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Health Management acquires assets of Mercy Health Partners

Health Management Associates, Inc. today announced that a subsidiary of Health Management has completed its acquisition of the assets of Mercy Health Partners, which is a subsidiary of Catholic Health Partners, Inc.

1 Oct 2011

Meeting with Bill Gates, Nigerian President Jonathan re-affirms country's commitment to eradicating polio within two years

In a meeting at the presidential villa on Thursday, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "that he was determined to eradicate polio within two years after the crippling disease re-emerged earlier this year," Agence France-Presse reports.

1 Oct 2011

Patients enrolled in consumer-directed health plans have control over health care spending

The historic RAND Health Insurance Experiment found that patients had little or no control over their health care spending once they began to receive a physician's care, but a new study shows that this has changed for those enrolled in consumer-directed health plans.

30 Sep 2011

State roundup: Mass. doctors not keen on new payment methods

A new survey from the Massachusetts Medical Society reveals interesting divisions among doctors over plans to hold down health care spending -- and perhaps some words of warning for lawmakers. More than half -- 58 percent -- of the 1,100 doctors who responded to the society's survey this year said they would not voluntarily agree to treat patients under so-called global payments.

30 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 30, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how new and old health policy positions are playing on the campaign trail.

30 Sep 2011

Longer looks: A surgeon examines his professional development

I've been a surgeon for eight years. For the past couple of them, my performance in the operating room has reached a plateau. I'd like to think it's a good thing - I've arrived at my professional peak. But mainly it seems as if I've just stopped getting better. During the first two or three years in practice, your skills seem to improve almost daily. It's not about hand-eye coördination - you have that down halfway through your residency.

30 Sep 2011

Hospital readmission rates reflect problem in addressing hospital failures

If you're a Medicare patient admitted to the hospital, the odds are about one in six that you'll end up back in the hospital within a month. And there was very little progress made in reducing that rate between 2004-09.

30 Sep 2011

Increased communication needed for TB diagnostics development

In this post on the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, Madhukar Pai, a professor and tuberculosis (TB) researcher based at McGill University, co-chair of the Stop TB Partnership's New Diagnostics Working Group, and a consultant to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, describes a recent conference on TB diagnostics at St. John's Research Institute in Bangalore, India, that aimed "to stimulate industry interest and investments in TB innovations."

30 Sep 2011

Members of MAPRx coalition urge supercommittee to protect Part D program

Writing on behalf of millions of Medicare beneficiaries with chronic health conditions who rely on Part D for their essential medications, 26 members of the Medicare Access for Patients Rx (MAPRx) coalition sent a joint letter urging members of the joint deficit panel ("supercommittee") to reject proposals to increase Medicare beneficiary cost-sharing, raise coinsurance, and freeze income thresholds as they seek ways to reduce federal spending.

30 Sep 2011

Four teams receive commercialization grant awards for development of new health-care products

Four Washington-based teams of investigators will receive up to $150,000 each to support commercial development of new health and health-care products, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund announced today.

30 Sep 2011

Several barriers to providing decent health care to poor people in developing countries

If you want to provide poor people in developing countries with decent health care, you need to overcome several barriers at the same time. That is the conclusion of researcher Bart Jacobs, based on years of research in Cambodia - and on his experience in several other low- and mid-income countries. The local community and existing social networks play an important role, but the authorities also have a role to play.

30 Sep 2011

NGOs, government face challenges in preventing fistula in DRC

Inter Press Service examines the challenges that non-governmental organizations and the government face in trying to prevent fistula among women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an estimated 12,000 cases are recorded annually because of sexual violence, early marriage and complications in childbirth, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Poverty, early pregnancy and marriage, sexual violence, and a lack of education and knowledge about the condition contribute to its prevalence, IPS reports.

30 Sep 2011

Study highlights importance of prior planning before introduction of new vaccines

Proper planning before the introduction of new vaccines into a developing country's active immunization program could prevent storage problems and transportation bottlenecks that decrease the availability of existing vaccines by as much as two-thirds, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.

30 Sep 2011

Cardinal Health joins Practice Greenhealth

To further bolster its commitment to environmental sustainability, Cardinal Health today announced that it has joined Practice Greenhealth, a membership organization for institutions and businesses in the health care field who are engaged in reducing their environmental footprints.

30 Sep 2011

Patients with chronic hepatitis C less likely to take medications over time

Patients being treated for chronic hepatitis C become less likely to take their medications over time, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

30 Sep 2011

Obama administration asks high court to rule on health law

The Justice Department's formal appeal puts to rest speculation about the administration's legal strategy. In addition, Republican state attorneys general separately asked the Supreme Court for a verdict early next year. Many observers say the new timeline will make the court's ultimate finding a factor in the presidential election.

30 Sep 2011

Analyzing the health law's tax credits and the CLASS Act's future

This round-up of health law implementation news also includes a report that the comment period for state health exchanges has been extended and news that Catholic organizations have stepped-up their opposition to the measure's requirement that contraceptive services be covered.

30 Sep 2011

Initiative pays primary-care docs for coordinating Medicare patients' care

The Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday a new initiative created by the health law that will ask physicians to focus on patients with chronic conditions. The program will be tested in five to seven markets across the country.

30 Sep 2011

Strides being made against trypanosomiasis

Rachel ter Horst, medical advocacy adviser at Medecins Sans Frontieres, describes findings presented at the recent 31st biennial International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control in Bamako, Mali, in this "BMJ Group Blogs" post.

30 Sep 2011

Military benefits face same cost challenges as Social Security, Medicare

The federal government last year spent a record $275.2 billion on benefits for retired federal workers, two-thirds of it for military retirees. What's driving up costs: Congress has expanded benefits frequently and Baby Boomers are living longer, collecting pension checks longer and consuming more health care - the same issues challenging Social Security and Medicare.

30 Sep 2011