Health Care News and Research

RSS

Researchers create culturally targeted educational materials to help patients make health care decisions

Hispanic cancer patients rarely participate in clinical trials, but researchers want to tailor a Spanish DVD to help change this. To create a relevant educational tool, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers investigated why awareness of and participation in trials are so low in this population.

28 Jun 2013

High court's DOMA ruling will impact health benefits for gay couples

The decision will affect benefits for federal employees, as well as people eligible for new coverage under the health law, and will likely lead employers in the 12 states that recognize same-sex marriages to review employee-benefit packages to make sure they don't discriminate against gay spouses and comply with the law.

28 Jun 2013

Stanford researchers take new step in deciphering of histone code

A chemical code scrawled on histones - the protein husks that coat DNA in every animal or plant cell - determines which genes in that cell are turned on and which are turned off.

28 Jun 2013

When states reject the Medicaid expansion, safety-net hospitals likely to be in a bind

The Washington Post highlights a Georgia hospital to illustrate the choices safety net hospitals will face if their states opt against the health law's Medicaid exansion. Also, a number of states continue to grapple with debate and decisions related to the expansion issue.

28 Jun 2013

Former CMS head: Tie doc payment reforms to patient outcomes

A former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator told the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday that Medicare should focus on fewer quality measures in their assessments, letting patient outcomes dictate what constitutes quality care instead.

28 Jun 2013

Florida firm gets religious reprieve from health law's contraception coverage rule; W.Va. auto dealer seeks relief

An update on employers' legal challenges to the provisions requiring contraceptive coverage.

28 Jun 2013

Study finds geographic variation in adoption of EHRs by ambulatory health care sites

A new study in Health Services Research finds wide geographic variation in the adoption of electronic health records by ambulatory health care sites, ranging from a high of 88 percent to a low of just 8 percent.

28 Jun 2013

Democrats to Sebelius: Confusion over health law persists

Politico reports that congressional Democrats shared concerns with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that seniors, among others, remain fearful about the health law's impact on their benefits. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times explores a loophole that could allow insurers to avoid some of the law's provisions for another year and The Associated Press reports the individual mandate exemption has been broadened for Native Americans.

28 Jun 2013

Elsevier publishes first issue of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce the publication of the first issue of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation.

28 Jun 2013

Poor, less educated patients are less likely to receive opioid pain medications in emergency rooms

Patients in moderate to severe pain in emergency rooms across the U.S. are less likely to receive opioid pain medications if they are black, Hispanic, poor, or have less education, compared to more affluent patients, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

27 Jun 2013

Community wide interventions hold promise as effective approach to reduce childhood obesity rates

Community wide interventions hold promise as an effective approach to reducing childhood obesity rates according to new research from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Tufts University School of Medicine.

27 Jun 2013

Adults with disability have higher prevalence of several chronic illnesses

Adults with a disability are more likely to be obese or extremely obese than those without a disability according to a study led by researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health, which is part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

27 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 27, 2013

Today's headlines include reports explaining how yesterday's Supreme Court decision on DOMA impacts federal health benefits and the health law's coverage expansion.

27 Jun 2013

White House takes aim at Latinos, young people with health law outreach efforts

Both populations are key to the success of new online health insurance marketplaces, which will begin enrolling people on Oct. 1 for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

27 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Entitlements driving U.S. toward insolvency; Shalala on being informed; Catholics find contraceptive mandate morally wrong

As currently structured, entitlement programs can't keep up with longer life expectancies and changing demographics. Soon, one-third of Americans will be retired and will spend one-third of their lives in retirement. Meanwhile, the ratio of workers to retirees has dropped precipitously. During this decade and the next, the number of Americans 65 or older will jump 75 percent, while those of working age will nudge up by just 7 percent. Within a decade, the total price for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will reach $3 trillion a year, but we'll have fewer workers paying into the system and supporting those growing costs (R. Bruce Josten, 6/25).

27 Jun 2013

Texas Democrats defeat abortion bill after midnight drama

Democrats in the Texas Senate late Tuesday successfully filibustered abortion legislation that would ban the procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy and also shutter all but a few abortion clinics in the state.

27 Jun 2013

Researcher suggests new approaches to improve measurement of diagnostic errors

Diagnostic error in medicine can be prevented and reduced if the rate of error is measured properly, according to a new article by RTI International researcher Mark Graber, M.D.

27 Jun 2013

State highlights: Ore. targets waste with uniform credentialing; Managed care lessons from Calif.

The Oregon House passed a bill with unanimous support Monday that supporters say could save the economy $150 million in administrative waste by crafting a single credentialing process that all insurers, hospitals and coordinated care organizations can share for thousands of health care providers. If Gov. Kitzhaber signs Senate Bill 604 into law, Oregon will also be the first state to have a uniform, electronic credentialing database where each provider can be quickly accessed.

27 Jun 2013

Research shows how framing healthcare incentives makes big difference

To keep costs low, companies often incentivize healthy lifestyles. Now, new research suggests that how these incentives are framed - as benefits for healthy-weight people or penalties for overweight people - makes a big difference.

27 Jun 2013

Hospital news: Layoffs at Pa.'s Temple University Health System; Parkland Hospital in Dallas among nation's top 100 grossing hospitals

Temple University Health System announced the elimination of 11 positions at Fox Chase Cancer Center and 14 at Jeanes Hospital. Officials said efforts were underway to find new jobs in the system for the affected employees, who came from management and nonmanagement ranks but were not involved in patient care. Fox Chase and Jeanes have a combined 3,500 employees (Brubaker, 6/25).

27 Jun 2013

Health Care News and Research

Researchers create culturally targeted educational materials to help patients make health care decisions

High court's DOMA ruling will impact health benefits for gay couples

Stanford researchers take new step in deciphering of histone code

When states reject the Medicaid expansion, safety-net hospitals likely to be in a bind

Former CMS head: Tie doc payment reforms to patient outcomes

Florida firm gets religious reprieve from health law's contraception coverage rule; W.Va. auto dealer seeks relief

Study finds geographic variation in adoption of EHRs by ambulatory health care sites

Democrats to Sebelius: Confusion over health law persists

Elsevier publishes first issue of Health Care: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation

Poor, less educated patients are less likely to receive opioid pain medications in emergency rooms

Community wide interventions hold promise as effective approach to reduce childhood obesity rates

Adults with disability have higher prevalence of several chronic illnesses

First Edition: June 27, 2013

White House takes aim at Latinos, young people with health law outreach efforts

Viewpoints: Entitlements driving U.S. toward insolvency; Shalala on being informed; Catholics find contraceptive mandate morally wrong

Texas Democrats defeat abortion bill after midnight drama

Researcher suggests new approaches to improve measurement of diagnostic errors

State highlights: Ore. targets waste with uniform credentialing; Managed care lessons from Calif.

Research shows how framing healthcare incentives makes big difference

Hospital news: Layoffs at Pa.'s Temple University Health System; Parkland Hospital in Dallas among nation's top 100 grossing hospitals

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

Latest News