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3M launches new physician education modules to provide ICD-10 training

3M Health Information Systems is enriching its web-based ICD-10 Education Program with 18 new physician education modules that address the critical issue of physician readiness for ICD-10.

28 Sep 2012

Prime Healthcare Services purchases Dallas Medical Center

Prime Healthcare Services announced today that it has purchased Dallas Medical Center, located in Dallas, Texas.

27 Sep 2012

U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique signs PEPFAR funding agreements with CBOs

On Monday in Maputo, Mozambique, U.S. Ambassador Douglas Griffiths signed funding agreements with 29 community-based organizations that will receive a total of $1.4 million through PEPFAR's small grants program "to strengthen health systems, boost professional training and implement income generating activities for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS," the Mozambique News Agency/AllAfrica.com reports.

26 Sep 2012

Global AIDS response provides lessons for fighting NCDs

"If left unaddressed, [non-communicable diseases (NCDs)] will lead to more death, disability and the implosion of already overburdened health systems in developing countries at huge cost to individuals, families, businesses and society," Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and former UNAIDS executive director, writes in the Huffington Post "Impact" blog, adding, "Like AIDS, NCDs are a problem for rich and poor countries alike, but the poor suffer the most."

21 Sep 2012

Health experts warn of linkages between climate change, increased malnutrition

"Malnutrition is likely to be the most serious health threat linked to climate shifts in the coming decades, as farmers struggle to cope with more unpredictable weather, ... epidemiologist Kris Ebi warned during a recent World Health Organization (WHO) briefing on adapting health systems to climate shifts," AlertNet reports.

20 Sep 2012

Women play important role in fighting NCDs

"As world leaders make their way to New York this month to attend the United Nations General Assembly, we call on them to renew their commitments to combating non-communicable diseases (NCDs)," Jill Sheffield, president of Women Deliver, and Nalini Saligram, founder of Arogya World, write in the Huffington Post "Global Motherhood" blog, adding, "Tackling NCDs with a woman-centered focus is a critical step towards reaching all development goals."

20 Sep 2012

Extreme temperatures affect cardiac mortality

Extreme temperatures experienced during cold spells and heat waves may increase a person’s risk for premature death from cardiovascular disease, say researchers.

19 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: While health care demand rises, medical schools turn away thousands; Jeb Bush on state-based Medicaid changes

Despite high unemployment, there is one bright spot in the economy: while nearly all other sectors shrank during the recession, jobs in health care increased by more than 1.2 million, with most paying salaries of over $60,000. And demand for those workers will keep improving. ... But for American health workers, this is hardly good news. Despite a labor shortage, our crowded medical professional schools are turning away hundreds of thousands of qualified applicants; to fill the gap, we are importing tens of thousands of foreign workers.

15 Sep 2012

Multiple interventions improve medication adherence for patients with chronic conditions

Although patients with chronic conditions who do not take medications as prescribed tend to have poorer health outcomes and higher health care costs than those who adhere to medication regimens, a new report sheds light on the potential for multiple interventions to improve medication adherence.

13 Sep 2012

Pathogens and Global Health highlights current debate on counterfeit medicine

The latest issue of Pathogens and Global Health highlights the current debate surrounding the under-investigated, and politically sensitive, issue of counterfeit medicine. Issue 106.2 includes an interview with Dr Paul Newton, Head of the Laos arm of the Wellcome Trust's Major Overseas Programmes, and a number of articles highlighting the technological innovations and field initiatives that are challenging this threat to global health.

13 Sep 2012

Argus introduces integrated care management solution

Argus Health Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of DST Inc., and a leading independent transparent pharmacy benefit administrator, announced today the availability of CareConnect to their customers. This integrated care management solution provides care teams with a comprehensive view of a member, including retrospective and prospective data to guide the best utilization of benefits and services to help drive improved outcomes.

10 Sep 2012

Health inequalities in Europe need action

Health inequality in Europe is resulting in huge social and economic costs to the region, and progress towards reducing health inequalities should be one of the main criteria by which the effectiveness of health systems and governments as a whole are assessed, according to a Review published in The Lancet.

10 Sep 2012

IOM report: Estimated $750B wasted annually in health care system

The Institute of Medicine offers an analysis of how the money is misspent and some steps that might address these trouble spots.

7 Sep 2012

Rwanda to host regional conference on social health protection in East Africa

Rwanda next week will host the Conference on Social Health Protection in the East African Community, which "will consider various approaches to providing universal health coverage in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi," VOA News reports.

7 Sep 2012

Roundup: Judge keeps Calif. prison health care under fed control; Hospital mergers possible in Kan., Wis., Minn.

A judge has again rejected the state's request for a speedy end to federal control of prison health care. In an order issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson said he would require tougher reviews than the state wanted before agreeing to dissolve the receivership that has run inmate medical care for six years.

7 Sep 2012

Medicare’s bundled payment program faces challenges, says economist

For years policymakers have attempted to replace Medicare's fee-for- service payment system with approaches that pay one price for an aggregation of services. The intent has been to reward providers for offering needed care in the most appropriate and cost-effective manner. But many of these programs have known pitfalls, says Stuart Altman, an economist and the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.

6 Sep 2012

Roundup: Texas probes Xerox in Medicaid overbilling; Miss. abortion clinic fights to stay open

Texas authorities are investigating whether Xerox Corp. played a role in allowing dentists to allegedly overbill the state's Medicaid system by millions of dollars.

5 Sep 2012

Net Health Systems acquires Wound Care Strategies

Net Health Systems, the leading provider of clinical information systems for the rapidly growing field of wound care, announced today the acquisition of Wound Care Strategies, Inc. developers of the TPS Electronic Medical Record software for wound care providers.

4 Sep 2012

2 Large Minn. health systems announce merger

In Minnesota, two large health systems -- HealthPartners and Park Nicollet -- plan to merge, creating the second biggest system in Minnesota -- just behind the Mayo Clinic.

1 Sep 2012

Examining implications of hiring foreign-born health workers on U.S., global health care systems

In this post in the IntraHealth "Global Health Blog," Kate Tulenko, senior director of health systems innovation at IntraHealth, provides an excerpt of her recently published book, "Insourced: How Importing Jobs Impacts the Healthcare Crisis Here and Abroad."

1 Sep 2012