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DaVita HealthCare Partners announces financial results for fourth quarter 2014

DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. today announced results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2014. Income from continuing operations attributable to DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2014 was $208 million and $723 million, or $0.96 and $3.33 per share, respectively.

13 Feb 2015

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network saves record number of lives in 2014

February 14th is National Donor Day. To celebrate, Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network announced a record number of lives saved by helping 334 donors and their families donate 1,020 organs to patients waiting for a transplant, giving them a second chance at life last year.

13 Feb 2015

AMGA submits comment letter to CMS regarding proposed rule on Medicare Shared Savings Program

On Friday, the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) drafted and submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the proposed rule on refinements to the current framework of the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

12 Feb 2015

Experts question use of hospital quality measures in CMS’ pay-for-performance programs

A new editorial published in JAMA by Northwestern Medicine® experts strongly questions the use of several hospital quality measures by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in its pay-for-performance programs.

12 Feb 2015

USA Vein Clinics to open new center in Marietta, GA

USA Vein Clinics, the nation's only coast-to-coast network of physicians devoted to treating venous insufficiency, will open a new center in Marietta, GA on Feb. 24 at 1050 E. Piedmont Road, north of Roswell Road.

10 Feb 2015

Study findings help improve lung cancer screening guidelines

A set of guidelines developed to help standardized lung cancer screening would have generated considerably fewer false-positives than the National Lung Screening Trial produced, according to a new retrospective study.

10 Feb 2015

GenomeDx announces publication of positive validation study for Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier

GenomeDx Biosciences today announced the publication of a positive validation study for the Decipher® Prostate Cancer Classifier, a genomic test for prostate cancer. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, showed that patients with low genomic risk (as determined by Decipher) may be optimally managed with observation after radical prostatectomy (prostate surgery), while those with high genomic risk (as determined by Decipher) may be better managed earlier with adjuvant radiotherapy.

10 Feb 2015

Risk of rehospitalization for older heart patient remains high for up to a year

In the month following an older heart patient's hospital discharge, there is a one in five risk of rehospitalization or death, but little is known about how these risks change over time. A new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers found that risks remain high for up to a year, but can be addressed with targeted care.

9 Feb 2015

Implementation of pilot ACOs does not limit spending on cardiovascular treatment

In a study of 10 large health systems, Dartmouth investigators Carrie H. Colla, PhD, Philip P. Goodney, MD, MS, and Ellen R. Meara, PhD, and others from Dartmouth and the University of Michigan found that implementation of pilot accountable care organizations (ACOs) did not limit spending on discretionary or non-discretionary cardiovascular treatment for patients.

9 Feb 2015

Sign/symptom-based measures could help patients receive timely care

An examination of process measures endorsed by the National Quality Forum finds that these measures focus predominantly on management of patients with established diagnoses, and that quality measures for patient presenting symptoms often do not reflect the most common reasons patients seek care, according to a study in the February 3 issue of JAMA.

9 Feb 2015

Medicare coverage of CT lung cancer screening can save more lives

Medicare's final decision to cover computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening gives seniors at high-risk for the disease access to care that can save more lives than any cancer screening test in history.

8 Feb 2015

Foley Hoag’s new blog highlights current legal issues in Medicaid program

Foley Hoag LLP has launched a new blog to highlight and explain current legal and policy issues in the Medicaid program and how they will play out in the public policy arena.

6 Feb 2015

Increased spending on emergency care does produce better outcomes for patients

Because Americans spend more per capita on health care than residents of any country, debate has rumbled on for years about whether all that investment yields sufficient results. Now a newly published study with a distinctive design, led by an MIT health care scholar, shows that increased spending on emergency care does, in fact, produce better outcomes for patients.

6 Feb 2015

New book explains how Americans can gain universal access to comprehensive health care

Confusion and controversy have plagued the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) since its enactment in March 2010. Republicans have generally opposed the legislation, and attempted to obstruct it in parts, or repeal it altogether.

6 Feb 2015

Global CT market expected to reach $5.1 billion in 2018

The global CT market is expected to grow 5.5 percent to $5.1 billion in 2018, according to a new Kalorama Information report. The combination of product enhancements and the need to cut radiation dose levels is fueling the market. A new federal standard passed into law last year, NEMA Standard XR-29, defining low dose standards and punishing providers not in compliance will help growth, according to the market research publisher.

6 Feb 2015

HealthFusion launches new Chronic Care Management module

HealthFusion, maker of MediTouch EHR, the leading cloud computing software for physicians, hospitals, and medical billing services, launched a new Chronic Care Management (CCM) module that allows for practices to track and bill patients with two or more chronic conditions.

5 Feb 2015

Most hospital readmissions after surgery are not due to poor care coordination, finds new study

A study from Northwestern Medicine and the American College of Surgeons published today in JAMA suggests that penalizing hospitals for patient readmissions following surgery may be ineffective, and even counterproductive, for improving the quality of hospital care in America.

5 Feb 2015

Three top-performing health systems honored with national awards for improving care, lowering cost

The Advisory Board Company's Consulting and Management division announced on Tuesday that it has recognized three top-performing health systems with national awards for innovative initiatives that improved care quality and patient experience while lowering cost.

4 Feb 2015

Study evaluates association of participation in ACS NSQIP with surgical outcomes, costs

Nicholas H. Osborne, M.D., M.S., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues evaluated the association of participation in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program with surgical outcomes and payments among Medicare patients.

4 Feb 2015

Home health leaders raise concerns over proposed budget cuts and copayments on Medicare beneficiaries

Leaders in the home health community raised concerns today in response to President Obama's Fiscal Year 2016 budget that calls for the re-imposition of a copayment on Medicare home health beneficiaries.

4 Feb 2015

Medicare News and Research

DaVita HealthCare Partners announces financial results for fourth quarter 2014

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network saves record number of lives in 2014

AMGA submits comment letter to CMS regarding proposed rule on Medicare Shared Savings Program

Experts question use of hospital quality measures in CMS’ pay-for-performance programs

USA Vein Clinics to open new center in Marietta, GA

Study findings help improve lung cancer screening guidelines

GenomeDx announces publication of positive validation study for Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier

Risk of rehospitalization for older heart patient remains high for up to a year

Implementation of pilot ACOs does not limit spending on cardiovascular treatment

Sign/symptom-based measures could help patients receive timely care

Medicare coverage of CT lung cancer screening can save more lives

Foley Hoag’s new blog highlights current legal issues in Medicaid program

Increased spending on emergency care does produce better outcomes for patients

New book explains how Americans can gain universal access to comprehensive health care

Global CT market expected to reach $5.1 billion in 2018

HealthFusion launches new Chronic Care Management module

Most hospital readmissions after surgery are not due to poor care coordination, finds new study

Three top-performing health systems honored with national awards for improving care, lowering cost

Study evaluates association of participation in ACS NSQIP with surgical outcomes, costs

Home health leaders raise concerns over proposed budget cuts and copayments on Medicare beneficiaries

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