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NAHQ sponsors National Healthcare Quality Week

National Healthcare Quality Week is sponsored by the National Association for Healthcare Quality. This annual national recognition event brings attention to the profession of healthcare quality and celebrates the work of the individual healthcare quality management professionals who work diligently to enhance the quality of care and optimize patient safety.

27 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Fund CHIP; media overdrive on Ebola; slowdown in Medicare costs

In what may be a hopelessly quixotic effort, supporters of the federal Children's Health Insurance Program are trying to persuade Congress to renew its funding almost a year in advance - and in a lame-duck session. Nevertheless, lawmakers ought to heed that call. The program plugs a troubling gap between Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act's subsidized plans, and states need to know whether they can count on federal funding or whether they will have to spend far more dollars of their own (10/21).

24 Oct 2014

State highlights: Health care takes center stage in debates in Maine, Arizona, Missouri

The three candidates for governor clashed Tuesday in their final debate, highlighting their differences on a wide range of issues, including health care and welfare. Partisan sparks flew early and often between Republican Gov. Paul LePage and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, who are running in a dead heat in the race, far ahead of independent Eliot Cutler, two weeks before Maine residents go to the polls (10/21).

24 Oct 2014

Hospitals' purchase of doctors' practices boosts costs, study finds

Hospital ownership of physician groups increased patient care costs by as much as 20 percent, according to the UC Berkeley study. Meanwhile, another study by Harvard researchers finds that switching to for-profit status may boost hospitals' financial health but has no effect on quality of care.

23 Oct 2014

Medicare, health care getting attention in Senate, congressional races

In Louisiana's Senate race, Medicare is grabbing the spotlight. The powerful issue is also popping up in North Carolina and Iowa. Meanwhile, Michigan's Senate race references to Medicare and the health law are checked for accuracy. And Obamacare is the subject of ads in an increasingly high-profile California House contest.

22 Oct 2014

State highlights: Calif. ballot measure updates; Va. prison health care budget shortfall

A selection of health policy stories from California, Arizona, Maine, South Dakota, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, Washington state and Missouri.

21 Oct 2014

Administration's handling of Ebola casts shadow on Democrats' House and Senate hopes

A Politico poll underscores that Ebola is causing real political danger for some Democrats. It's playing big, for instance, in North Carolina's Senate race.

21 Oct 2014

Long-term care costs weigh heavily on middle-class families

CBS News reports that for many seniors and their families, home care needs create a serious financial bind.

20 Oct 2014

American Academy of Ophthalmology redesigns patient education materials to improve literacy standards

Low literacy rates contribute to poor patient compliance, leading to increased hospitalizations and chronic illness and costing the economy between $106 – $238 billion each year.

20 Oct 2014

Janssen announces submission of IMBRUVICA sNDA to FDA for WM treatment

Janssen Research & Development, LLC today announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by its strategic partner Pharmacyclics, Inc.

20 Oct 2014

Regeneron, Sanofi announce initiation of dupilumab Phase 3 study in adults with atopic dermatitis

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sanofi today announced that the first patients have been dosed in a Phase 3 clinical study of dupilumab, an investigational therapy that blocks IL-4 and IL-13 signaling, in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) that is not adequately controlled with topical AD medications.

20 Oct 2014

State highlights: Calif.'s Prop. 45 fight; new benefits for same sex couples in N.C.; Aetna sheds jobs after Medicaid drop

A selection of health policy stories from California, North Carolina, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Kansas.

17 Oct 2014

Research roundup: Malpractice reforms and doctors' practice; Medicaid expansion's effect

Defensive medicine is considered by many to be a major source of wasteful medical spending in the United States.

17 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Abortion and birth control issues in N.C. Senate race; replacing Obamacare; cancellations

But on Wednesday in Charlotte, Kay Hagan stood without hesitation next to Janet Colm, chief executive of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Central North Carolina, and proudly bashed her opponent, Thom Tillis, for reducing women's rights on abortion and birth control.

17 Oct 2014

Researchers find poor access to outpatient psychiatric care in Boston, Chicago, Houston metro areas

Obtaining access to private outpatient psychiatric care in the Boston, Chicago and Houston metropolitan areas is difficult, even for those with private insurance or those willing to pay out of pocket, a new study by Harvard researchers shows.

17 Oct 2014

Despite rise in use of hospice care, hospital-based services increase for ovarian cancer patients

There have been widespread efforts to improve the quality of life of terminally ill patients. As more patients choose to spend their final days and weeks in hospice care rather than a hospital, the hope is the use of intensive and costly hospital services would decline.

17 Oct 2014

CMS publishes draft coverage decision for Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier

GenomeDx Biosciences today announced that a draft local coverage determination (LCD) for its Decipher® Prostate Cancer Classifier has been published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) describing a coverage and payment policy for use of the Decipher test in men who have undergone radical prostatectomy.

17 Oct 2014

Coordinated Health launches #Ch435pledge campaign to provide free mammography exams

Each year in Lehigh Valley, an estimated 435 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and one in eight will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, data extrapolated from reports by the National Cancer Institute's SEER program and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

17 Oct 2014

Ebola worries focus attention on public health leaders; administration bolsters its response

With questions emerging about the handling of Ebola patients, a House subcommittee is holding a hearing that will feature testimony from CDC Director Tom Frieden and Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer and senior executive vice president at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.

17 Oct 2014

Study: Nursing home care quality not associated with risk of hospital readmission or death

Nursing home care quality does not impact the likelihood of patients being readmitted to the hospital or dying within 30 days of discharge from hospital to nursing home, according to a new analysis of Medicare data and nursing home performance measures by Penn Medicine researchers.

16 Oct 2014

Medicare News and Research

NAHQ sponsors National Healthcare Quality Week

Viewpoints: Fund CHIP; media overdrive on Ebola; slowdown in Medicare costs

State highlights: Health care takes center stage in debates in Maine, Arizona, Missouri

Hospitals' purchase of doctors' practices boosts costs, study finds

Medicare, health care getting attention in Senate, congressional races

State highlights: Calif. ballot measure updates; Va. prison health care budget shortfall

Administration's handling of Ebola casts shadow on Democrats' House and Senate hopes

Long-term care costs weigh heavily on middle-class families

American Academy of Ophthalmology redesigns patient education materials to improve literacy standards

Janssen announces submission of IMBRUVICA sNDA to FDA for WM treatment

Regeneron, Sanofi announce initiation of dupilumab Phase 3 study in adults with atopic dermatitis

State highlights: Calif.'s Prop. 45 fight; new benefits for same sex couples in N.C.; Aetna sheds jobs after Medicaid drop

Research roundup: Malpractice reforms and doctors' practice; Medicaid expansion's effect

Viewpoints: Abortion and birth control issues in N.C. Senate race; replacing Obamacare; cancellations

Researchers find poor access to outpatient psychiatric care in Boston, Chicago, Houston metro areas

Despite rise in use of hospice care, hospital-based services increase for ovarian cancer patients

CMS publishes draft coverage decision for Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier

Coordinated Health launches #Ch435pledge campaign to provide free mammography exams

Ebola worries focus attention on public health leaders; administration bolsters its response

Study: Nursing home care quality not associated with risk of hospital readmission or death

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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