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Non-medical workers can identify patients at risk for hospitalization

Nearly 20% of hospitalizations by Medicare beneficiaries are followed by readmission within 30 days, costing billions of dollars in healthcare costs. Existing approaches to identify patients at risk for hospitalization are limited to episodic claims data. These claims-based approaches often fail to detect avoidable and costly admissions in the blind spot between doctor visits.

4 Jan 2016

Carondelet Health Network and Abrazo Community Health Network to stay in BCBSAZ network in 2016

The local, independent insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona announced that Carondelet Health Network and Abrazo Community Health Network will remain part of the BCBSAZ network in 2016. The negotiations came to a close when Tenet Healthcare, the controlling entity for the two hospital systems, accepted a four-year deal.

31 Dec 2015

HealthWell Foundation opens new fund to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients suffering from RCC

The HealthWell Foundation, an independent non-profit that provides a financial lifeline for inadequately insured Americans, today announced it has opened a new fund to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients suffering from renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

31 Dec 2015

Harmony Health Plan of Illinois to donate $10,000 to Kidz Korna

Harmony Health Plan of Illinois, Inc., a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), will give $10,000 to Kidz Korna to help make the holidays special for 10,000 low-income children in Chicago's Englewood community.

26 Dec 2015

Study: Low-dose CT screening can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk population

A national study involving 53,000 patients and 11 institutions (including Wake Forest Baptist) compared CT screens with chest X-rays and found that the scanning reduced lung cancer mortality by 20 percent in this high-risk population.

23 Dec 2015

New survey shows how patients, pharmacists benefit from med sync programs

A recent survey of National Community Pharmacists Association member pharmacies utilizing NCPA's Simplify My Meds (SMM) program documented how both patients and pharmacists benefit from medication synchronization programs, or "med sync."

21 Dec 2015

HealthCare Partners Medical Group receives IHA Medicare Advantage 4.5 Star Award

DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading independent medical group in America and leading provider of kidney care services, today announced that HealthCare Partners Medical Group has received the Integrated Healthcare Association's Medicare Advantage 4.5 Star Award.

21 Dec 2015

Turing Pharmaceuticals emphasizes continued availability of Daraprim

Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for serious diseases and conditions, today emphasizes the continued availability of Daraprim and cautions healthcare providers of proposed alternatives to Daraprim.

20 Dec 2015

NITOS coding platform allows users to examine role and value of medical imaging

A new free resource allows researchers to use Medicare and other payer claims databases to identify and meaningfully characterize medical imaging by noninvasive or invasive procedures, modality, body region and clinical focus. Developed by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, the Neiman Imaging Types of Service (NITOS) coding platform is an open source classification system, allowing users to readily extract utilization and cost data to examine the role and value of medical imaging.

17 Dec 2015

Reducing cost for screening does not increase colorectal cancer screening rates

Making colonoscopy available at no cost to eligible Medicare beneficiaries under the Affordable Care Act did not increase the number of people in this target population who regularly undergo the procedure, says a new large scale national study from University Hospitals Case Medical Center Seidman Cancer Center.

17 Dec 2015

Stanford study finds that overprescription of opioids goes beyond ‘pill mill’ prescribers

Most prescriptions for opioid painkillers are made by the broad swath of U.S. general practitioners, not by a limited group of specialists, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

17 Dec 2015

Executive Care earns recognition as 2015 HomeCare Elite Top Agency

Greystone Home Health of Columbus d/b/a Executive Care, part of the Greystone Health Network, has earned recognition as a 2015 HomeCare Elite Top Agency. The home health provider earned Top Agency status in 2014, and continues to be recognized as one of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States.

16 Dec 2015

VistaPharm announces launch of Potassium Chloride Solution

VistaPharm today announced that it has launched Potassium Chloride Solution, USP, 10% in Unit Dose. The product is supplied to the market in a 50 count case of 30mL unit dose cups.

14 Dec 2015

Study may help guide patients and physicians to determine appropriate treatment option for early breast cancer

In a review of guideline-concordant treatment modalities for women with early stage breast cancer, mastectomy and reconstruction had the highest rate of complications and complication-related costs, regardless of age. It was also the most expensive treatment option in a younger patient population, according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

11 Dec 2015

Postponing chemotherapy may increase risk of death for triple-negative breast cancer patients

Postponing the start of adjuvant chemotherapy for more than 90 days following surgery may significantly increase risk of death for breast cancer patients, particularly those with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

11 Dec 2015

Economic and racial barriers impact treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis

In the first known study to examine the prevalence and treatment of psoriasis in older Americans, experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that black patients receiving Medicare are less likely to receive biologic therapies -medications derived from human or animal cells or tissues - for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis than white patients.

9 Dec 2015

Mayo Clinic researchers report national trend toward overtesting HbA1C levels in diabetes patients

In a study released online today in The BMJ, researchers from Mayo Clinic report a national trend toward overtesting glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels in adult patients with Type 2 diabetes.

9 Dec 2015

Age doesn't matter when considering HCT for patients with MDS, study reveals

Results from a prospective study of 1,280 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) showed that survival at 100 days and at two years following hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) for patients aged 65 and older is comparable to patients aged 55 to 64.

7 Dec 2015

STSI launches home-based clinical trial that uses wearable sensors to identify people with AFib

Researchers at the Scripps Translational Science Institute have launched a home-based clinical trial that uses wearable sensor technology to identify people with asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (AFib).

1 Dec 2015

Comorbidities relevant to CML TKI choice common

Comorbid conditions that could affect the choice of tyrosine kinase inhibitor are common in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia, finds an analysis of a US claims database.

27 Nov 2015

Medicare News and Research

Non-medical workers can identify patients at risk for hospitalization

Carondelet Health Network and Abrazo Community Health Network to stay in BCBSAZ network in 2016

HealthWell Foundation opens new fund to provide financial assistance to Medicare patients suffering from RCC

Harmony Health Plan of Illinois to donate $10,000 to Kidz Korna

Study: Low-dose CT screening can reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% in high-risk population

New survey shows how patients, pharmacists benefit from med sync programs

HealthCare Partners Medical Group receives IHA Medicare Advantage 4.5 Star Award

Turing Pharmaceuticals emphasizes continued availability of Daraprim

NITOS coding platform allows users to examine role and value of medical imaging

Reducing cost for screening does not increase colorectal cancer screening rates

Stanford study finds that overprescription of opioids goes beyond ‘pill mill’ prescribers

Executive Care earns recognition as 2015 HomeCare Elite Top Agency

VistaPharm announces launch of Potassium Chloride Solution

Study may help guide patients and physicians to determine appropriate treatment option for early breast cancer

Postponing chemotherapy may increase risk of death for triple-negative breast cancer patients

Economic and racial barriers impact treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis

Mayo Clinic researchers report national trend toward overtesting HbA1C levels in diabetes patients

Age doesn't matter when considering HCT for patients with MDS, study reveals

STSI launches home-based clinical trial that uses wearable sensors to identify people with AFib

Comorbidities relevant to CML TKI choice common

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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