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Doctors group seeks to stem excessive testing

The American College of Physicians is putting out guidelines to help doctors better identify when patients should be screened for specific diseases and when they can be spared the cost and the potentially invasive procedures that follow.

18 Feb 2012

Questions and answers about ACOs

Many hospitals, health centers, large physician groups, and insurers are working toward or considering forming ACOs, and physicians are being approached to participate. ... The CMS have implemented demonstration projects that incorporate the ACO concept, and several private payers have fielded their own versions of the idea. ... Medscape spoke to Anders M. Gilberg, senior vice president of Government Affairs, Medical Group Management Association.

18 Feb 2012

BCBSF Foundation announces winners of 2012 Sapphire Award

Today, during the Sapphire Award Presentation, eight honorees were recognized for positively impacting the health of their fellow Floridians. The Sapphire Award is presented annually by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) Foundation, the philanthropic affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

18 Feb 2012

GOP lawmakers defend proposed overhaul of Medicare

Sens. Richard Burr and Tom Coburn are proposing a plan to raise Medicare's eligibility age and premiums and require the program to compete with private insurers. Rep. Paul Ryan, in the meantime, is "excited" to defend his own plan.

18 Feb 2012

Administration touts health care tax credits for small businesses

White House officials on Thursday highlighted a budget proposal to spend $14 billion over a decade to expand a health care tax credit for small businesses, a move they say would benefit about 4 million workers this year.

18 Feb 2012

Two-day WHO meeting on bird flu to release statement as soon as possible, WHO official says

Researchers of H5N1 bird flu virus "are set to wrap up a two-day meeting on the issue Friday with international experts at the World Health Organization in Geneva" with the aim of settling controversy over the work of two research teams that created genetically altered viral strains that are easily transmissible among ferrets, a laboratory model for humans, the Associated Press reports (Mason, 2/17).

18 Feb 2012

Votes expected today on 'doc fix' compromise bill

The legislation, which also extends a payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits, is a rare sign of bipartisanship within the 112th Congress, though not everyone is happy with the deal.

18 Feb 2012

Research roundup: Patient satisfaction, community health centers as medical homes, analyzing controversial Medicare coverage

Every week, KHN reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni compiles a selection of recently-released health policy studies and briefs.

18 Feb 2012

Study examines mercury exposure in pregnant women

A new study published by researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center's School of Public Health assesses mercury levels in pregnant women and examines dietary and environmental sources of exposure to mercury. The research, which focuses on an urban immigrant community, examined risk factors that may be associated with elevated mercury levels, measured through urine and cord blood samples.

18 Feb 2012

Corcept receives FDA approval for Korlym to treat endogenous Cushing's syndrome

Today, Korlym (mifepristone) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to control high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) in adults with endogenous Cushing's syndrome.

18 Feb 2012

LifePoint Hospitals fourth quarter revenues increase 6.6% to $781.3M

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

18 Feb 2012

State roundup: U.S. Senators demand more medical board oversight; Californians losing coverage; Arizona's prison 'quandary'

"The administration never consulted us," said Susan Millerick, spokeswoman for the Hartford-based Aetna. Other Connecticut health insurers are letting the American Health Insurance Plans, a Washington-based trade association, voice their concerns. ... "We are concerned about the precedent this proposed rule would set," AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said.

17 Feb 2012

Digital games become an important tool for self-management of illness and chronic conditions

Millions of dollars and immeasurable hours of research and development are being invested to develop and employ increasingly sophisticated hardware and software technologies to deliver innovative new personalized health care interventions.

17 Feb 2012

Standardization may improve Canada's ranking in international child health indexes

Canada's ranking in international child health indexes would dramatically improve if measurements were standardized, according to a new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, working with the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System and funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

17 Feb 2012