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Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare commends CMS for stopping pre-claim review demonstration

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare — a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation's seniors — today commended the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for stopping the planned implementation of a Pre-Claim Review Demonstration in Florida, which would have applied new, mandatory regulatory requirements on all home health agenciesoperating across the state on April 1.

31 Mar 2017

Cleveland-based study to explore how childhood obesity can be prevented before conception

A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and MetroHealth System researcher, along with Cleveland Clinic's director of metabolic research, have received federal funding to determine if childhood obesity can be prevented before women become pregnant.

29 Mar 2017

Hospital grading system may put too much weight on wrong things, study finds

When a child brings home a report card from school, part of their grade comes from how often they made it to class or turned in homework. But the larger part comes from how they did on tests, in class and on take-home assignments. In other words, how much they've learned, or how hard they're trying.

28 Mar 2017

Hospitals with certified WOC nurses have lower rates of pressure injuries, study shows

Hospitals that employ nurses who have specialty certification in wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) care have lower rates of hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs), reports a study in the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing.

25 Mar 2017

Endocrine Society praises CMS decision to extend access to therapeutic CGMs

The Endocrine Society praised the decision to extend access to therapeutic continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to older Americans on intensive insulin therapy for diabetes.

25 Mar 2017

Study finds minimal differences in intensity of hospice services across different settings

A new study from the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute has found only minimal differences in the intensity of hospice services provided in nursing homes as compared to hospice services provided to patients in assisted living facilities or their homes. However the mix of services did vary by site type.

24 Mar 2017

New analysis reveals high rate of colon cancer screening among dialysis patients

A new analysis reveals a relatively high rate of colon cancer screening among US patients on dialysis, even though they rarely stand to benefit from such screening. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

24 Mar 2017

Study finds food scarcity, poor oral health to be major risk factors for malnutrition among older adults

UNC School of Medicine researchers led a study to determine risk factors associated with malnutrition among older adults receiving care in the emergency department.

24 Mar 2017

Medicare's competitive bidding program reduces access to diabetes testing supplies, survey finds

A new survey from the American Association of Diabetes Educators found that Medicare's Competitive Bidding Program significantly reduced beneficiary choice and access to commonly used diabetes testing supplies.

23 Mar 2017

Genotype-guided warfarin dosing linked to reduced risk of adverse events

Using genetic testing to help personalize doses of warfarin therapy given to patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery appears to lower the risk of combined adverse events compared with clinically guided dosing, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session.

21 Mar 2017

Closing left atrial appendage linked to reduction in stroke risk for AFib patients

For patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart rhythm disorder, closing the area of the heart known as the left atrial appendage as an add-on procedure during cardiac surgery was associated with a 40 percent reduction in the risk of thromboembolism (a condition when a blood clot forms and blocks an artery, which can cause a stroke or other complications) according to an observational study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session.

20 Mar 2017

Smoking cessation program prior to hip or knee replacement provides better surgical outcomes

Smokers who needed a hip or knee replacement experienced better surgical outcomes and fewer adverse events including hospital readmissions, surgical site infections and blood clots if they were enrolled in a smoking cessation program prior to surgery, according to preliminary new research that needs to be confirmed by larger studies.

16 Mar 2017

MOQI program reduces health care spending, potentially avoidable hospitalizations in nursing homes

Five years into the Missouri Quality Initiative for Nursing Homes, a program aimed at improving nursing home care, researchers at the Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri are seeing significant reductions in spending and potentially avoidable hospitalizations in participating nursing homes.

16 Mar 2017

Urban living can worsen asthma in poor kids, study shows

Results of a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers using national data add to evidence that living in inner cities can worsen asthma in poor children. They also document persistent racial/ethnic disparities in asthma.

15 Mar 2017

Shorter radiation treatment for breast cancer patients could reduce health care spending

More than half of older women with early stage breast cancer received more radiation therapy than what might be medically necessary, adding additional treatment and health care costs, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute researchers.

15 Mar 2017

$Men face higher risk of mortality after fragility fractures linked to osteoporosis$

Men face higher risk of mortality after fragility fractures linked to osteoporosis

Men face a greater risk of mortality following a fracture related to osteoporosis, a common disease where the bones become weak and brittle, according to new research presented today at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

14 Mar 2017

Patients can recover effectively, safely at home after total joint replacement surgery, study finds

Despite higher costs, many doctors recommend and some patients prefer, recovery at an in-patient rehabilitation facility following total hip (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) surgery.

14 Mar 2017

Spending more on care does not translate into better outcomes, study shows

Hospitalized patients treated by physicians who order more or more expensive tests and procedures are just as likely to be readmitted or to die as patients treated by doctors who order fewer or less expensive tests, according to research led by Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

14 Mar 2017

Counseling and shared decision-making can enhance understanding of lung cancer screening

Lung cancer screening using a low-dose CT scan can be a lifesaving test for high-risk patients. While it offers clear benefits, incidental findings and radiation exposure mean there are some potential risks associated with yearly screening.

14 Mar 2017

Higher health care spending by physicians not linked to patients' 30-day mortality, readmission rates

Higher health care utilization spending by physicians was not associated with better outcomes for hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries in a new article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

13 Mar 2017

Medicare News and Research

Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare commends CMS for stopping pre-claim review demonstration

Cleveland-based study to explore how childhood obesity can be prevented before conception

Hospital grading system may put too much weight on wrong things, study finds

Hospitals with certified WOC nurses have lower rates of pressure injuries, study shows

Endocrine Society praises CMS decision to extend access to therapeutic CGMs

Study finds minimal differences in intensity of hospice services across different settings

New analysis reveals high rate of colon cancer screening among dialysis patients

Study finds food scarcity, poor oral health to be major risk factors for malnutrition among older adults

Medicare's competitive bidding program reduces access to diabetes testing supplies, survey finds

Genotype-guided warfarin dosing linked to reduced risk of adverse events

Closing left atrial appendage linked to reduction in stroke risk for AFib patients

Smoking cessation program prior to hip or knee replacement provides better surgical outcomes

MOQI program reduces health care spending, potentially avoidable hospitalizations in nursing homes

Urban living can worsen asthma in poor kids, study shows

Shorter radiation treatment for breast cancer patients could reduce health care spending

Men face higher risk of mortality after fragility fractures linked to osteoporosis

Patients can recover effectively, safely at home after total joint replacement surgery, study finds

Spending more on care does not translate into better outcomes, study shows

Counseling and shared decision-making can enhance understanding of lung cancer screening

Higher health care spending by physicians not linked to patients' 30-day mortality, readmission rates

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