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ODJFS selects Aetna to administer services in Ohio

Aetna Better Health of Ohio, an Aetna health plan that administers benefits for Medicaid members, has been selected by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to administer services in Ohio. The contract will be effective January 1, 2013.

7 Apr 2012

World Health Care Congress to be held in Washington D.C.

The 9th Annual World Health Care Congress will be held April 16-18, 2012 in Washington D.C.. The event is a cross-industry event convening of health care leaders from business, government and academia.

7 Apr 2012

Premier, healthcare providers to create performance improvement collaboratives

The Premier healthcare alliance is working with hospitals, health systems and manufacturers to create performance improvement collaboratives that evaluate which clinical practices result in better outcomes while lowering costs.

7 Apr 2012

Free public grouper of medical condition episodes-of-care from CCGroup

CCGroup is pleased to announce the release today of a free download version of the Cave Grouper software known as CaveGrouper-Lite. This is the first public grouper of medical condition episodes-of-care.

7 Apr 2012

Poor countries must adapt health systems to meet chronic care needs of aging population, WHO says

"Health systems, particularly in poorer countries, need to adapt to meet the chronic care needs of older people as the shift to aging populations gathers pace in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said" Wednesday in a briefing paper to mark World Health Day, observed on Saturday, the Guardian reports.

5 Apr 2012

State roundup: Docs fight over HMO in Fla.; Striking health law wouldn't stop reform in Minn.; Calif. mulls public employee 'Bill of Rights'

Two doctors who are among Florida's most aggressive fundraisers for the Republican Party have had a nasty falling-out over control of an HMO. Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, a prominent Broward cardiologist, has filed suit against Dr. Akshay Desai, the chairman and CEO of Universal Health Care. Universal, founded in 2002, is a fast-growing Medicare HMO based in St. Petersburg.

4 Apr 2012

State roundup: Texas, Minn. scrutinize psychiatric care

U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington are weighing whether to investigate potential civil rights violations of psychiatric patients at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Sarah Saldaña, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said the review stems from news stories in The Dallas Morning News exposing cases of neglect, violence and questionable deaths.

31 Mar 2012

Vanguard closes private placement of $375 million 7.750% Senior Notes

Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Vanguard Health Holding Company II, LLC and Vanguard Holding Company II, Inc. (together with VHS Holdco II, the "Issuers"), closed their private placement of an aggregate principal amount of $375.0 million of 7.750% Senior Notes due 2019.

31 Mar 2012

HHS Secretary announces six winners in HHSinnovates program

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced six winners in the HHSinnovates program today in a ceremony at HHS headquarters, saying all the entries "show a vibrant culture of innovation" within the department.

31 Mar 2012

Researcher joins nationwide effort to monitor resistance to antibiotics

Because infectious microorganisms are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, a Wayne State University researcher has joined a nationwide effort to monitor that resistance while optimizing the use of existing drugs.

28 Mar 2012

Insecurity threatening success of West, Central African mass polio vaccination campaign

Instability and insecurity in some West and Central African nations are threatening the success of a 20-country polio vaccination campaign, which aims to immunize 111.1 million children against the disease, IRIN reports.

28 Mar 2012

Medica Foundation awards $2.5 million in grants to 104 recipients

The Medica Foundation in 2011 awarded $2.5 million in grants to 104 recipients across five funding priority areas. The awards include $1 million in longitudinal grants to five Minnesota organizations. Those grant amounts range from $100,000 to $300,000 each and are designed to provide funding to the recipients over a three-year period.

26 Mar 2012

Hospital news: Community Health Systems victorious over Tenet healthcare

A U.S. District court in Dallas dismissed Tenet's suit against Community.

23 Mar 2012

Towards a more comprehensive view of brain-hand relationship

Research at Arizona State University and Columbia University to better understand the intricate sensory and cognitive connections between the brain and the hands has won support from the National Science Foundation. New discoveries about such connections could benefit people with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and cerebral palsy, and those who need prosthetic hands.

22 Mar 2012

New GOP budget triggers immediate budget battles, political reactions

News outlets report that the plan unveiled Tuesday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., almost automatically became "the centerpiece" of the upcoming election-year discourse. The document, which was cheered by the GOP for its smaller government vision, is certain to be rejected by the Senate.

22 Mar 2012

WHO convenes lawmakers from Southeast Asia to discuss bolstering of health systems in region

This week the WHO brought together lawmakers from across Southeast Asia in Bangkok "to discuss how to bolster their health systems back home," IRIN reports. Meeting participants were "called on to advocate the boosting of health spending, workforces and access to health care in their home countries in addition to drafting 'healthy public policies,' such as conducting health assessments before large infrastructural projects are undertaken," the news service writes.

22 Mar 2012

Improving health outcomes with mHealth

"The use of cell phones by community health workers and other medical practitioners in low-income countries has been promoted as a potential revolution for health systems development," Sanjay Basu, a resident physician in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, writes in this GlobalHealthHub.org post.

21 Mar 2012

Axial Exchange care transition products now available for cloud deployment

Axial Exchange, Inc. announced that its award-winning care transition products are now available for cloud deployment. The private cloud infrastructure scales to thousands of hospitals and clinics and millions of patients, and already has been validated by multi-hospital health systems as well as Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers.

21 Mar 2012

HCD implements HLI's Language Engine

Health Language, Inc. (HLI), the global leader in healthcare terminology management, today announced its Language Engine has been selected by Health Care DataWorks, Inc. (HCD), to map disparate data entered into its KnowledgeEdge brand Enterprise Data Warehouse, providing health systems with standard code sets, enhanced analytics, reporting and business intelligence.

21 Mar 2012

Argus to participate in National Council for Prescription Drug Programs focus group

Argus Health Systems Inc., a leading transparent pharmacy benefits administrator, will participate in a National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) focus group on March 20, 2012, to better understand the growing biopharmaceuticals industry.

17 Mar 2012