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HCA faces scrutiny about medical necessity of some cardiac procedures done at some hospitals

HCA Holdings Inc., the biggest for-profit U.S. hospital operator, told investors that federal prosecutors in Miami are probing the "medical necessity" of cardiology procedures performed at several of its hospitals in Florida. The company made an unusual statement defending its operations in anticipation of a New York Times article that appeared online late Monday.

8 Aug 2012

Clinton discusses global HIV efforts with South African officials during 11-day African tour

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday visited officials in South Africa and discussed the response to HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press/Huffington Post reports. Speaking with Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane "in the second cabinet-level strategic dialogue between the two nations," Clinton said "that global efforts to stop the virus 'have saved hundreds of thousands of lives,'" the news service writes.

8 Aug 2012

Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement could restrict access to affordable, life-saving drugs

In this post in the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, Judit Rius Sanjuan, a lawyer from Barcelona, Spain, and the U.S. manager of the Access Campaign at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), says the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional trade agreement that currently involves 11 countries but is slated for further expansion across the Asia-Pacific region, is threatening the prospects for an AIDS-free generation.

8 Aug 2012

GeneXpert TB test maker Cepheid signs deals with PEPFAR, USAID, others to provide lower-cost kits

Diagnostics company Cepheid on Monday signed deals with PEPFAR, USAID, UNITAID, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to immediately reduce the price of its Xpert MTB/RIF test kit for its GeneXpert tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic system in 145 countries, Reuters reports.

8 Aug 2012

Safety-net hospitals brace for health law's changes in funding, other adjustments in federal programs

Safety net hospitals governed by elected officials reported higher profits than those governed by political appointees, not-for-profit boards or for-profit directors, according to a study. … Public hospitals governed by elected officials operated in competitive markets reported the highest operating margin, on average, at 7%. Hospitals governed by political appointees reported a slim average 0.7% operating margin. Safety net not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals reported margins of -0.9% and -2%, respectively.

8 Aug 2012

MU Area Health Education Center receives Eugene S. Mayer Program of Excellence Award

A University of Missouri program regarded as a model for improving access to health care has received a national award for its comprehensiveness, partnerships and responsiveness to community needs. MU Area Health Education Center (AHEC) received the Eugene S. Mayer Program of Excellence Award from the National AHEC Organization during its conference last week in San Antonio.

8 Aug 2012

Texas doctors oppose state plans on abortion; Gov. Perry caught between Medicaid and Planned Parenthood

The physicians are objecting to a proposed rule for the Texas Women's Health Program that prohibits them from discussing abortion with patients. Meanwhile, the governor, who says he opposes an expansion of Medicaid, also says he will use such an expansion to justify his cut off of funds to Planned Parenthood.

8 Aug 2012

HHS selects Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to take part in GNE Demonstration

The Department of Health and Human Services has selected the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) as one of five hospitals that will take part in a nationwide initiative designed to train more nurses at a higher level.

8 Aug 2012

Survey: Employers expect health care costs to grow 7 percent next year, ready compliance with health law

A new survey of employer health benefits by the National Business Group on Health has found businesses expect their health care costs to jump 7 percent next year as they comply with new parts of the federal health care reform law. Employers also expect to increase workers' share of health care costs 5 percent, the study found.

8 Aug 2012

Medicaid news: Fla. plan to challenge state rule on managed care; N.Y. wants permission to invest savings

Florida is seeking to move seniors on Medicaid into a managed care program but one company questions part of the regulations on plans.

8 Aug 2012

Communal violence in India forces up to 400,000 into overcrowded camps without sufficient food, water, medicine

"Hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in squalid, overcrowded camps in India's northeast desperately need food, water and medicines after fleeing some of the worst communal violence in a decade, officials and aid workers said on Monday," AlertNet reports.

8 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 7, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that HCA, the largest for-profit hospital chain in the U.S., is facing scrutiny about the medical necessity of some of the cardiac procedures done at some of its facilities.

