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Better safety performance in health care settings associated with reduced malpractice claims

Reducing the number of preventable patient injuries in California hospitals from 2001 to 2005 was associated with a corresponding drop in malpractice claims against physicians, according to a study issued today by the RAND Corporation.

15 Apr 2010

Study: Lawsuit fears, peer pressure drives higher costs, more tests

The Associated Press: A quarter of heart doctors order more tests than were necessary, driving up costs, according to a new study. "Most said they weren't swayed by such things as financial gain or a patient's expectations.

15 Apr 2010

OHSU awarded $5.8M in ARRA funds to educate health IT professional work force

Oregon Health & Science University has been awarded $5.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to advance the widespread adoption and meaningful use of health information technology by educating professionals to work in this rapidly growing field.

15 Apr 2010

Investigators tout fraud convictions in California, Florida and New York

Authorities are crediting their Medicare and Medicaid fraud initiatives for convictions and guilty pleas in California, Florida and New York.

15 Apr 2010

Experts, public consider health reform merits, hardships and unintended consequences

Confusion persists about health reform and insurance for members of Congress. "The law stipulates that lawmakers and some members of their staffs enroll in new health insurance exchanges. But an apparent drafting error in the law makes it unclear when that transition is supposed to occur."

15 Apr 2010

New research indicates exercise-based rehabilitation can benefit heart failure patients

Your heart is an incredible muscle, pumping an estimated 2,000 gallons of blood through about 60,000 million miles of blood vessels — and beating maybe 100,000 times a day, year after year after year.

15 Apr 2010

UnitedHealth partners with Walgreens and YMCA to control diabetes

The New York Times: "The UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurers, is teaming up with the Y.M.C.A. and retail pharmacies to try a new approach to one of the nation's most serious and expensive medical problems: Type 2 Diabetes. Rather than simply continuing to pay ever-higher medical claims to care for its diabetic customers, UnitedHealth is paying the Y.M.C.A. and pharmacists to keep people healthier."

15 Apr 2010

Epilepsy patients who take Ginkgo products face increased risk of seizures: Report

Restrictions should be placed on the use of Ginkgo biloba - a top-selling herbal remedy - because of growing scientific evidence that Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy and could reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure drugs, a new report concludes. The article appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Natural Products.

15 Apr 2010

Family support critical for managing patients with chronic health problems

Almost 40 percent of chronically ill older adults in the U.S. live alone, and a majority of those who are married have spouses with at least one chronic illness that can affect their ability to provide support, according to a U-M study published in the journal Chronic Illness.

15 Apr 2010

Physician shortage expected to deepen with health overhaul

There is only one primary care doctor per 2,000 patients in certain parts of the country, which the government calls "health professional shortage areas," according to Medill Reports. "Health professionals worry there will be an even greater shortage after 2014 when about 32 million more people are insured, as mandated by the health care reform law and as the baby boomer generation becomes Medicare-aged" (Adorka, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

Patients focus on high cost of ER care

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the high cost of emergency room visits and "a changing health-care world, in which patients must think more like accountants and also like doctors. Make the right decision, and you could save thousands of dollars. Choose wrong, particularly about the ER, and you could lose your life. 'It is a dilemma for an average person: What is a real emergency?' said Martin Rosen, executive vice president of Health Advocate Inc. in Plymouth Meeting, which helps patients with medical or billing issues.

15 Apr 2010

Majority of U.S. employers unlikely to cease offering health care benefits to workers

A nationwide survey of business executives by Crain Communications Inc about the recent federal health care reform law has found that a majority of U.S. employers are unlikely to cease offering health care benefits to their workers.

15 Apr 2010

Florida lawmakers weigh Medicaid overhaul

Health News Florida: "In a surprising turnaround from last week, a top Senate health chairman Monday called off two meetings that had been scheduled to scrutinize a House proposal for overhauling the Medicaid system. The Senate Health Regulation Committee planned to hold more than nine hours of meetings Wednesday and Thursday to study House bills that would require almost all Medicaid recipients to move into managed-care plans.

15 Apr 2010

HHS 2009 quality report shows increase in hospital-acquired infections

The Associated Press: "The Health and Human Services department's 2009 quality report to Congress found 'very little progress' on eliminating hospital-acquired infections and called for 'urgent attention' to address the shortcomings — first brought to light a decade ago."

15 Apr 2010

Florida to enact health care legislation to improve access to ARV therapy

Florida is poised to enact health care legislation that would add clarity to existing state statutes by requiring that all state-regulated health plans include lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) HIV/AIDS drugs on their drug formularies or preferred drug lists.

15 Apr 2010

Medical schools scramble to address doctor shortage

The Wall Street Journal: "Proponents of the new health-care law say it does attempt to address the physician shortage. The law offers sweeteners to encourage more people to enter medical professions, and a 10% Medicare pay boost for primary-care doctors. … Meanwhile, a number of new medical schools have opened around the country recently."

15 Apr 2010

Financial concerns can delay heart attack treatment

A study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that financial concerns can lead people having heart attacks to delay treatment.

15 Apr 2010

Comparative effectiveness funds spur changes, but not without critics

The new health law will infuse $3 billion into health research that compares treatments to gauge which are most effective, building on an earlier federal investment of $1.1 billion from the stimulus package, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports.

15 Apr 2010

Drug company payments to doctors: Continuing controversy

The New York Times has two stories on pharmaceutical industry payments to physicians and experts.

15 Apr 2010

One in five Idaho physicians are not accepting new Medicare patients

Already fighting one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios in the nation (ranking 49th), Idaho's problems are growing worse. According to a new AARP survey released today, doctors in the state are increasingly closing their doors to new patients, especially those using Medicare and Medicaid

15 Apr 2010