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Magnet hospitals have higher patient ratings of care than other hospitals

Patients' experience with healthcare has become the focal point for quality improvement among hospitals and care providers. The Affordable Care Act incentivizes hospitals to improve patient satisfaction by paying a financial incentive to hospitals that achieve high ratings from patients.

12 Oct 2015

Many early-stage breast cancer patients still not getting life-saving treatment, new study finds

Accelerated partial breast irradiation was designed to be a faster, more convenient, and potentially safer way for many women with breast cancer to reduce their mortality risk and help keep their cancer from returning after surgery. But a new study shows that the availability of the approach is failing to reduce the percentage of early-stage breast cancer patients who do not receive the radiation treatment that could save their lives.

12 Oct 2015

Thousands of older, disabled Connecticut residents successfully transitioned from nursing homes to community setting

The State of Connecticut's Department of Social Services, with its state evaluator UConn's Center on Aging, successfully transitioned more than 2,200 older and disabled Connecticut residents from nursing homes and other institutions to their own home or a community setting between 2008 and 2014, as part of the federal "Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration."

12 Oct 2015

Cancer survival outcomes can vary widely among U.S. hospitals

Decades of research have shown that cancer survival outcomes can vary widely depending on where patients receive care. But efforts to rank hospitals by long-term survival rates have been hindered by the readily available administrative data derived from Medicare claims, which lacks information about cancer stage. Two hospitals providing equally good care may have different survival rates if one hospital treats sicker patients, for example.

12 Oct 2015

Myriad Genetics and Tufts Health Plan sign agreement to cover Prolaris® for members with localized prostate cancer

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) has announced that it has signed a three-year contract with Tufts Health Plan through which the plan will provide coverage of Prolaris® for members diagnosed with localized prostate cancer. Prolaris is the first and only biopsy test validated against prostate cancer specific mortality.

7 Oct 2015

Testosterone therapy not associated with increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer: Study

A new population-based study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston showed for the first time that exposure to testosterone therapy over a five-year period was not associated with an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Further, risk of high-grade prostate cancer did not increase according to the total number of testosterone injections.

5 Oct 2015

LDCT lung cancer screening does not lead to unnecessary treatment

Lung cancer screening programs that utilize standardized reporting and include cardiothoracic surgeons as part of a multidisciplinary team can successfully be adopted into clinical practice without an increase in surgical intervention for non-cancerous disease, according to an article in the October 2015 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

1 Oct 2015

Catasys starts enrolling members in OnTrak Program

Catasys, Inc., a provider of proprietary big data based analytics and predictive modeling driven behavioral health management services for health plans, announced today that it has begun enrolling members in its OnTrak Program with Health Alliance Medical Plans (Health Alliance) in Illinois. In April, Catasys and Health Alliance announced a multi-year agreement for the OnTrak Program.

30 Sep 2015

$Study suggests that high-volume nursing facilities better for hip fracture patients$

Study suggests that high-volume nursing facilities better for hip fracture patients

There isn't a lot of information available to help family caregivers choose the best skilled nursing facility for an elderly loved one who breaks a hip, but a new study suggests a potentially useful quality indicator: the facility's number of hip fracture patients during the prior year.

30 Sep 2015

ACR and SBI encourage women to get annual mammograms

The American College of Radiology, Society of Breast Imaging and major medical organizations experienced in breast cancer care continue to recommend that women start getting annual mammograms at age 40.

30 Sep 2015

Study: Bright light therapy reduces depression and agitation in dementia sufferers

Dementia is most often associated with memory loss, but seniors who suffer from the condition also experience depression and agitation. These symptoms are often treated with medication.

29 Sep 2015

UTSCAP and GAPN aim to improve patient care, reduce costs through unique ACO affiliation

Covering a patient area of 400 square miles, a new accountable care organization (ACO) affiliation between UT Southwestern Clinically Affiliated Physicians and Genesis Accountable Physician Network is set to offer exceptional and comprehensive care to patients across North Texas.

26 Sep 2015

Prevalence of frailty in older people varies by region and race

A large-scale survey of older Americans living at home or in assisted living settings found that 15 percent are frail, a diminished state that makes people more vulnerable to falls, chronic disease and disability, while another 45 percent are considered pre-frail, or at heightened risk of becoming physically diminished.

25 Sep 2015

American College of Radiology supports collaborative, patient-centered approaches to reduce diagnostic errors

As a sponsor of the Sept. 22 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, the American College of Radiology (ACR) congratulates the Committee on its thorough analysis of the complex process of diagnosis and its recommendations for improvement.

23 Sep 2015

Older pneumonia patients can benefit from ICU admission

When an older person gets hospitalized for pneumonia, where's the best place to care for them? New research findings about deaths and health care costs in such patients fly in the face of conventional wisdom - and could change where doctors decide to treat them.

23 Sep 2015

New Medicare payment model reduces use of low-value services

In the first large-scale study to assess the effects of the Affordable Care Act's reforms to physician and hospital payments on the use of wasteful health care services, researchers have found that a new Medicare payment model reduced the number of times patients received services providing little or no health benefit.

22 Sep 2015

Health care disparities continue to persist in Washington state

The Washington Health Alliance released today a new report revealing disparities in how health care is delivered across race, ethnicity and language. Findings reveal that disparities in care are a continuing problem in Washington state. The report, the third of its kind that the Alliance has released, relies upon Medicaid data covering more than 680,000 enrollees.

17 Sep 2015

NCOA and award-winning actress Judith Light support national educational initiative, Flu + You

Two-time Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Judith Light and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) are teaming up for the second year on the national educational initiative Flu + You to educate older adults and those who care for them about the seriousness of influenza ("the flu"), the importance of prevention and available vaccine options.

16 Sep 2015

Availity announces data management solution for health plans

Availity, the nation's largest real-time health information network, announced a solution for health plans that need a provider data management solution inside the healthcare provider's workflow.

15 Sep 2015

Using integrated molecular pathology to manage incidental pancreatic cysts: an interview with Dr Ananya Das

Pancreatic cystic neoplasms, or PCNs, are a subset of all pancreatic cysts that are found on the pancreas. PCNs are neoplastic cysts that span a biological spectrum from benign to malignant.

15 Sep 2015

Medicare News and Research

Magnet hospitals have higher patient ratings of care than other hospitals

Many early-stage breast cancer patients still not getting life-saving treatment, new study finds

Thousands of older, disabled Connecticut residents successfully transitioned from nursing homes to community setting

Cancer survival outcomes can vary widely among U.S. hospitals

Myriad Genetics and Tufts Health Plan sign agreement to cover Prolaris® for members with localized prostate cancer

Testosterone therapy not associated with increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer: Study

LDCT lung cancer screening does not lead to unnecessary treatment

Catasys starts enrolling members in OnTrak Program

Study suggests that high-volume nursing facilities better for hip fracture patients

ACR and SBI encourage women to get annual mammograms

Study: Bright light therapy reduces depression and agitation in dementia sufferers

UTSCAP and GAPN aim to improve patient care, reduce costs through unique ACO affiliation

Prevalence of frailty in older people varies by region and race

American College of Radiology supports collaborative, patient-centered approaches to reduce diagnostic errors

Older pneumonia patients can benefit from ICU admission

New Medicare payment model reduces use of low-value services

Health care disparities continue to persist in Washington state

NCOA and award-winning actress Judith Light support national educational initiative, Flu + You

Availity announces data management solution for health plans

Using integrated molecular pathology to manage incidental pancreatic cysts: an interview with Dr Ananya Das

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