7 Aug 2012

Study examines life expectancy by race, sex and education

Despite advances in health care and increases in life expectancy overall, Americans with less than a high school education have life expectancies similar to adults in the 1950s and 1960s.

7 Aug 2012

Study suggests race-specific cutoff points for a diabetes diagnostic test

Healthcare providers should take into account differences among racial groups when using hemoglobin A1C levels to diagnose and monitor diabetes, new research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center suggests.

7 Aug 2012

GAO finds states need more HHS guidance on new Medicaid rules

The study of six states finds they want more help as they look to expand their programs under new rules in the health law.

7 Aug 2012

Obama campaigning on health law while Romney backs away from the issue

President Obama is focusing on the health care law in his campaign stops, touting its consumer benefits. Democrats -- in their own campaigning -- are embracing the GOP-coined term "Obamacare."

7 Aug 2012

Republicans seek legislative means to insist that individual mandate is not a 'tax'

House GOP lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday in an attempt to get around the high court's recent ruling that the health law is constitutional because its requirement that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a penalty falls within Congress' taxing authority. The proposed legislation says the mandate "shall not be construed as a tax."

7 Aug 2012

Health worker training program in Tanzania's Kigoma Region reducing maternal mortality rate

Inter Press Service reports on the successful efforts of Tanzania's Kigoma Region "to train assistant medical officers to conduct life-saving c-sections at its rural health centers," allowing pregnant women with complications to deliver at more local facilities instead of having to travel to regional or district hospitals. Tanzania's maternal mortality rate is high, at 578 deaths for every 100,000 live births, IPS notes.

7 Aug 2012

U.N. WFP to begin delivering food aid to North Korea after severe flooding destroys crop lands

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Friday reported that nearly 170 people have died, 400 people are missing, and more than 84,000 people are homeless because of severe flooding in the country, the Guardian reports, noting that the World Food Programme (WFP) "announced on Friday the details of its first batch of emergency food aid to the country, although it did not state when it would arrive."

7 Aug 2012

NYUCN professor to investigate efficacy of Acu/Moxa in managing irritable bowel syndrome

New York University College of Nursing's (NYUCN) Joyce K. Anastasi, PhD, DrNP, FAAN, LAc., the Independence Foundation Endowed Professor and Founding Director of the Division of Special Studies in Symptom Management at NYUCN has been awarded a $2.5 million four-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for the study of "Symptom management for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) constipation".

7 Aug 2012

Health Care News and Research

HCA faces scrutiny about medical necessity of some cardiac procedures done at some hospitals

Clinton discusses global HIV efforts with South African officials during 11-day African tour

Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement could restrict access to affordable, life-saving drugs

GeneXpert TB test maker Cepheid signs deals with PEPFAR, USAID, others to provide lower-cost kits

Safety-net hospitals brace for health law's changes in funding, other adjustments in federal programs

MU Area Health Education Center receives Eugene S. Mayer Program of Excellence Award

Texas doctors oppose state plans on abortion; Gov. Perry caught between Medicaid and Planned Parenthood

HHS selects Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to take part in GNE Demonstration

Survey: Employers expect health care costs to grow 7 percent next year, ready compliance with health law

Medicaid news: Fla. plan to challenge state rule on managed care; N.Y. wants permission to invest savings

Communal violence in India forces up to 400,000 into overcrowded camps without sufficient food, water, medicine

First Edition: August 7, 2012

Study examines life expectancy by race, sex and education

Study suggests race-specific cutoff points for a diabetes diagnostic test

GAO finds states need more HHS guidance on new Medicaid rules

Obama campaigning on health law while Romney backs away from the issue

Republicans seek legislative means to insist that individual mandate is not a 'tax'

Health worker training program in Tanzania's Kigoma Region reducing maternal mortality rate

U.N. WFP to begin delivering food aid to North Korea after severe flooding destroys crop lands

NYUCN professor to investigate efficacy of Acu/Moxa in managing irritable bowel syndrome

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®

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