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Parents prefer hearing screenings for kids

Just yelling "turn it down" isn't enough when young people are blasting music directly into their ears via earbuds and headphones, parents say. A new poll from the University of Michigan shows parents are strongly in favor of required hearing screenings for kids all the way up to age 17.

10 Dec 2012

Many docs apply for 'meaningful use' of electronic health record payments, but few will pass muster

Two-thirds of office-based physicians plan to apply or have already applied for meaningful use incentives for using electronic health records (EHRs), a government survey found. However, only about a quarter have computer systems that support Stage 1 meaningful use objectives -- a prerequisite for receiving the incentives.

10 Dec 2012

SAS and Optum team up to improve healthcare fraud, waste and abuse services

Optum, an industry leader in health care payment integrity services, is working with SAS to further enhance its comprehensive health care anti-fraud, waste and abuse services. This enhanced solution combines detection, investigation, prevention, case development and recovery services to provide commercial health plans with a flexible approach to ensuring proper payments to care providers.

10 Dec 2012

National health care costs continue to increase for both plan sponsors and their employees

HORAN, a leading advisor in employee benefits and financial services, announces national health care costs continue to increase for both plan sponsors and their employees, according to the 2012 Health Plan Survey conducted by its national partner, United Benefit Advisors (UBA), the nation's largest independent benefits advisory organization.

10 Dec 2012

GAO takes hard look at anti-fraud effort inefficiencies in Medicare, Medicaid

The Medicaid program has government employees and contractors doing some of the exact same work, which is wasting government time and money, according to a new Government Accountability Office report to be released on Monday.

10 Dec 2012

Medical device tax repeal advocates feel momentum

Opponents of the health care law's tax on medical devices say they are making headway in their push to repeal the provision before it takes effect next year. But some also see delaying the implementation of the tax as a way to get around concerns about the cost of eliminating it if they're unable to fully repeal it before the end of the session.

10 Dec 2012

Ex-con gets arrested on purpose in order to get health care

A 56-year-old ex-convict says he purposely got arrested for shoplifting to get prison health care for his leukemia.

10 Dec 2012

Communication and checklists may lead to fewer surgical complications

An article published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgery found decreases in some postoperative complications when surgical teams were trained in communication and to use a procedure check list.

10 Dec 2012

As clock ticks toward fiscal deadline, Obama, Boehner meet at the White House

Action this week is critical if a deal is to be reached this year, The Washington Post reports. Most analysts appear to agree that the contours of such an agreement are clear, but the specifics -- which include raising taxes as well as spending reductions for Medicare and Medicaid -- remain challenging and politically divisive.

10 Dec 2012

Roundup: Texas Medicaid funding fight looms; Minn. facing federal Medicaid scrutiny; health care jobs 'boom'

If the Texas Legislature is in session, there must be a fight about Medicaid going on. The health care program for the disabled, the elderly poor and the impoverished raises hackles every two years, mostly because the number in need keeps rising alongside health care costs.

10 Dec 2012

Belmora introduces mobile cough control application

Belmora LLC, makers of the FLANAX line of Over-The-Counter (OTC) health care products, announced the launch of a mobile cough control application.

10 Dec 2012

Surgical patients with chronic psychological symptoms require psychotherapeutic treatment

In their study, the research group, headed by Privatdozent Dr. Henning Krampe, psychologist at the Charité Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Prof. Claudia Spies, Director of the Charité Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and Prof. Elmar Brähler, Head of the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University of Leipzig, initially recorded how many patients faced by a forthcoming operation were interested in psychotherapy sessions and to what extent this interest was associated with the increased psychological distress occurring before the operation. Finally, the scientists examined whether changes in the psychological symptoms took place during the six months following the surgery.

10 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 10, 2012

Today's headlines include news about yesterday's "fiscal cliff" meeting between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, as well as other health policy reports.

10 Dec 2012

Study examines association between ischemic-hypoxic conditions and ADHD

Children who had in-utero exposure to ischemic-hypoxic conditions, situations during which the brain is deprived of oxygen, were significantly more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life as compared to unexposed children, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Pediatrics.

10 Dec 2012

Survey finds heavy use of online physician-only communities

A new survey shows that about one in four physicians uses social media daily or multiple times a day to scan or explore medical information, and 14 percent use social media each day to contribute new information, according to an oncologist at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

10 Dec 2012

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore announces opening of new geriatric surgery center

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a LifeBridge Health center, is proud to announce the opening of the Sinai Center for Geriatric Surgery, the nation's first surgical center dedicated exclusively to providing specialized surgical and pre and postoperative care for elderly patients.

10 Dec 2012

GSK, MD Anderson partner to develop new therapeutic antibodies against cancer

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have signed a research collaboration and license agreement to develop new therapeutic antibodies that promote an immune system attack against cancer.

10 Dec 2012

More than 100 academic institutions to participate in Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013

More than 100 academic institutions and scholarly societies have joined in a major world-wide initiative: Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE) 2013. This year-long effort will highlight the contributions made by mathematics in tackling global problems, including natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis; climate change; sustainability; and pandemics.

9 Dec 2012

GOP Sen. Corker says party should accept tax hikes to get spending cuts

As pressure builds for a "fiscal cliff" deal, several key players talked about strategy on the Sunday morning news shows. Meanwhile, Politico reports that Republicans' hope of a big victory on cutting entitlement spending has dimmed while The Hill looks at Democrats' new willingness to consider means testing for Medicare.

9 Dec 2012

U.S. government's draft guidance on funding for H5N1 research receives 'mixed reception,' Science reports

"Researchers are giving a mixed reception to a draft U.S. government plan to do more stringent funding reviews of certain kinds of H5N1 avian influenza research -- and perhaps even require some studies to be kept secret," Science reports.

8 Dec 2012