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Florida considers managed care program to cut Medicaid costs

In Florida, the state legislature is looking for ways to cut Medicaid costs and one of the options is setting up a state-wide managed care program.

9 Mar 2011

CMS' Berwick in hot seat again

The New York Times reports that even Democrats are acknowledging that the Senate will not likely be able to confirm Dr. Donald Berwick as the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However, Modern Healthcare reports that the health care provider community remains in his corner.

9 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Romney's record, calling GOP's 'bluff', abortion/birth control funding

The center of the Obama health care reform — the part that has excited the ire of conservatives — is the individual mandate that says everyone must buy health insurance. Romney now says that given the chance, "I would repeal Obamacare." Yet Romney advocated, signed and bragged about a similar requirement in the Massachusetts reform passed while he was governor.

8 Mar 2011

Roundup: Medicaid cuts coming in Pa., Kansas; Mass. insurance hikes

Come Tuesday morning, bad news will abound in the Capitol - and it will be in the billions. That is when Gov. Corbett is to unveil, at last, the closely guarded details of his first state budget to the legislature and the people of Pennsylvania.

8 Mar 2011

EHR? Not so fast - Patients express security concerns

CDW Healthcare, part of the public sector subsidiary of CDW LLC, today announced the results of a national survey on patient perceptions of electronic health records (EHRs) and the security of personal health information (PHI). The report, “Elevated Heart Rates: EHR and IT Security,” found that while patients trust their doctors to protect their information, 49 percent believe that EHRs will have a negative impact on the privacy of their PHI and health data.

8 Mar 2011

On-call physician compensation survey released

Sullivan, Cotter and Associates, Inc. has published its sixth annual survey of physician on-call pay rates and practices, the 2010 Physician On-call Pay Survey Report. The survey report, with data from 148 health care organizations nationwide, outlines physician on-call pay practices and rates paid for 40 physician specialty areas along with data reported for trauma centers and non-trauma centers.

8 Mar 2011

Henry Schein MicroMD EMR Version 7.5 attains ONC-ATCB Complete EHR certification status

Henry Schein MicroMD, a provider of proven and cost-effective practice management and electronic medical records systems, announced today that its MicroMD EMR Version 7.5 achieved ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 Complete EHR Certification, and can help health care providers using Electronic Health Record technology meet the requirements needed to receive financial incentives earmarked under President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

8 Mar 2011

First Edition: March 8, 2011

In today's headlines, news about ongoing budget discussions and how issues like Medicare spending and the health law fit into them as well as reports about the growing interest in replacing the current chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

8 Mar 2011

Vertos reports long-term safety and efficacy of mild in patients with LSS

Medical device company Vertos Medical Inc. has announced the release of clinical study data demonstrating the long-term safety and efficacy of mild as well as its superior durability over epidural steroid injections for treating lumbar spinal stenosis.

8 Mar 2011

New research finds OSS for health IT may be more secure than other systems

Globally the sale of health care information systems is a multibillion dollar industry. The vast costs, frequent failed systems, and inability of systems to talk to each other regularly attract media comment.

8 Mar 2011

New study represents major reversal in thinking about universal screening programs

Screening every woman who comes to a health care centre does increase the number who acknowledge they have been abused by their partners, a new study confirms.

8 Mar 2011

New review shows difficulty in delivering high-quality cancer care

A shortage of oncologists and rising costs of chemotherapy and radiation therapies and imaging tests, are making delivering quality cancer care increasingly difficult, according to a new review by researchers at RTI International and Eli Lilly and Company.

8 Mar 2011

Society of Surgical Oncology to present James Ewing Layman's award to Kimberly Duchossois

At its annual cancer symposium, the Society of Surgical Oncology will present the 43rd annual James Ewing Layman's Award to Kimberly T. Duchossois of Barrington Hills, Ill., for her deep commitment and long-term efforts to improve the quality of cancer treatment and help cancer patients get the information they need to make wise decisions about their care.

8 Mar 2011

Quick dose of empathy may help close racial gaps in pain treatment

Years of research show black patients getting less treatment in the American health care system than their white counterparts, but a new study suggests that a quick dose of empathy helps close racial gaps in pain treatment.

8 Mar 2011

The Hill: Health law waivers exceed 1,000

The number of temporary waivers granted thus far by the Obama administration reached a total of 1,040 by the end of last week. Meanwhile, regarding another controversial part of the new law, The Hill reports on the possibility of finding alternatives to the individual mandate.

8 Mar 2011

Study: Residential treatment greatly improves smoking abstinence

In the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers report that residential treatment for tobacco dependence among heavy smokers greatly improves the odds of abstinence at six months compared with standard outpatient treatment.

8 Mar 2011

Harvard study finds increase in medical bankruptcies in Massachusetts

The percentage of personal bankruptcies linked to medical bills or illness changed little, and the absolute number actually increased in Massachusetts after the implementation of its landmark 2006 law requiring people to buy health insurance, a Harvard study says.

8 Mar 2011

Senate Democrats release FY11 CR that seeks to preserve foreign aid, State Department funding at FY10 levels

Senate Democrats on Friday introduced a FY11 continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through September, "with a vote on the measure, as well as a House-passed proposal, expected" this week, the Washington Post's "2chambers" blog reports (Sonmez, 3/4).

8 Mar 2011

Stakeholders address questions related to HIT impact on healthcare disparities at invitational roundtable

A diverse group of healthcare stakeholders address questions related to health information technology's impact on health and healthcare disparities in a two-day invitational roundtable on March 7-8, sponsored by the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and AMIA, the association for informatics professionals.

8 Mar 2011

UK Healthcare announces significant milestone for Kentucky Children's Heart Center

UK HealthCare announces a significant milestone for the Kentucky Children's Heart Center at Kentucky Children's Hospital and UK Albert B. Chandler Medical Center.

8 Mar 2011