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Free fatty acids may be effective in treating catheter-related bloodstream infections

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital, Veterans Affair Medical Center in Providence and University of Rhode Island have found that a free fatty acid, made up of compounds similar to those naturally made in the body, may be as effective at fighting certain infections as antibiotics.

19 Aug 2014

Penn researchers analyze clinical practice guidelines

The common thought in the medical community is that the randomized, controlled trial is the gold standard in medical research.

19 Aug 2014

New model shows how faculty development programs can affect institutional behaviors

Methods used to demonstrate the impact of faculty development programs have long been lacking.

19 Aug 2014

St. Elizabeth Hospital meets Meaningful Use Stage 2 criteria with MEDITECH technology

Defying the national trend of only 1.5 percent of eligible hospitals attesting in 2014, St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw, Wash. achieved Meaningful Use Stage 2 using MEDITECH technology. St. Elizabeth accomplished Stage 2 with information technology (IT) support from Engage, a division of Inland Northwest Health Services.

19 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 19, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including stories about a how a hospital system's data was hacked, involving as many as 4.5 million patients' records.

19 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Va. GOP's 'Medicaid charade'; Paul Ryan's health Rx for poverty; giving the sick unapproved drugs

Virginia lawmakers will convene in a special session next month to address the question of expanding Medicaid and, more broadly, the fact that hundreds of thousands of poor and disabled people in the state have no health insurance coverage. Democrats and some moderate Republicans have advanced a variety of ideas to tackle that problem. Conservative Republicans, who control the legislature in Richmond, have rejected those solutions while proposing no alternative. Does the GOP intend for the special session to be anything more than a charade at taxpayers' expense? (8/15).

19 Aug 2014

State highlights: Calif. hospital bid draws scrutiny; hospital house calls

Prime Healthcare Services Inc., a hospital chain that has come under fire for billing and patient privacy issues, is facing opposition over its potential acquisition of six California hospitals, including two medical centers in Los Angeles County. On Friday, hospital workers, union representatives and elected officials protested against Prime outside St. Vincent Medical Center near downtown Los Angeles, one of the six hospitals put up for sale this year by the Daughters of Charity Health System (Garland, 8/15).

19 Aug 2014

House GOP focuses on administration official's instruction to delete email

House Republicans are pointing fingers at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner's direction to delete an email related to the health law's troubled launch.

19 Aug 2014

AMGF participates in collaborative effort to find best practices in managing RA patients

The American Medical Group Foundation today announced participants in a collaborative dedicated to finding best practices in managing patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

19 Aug 2014

GOP Senate candidate seeks wider birth control access and end to charges of war on women

Rep. Cory Gardner is the first Republican candidate to talk up a new Republican idea of making birth control available over the counter.

19 Aug 2014

Why didn't your health insurance cover your bill?

How many times have you gotten a medical bill for more than you were expecting? Chances are, it's happened before, and you're not the only one who's been shocked at the price tag on a service that your insurance should have covered.

19 Aug 2014

Mount Sinai researchers receive federal funding to treat HCV in primary care settings

With the number of people with chronic hepatitis C reaching record levels in New York City and the recent availability of more effective treatments, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently announced the receipt of $1.9 million in federal funding to increase its capacity to treat HCV in primary care settings.

19 Aug 2014

Consumer groups: Chronically ill still face insurer discrimination

Patient advocacy groups are complaining to federal officials that some insurers' policies, such as the high prices charged for certain drugs, "are highly discriminatory against people with chronic health conditions."

19 Aug 2014

Medicare to begin paying physicians to coordinate care for patients with chronic illnesses

In a policy change, the Obama administration is planning to pay doctors to coordinate the care of Medicare beneficiaries, amid growing evidence that patients with chronic illnesses suffer from disjointed, fragmented care.

19 Aug 2014

CEOLIVE.TV interviews BioElectronics expert as part of its Executive Interview Series

BioElectronics Corporation, the maker of advanced consumer medical devices said that its EVP Dr. Deepak Kotak was interviewed by CEOLIVE.TV as part of its Executive Interview Series.

19 Aug 2014

Three southern governors tout Medicaid expansion benefits

Three governors who expanded Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul said Saturday there are economic and moral arguments for embracing a key part of the law, despite strong political opposition in their southern states. The Democratic governors of Arkansas, Kentucky and Maryland touted the success their states have seen in cutting the number of uninsured residents during a panel discussion at the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting in downtown Little Rock. Arkansas and Kentucky had the highest drop in the number of uninsured residents in a Gallup poll released earlier this month (DeMillo, 8/16).

19 Aug 2014

Rocky rollout of ACA benefits for Oregon's developmentally disabled

Many developmentally disabled Oregonians qualify for more money to cover services at home under the Affordable Care Act, but families say there aren't enough providers to go around. Meanwhile, consumer advocacy groups in North Carolina look for people who qualify for Obamacare and don't know it. And Connecticut reports a 55 percent increase in the size of its individual insurance market.

19 Aug 2014

Communications about the benefits of vaccination influence parents' intentions to immunize children

How do parents decide whether to vaccinate their child? In a study designed to formally look at the content of parent-targeted communications about the benefits of vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella, Indiana University School of Medicine investigators report that the framing of these messages influences parents' intentions to immunize their children.

19 Aug 2014

After rejection of increases, Conn. premiums set to decrease

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's individual-market customers will, on average, see a slight decrease in their premiums next year under new rates approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department. Anthem, the state's largest insurer, initially requested approval to raise rates by an average of 12.5 percent. But the insurance department rejected the proposal and asked the company to resubmit its plan using different calculations. The result: An average premium decrease of 0.1 percent for Anthem customers (Becker, 8/15).

19 Aug 2014

Feds to withhold some doctor payment data after inconsistencies

The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services said Friday that, because of data inconsistencies, a third of the records in a database showing drug and device-maker contributions to doctors will be withheld next month when the website goes live.

19 Aug 2014

Health Care News and Research

Free fatty acids may be effective in treating catheter-related bloodstream infections

Penn researchers analyze clinical practice guidelines

New model shows how faculty development programs can affect institutional behaviors

St. Elizabeth Hospital meets Meaningful Use Stage 2 criteria with MEDITECH technology

First Edition: August 19, 2014

Viewpoints: Va. GOP's 'Medicaid charade'; Paul Ryan's health Rx for poverty; giving the sick unapproved drugs

State highlights: Calif. hospital bid draws scrutiny; hospital house calls

House GOP focuses on administration official's instruction to delete email

AMGF participates in collaborative effort to find best practices in managing RA patients

GOP Senate candidate seeks wider birth control access and end to charges of war on women

Why didn't your health insurance cover your bill?

Mount Sinai researchers receive federal funding to treat HCV in primary care settings

Consumer groups: Chronically ill still face insurer discrimination

Medicare to begin paying physicians to coordinate care for patients with chronic illnesses

CEOLIVE.TV interviews BioElectronics expert as part of its Executive Interview Series

Three southern governors tout Medicaid expansion benefits

Rocky rollout of ACA benefits for Oregon's developmentally disabled

Communications about the benefits of vaccination influence parents' intentions to immunize children

After rejection of increases, Conn. premiums set to decrease

Feds to withhold some doctor payment data after inconsistencies

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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