still worthwhile since it works against some strains, and it likely prevented 40,000 to 90,000 hospitalizations over the winter flu season.

Becker’s Hospital Review informs us that “Access to a patient portal through the EHR can help improve patients’ self management of healthcare services, resulting in increased outpatient appointments and reduced emergency room visits and hospitalizations, according to a recent study published in PLOS One.” Bravo.