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Fla.'s Jackson Health System struggles with nursing home and hospital losses; Advocates push marijuana cultivation in Calif.

The Miami Herald: As the Jackson Health System's "governing board prepares to vote Monday on a proposed budget for 2011, its two money-losing nursing homes stand as a symbol for the challenges the system faces as it attempts to cut losses. Almost 100 of the 289 nursing home patients in the Jackson Health System are uninsured. Half of those are undocumented immigrants under age 50.

24 Aug 2010

Baltimore's new health commissioner: Technology can help fix public health challenges

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy talks with Dr. Oxiris Barbot, a pediatrician who will be Baltimore's health commissioner.

24 Aug 2010

AP reports on efforts to monitor authenticity of antimalarials, other drugs in Africa

The Associated Press reports on a recent effort to use text messages to track the authenticity of antimalarials in Africa, where "more than 30 percent of malaria medicines are estimated to be fake."

24 Aug 2010

Experts examine COBRA subsidy program following its expiration

Business Insurance: "The once politically popular program that provides COBRA premium subsidies for involuntarily terminated employees is winding down as broad congressional support has nearly vanished, experts say. Embedded in a 2009 economic stimulus measure and renewed several times since then, the program in which the federal government pays 65% of the COBRA premium has enabled millions of employees who lost their jobs and their dependents to keep group coverage by making it more affordable."

24 Aug 2010

Children affected by Katrina still face emotional problems, study finds

USA Today: "Five years later, Hurricane Katrina continues to wreak havoc in the lives of thousands of children who suffer from serious emotional disturbances, often compounded by a lack of stable housing, a study reports today.

24 Aug 2010

WHO calls on countries to prevent, control spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria

Amid the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the WHO on Friday urged countries to take greater action to limit the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, CIDRAP News reports. "Calling such pathogens 'a growing and global public health problem,' the WHO said, 'Countries should be prepared to implement hospital infection control measures to limit the spread of multi-drug resistant strains and to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics, reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria,'" according to the news service (Roos, 8/20).

24 Aug 2010

Overhaul could vex both insurance executives and brokers

Two professions at opposite ends of the insurance business might not be thrilled with the health overhaul: Senior insurance company executives, and agents and brokers.

24 Aug 2010

HHS to offer $32 million to increase health care access for rural Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today more than $32 million in FY 2010 funds to increase access to health care for Americans living in rural areas. The funds reach across seven programs administered by the Office of Rural Health Policy in HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration.

24 Aug 2010

Medica teams up with OptumHealth to deliver CDHPs to all commercial health plan customers

Medica today announced that it has teamed with OptumHealth Financial Services to deliver consumer-directed health plans to all of Medica's commercial health plan customers - making Medica the first health plan in Minnesota to offer a full spectrum of health benefit services to employers of all sizes.

23 Aug 2010

'Village' movement and community health clinics offer alternative models of care

"The village movement dates to the 2001 founding of Beacon Hill Village in Boston. This year, the Village to Village Network launched to help other communities create their own senior support groups. Other sites created to help arrange help for seniors who want to live independently at home: Senior Helpers' services include companionship, conversation, meal planning and house cleaning as well as Alzheimer's and dementia care."

23 Aug 2010

Today's opinions: More on the trustee's report, cutting the deficit

Republicans claim to be deeply worried about the deficit — their favorite political target, followed closely by President Obama's relentlessly demonized health care reform. So why are they so determined to overturn one of the central cost-control mechanisms of the new reform law? (8/21).

23 Aug 2010

Medical loss ratio rules for insurers could bring controversy to Sebelius' office

Once the National Association of Insurance Commissioners finalizes recommendations on insurance companies' spending on medical costs versus administrative expenses, the next stop for that proposal will be the desk of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Politico reports.

23 Aug 2010

Health overhaul raises regulators' profiles, confuses consumers

Modern Healthcare's 2010 list of the sector's most powerful players is out, and because of the health law, regulators in usually lower-profile federal agencies have carved out places near the top of the roster for the second year in a row. The magazine reports, "Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, stood at No. 31 on the list three years ago. This year, just as in 2009, she holds the No. 7 spot. Clancy's clout has risen with the agency, which was created 20 years ago to support and conduct healthcare outcomes research."

23 Aug 2010

Health law changes rules for docs with in-house imaging machines

"For years, John Finkenberg, an orthopedic surgeon in San Diego, sent patients who needed MRIs to outside imaging centers. But last year, he and his five partners bought their own million-dollar machine and now, he says, the doctors can work more closely with the technicians and give their patients immediate results" (Galewitz, 8/23).

23 Aug 2010

Obama administration rewriting medical privacy rules

The Obama administration is rewriting new rules on medical privacy after an outpouring of criticism from consumer groups and members of Congress who say the rules do not adequately protect the rights of patients. Hospitals and insurance companies, seeking to maintain greater control over patient notification, generally support the rules.

23 Aug 2010

China Yongxin Pharmaceuticals second-quarter 2010 revenue increases 21.8 % to $11.16 million

China Yongxin Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholesale distributor and retailer of pharmaceuticals and health-related products in Jilin province in the northeastern region of China, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2010.

23 Aug 2010

First Edition: Aug. 23, 2010

Today's headlines include news about developments related to the nation's medical privacy rules and the power struggle surrounding implementation regulations for a key section of the new health law.

23 Aug 2010

MedClean technologies second quarter 2010 revenue decreases to $131,758

MedClean Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of on-site technology for the treatment and disposal of medical waste and the destruction of confidential documents and related media, today announced financial results for the 2010 second quarter for the period ended June 30, 2010.

23 Aug 2010

AHRA announces third Patients First grant program to provide health care facilities

Healthcare facilities across the country are committed to providing the highest levels of patient care and safety for their communities. To help facilities build new or expand existing education and patient care initiatives, AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management announces the third year of its successful Putting Patients First grant program.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists report global shortage of radioactive isotopes for medical scans

Twenty million medical scans and treatments are done each year that require radioactive isotopes and scientists today described a global shortage of these life-saving materials that could jeopardize patient care and drive-up health care costs.

23 Aug 2010

Health Care News and Research

Fla.'s Jackson Health System struggles with nursing home and hospital losses; Advocates push marijuana cultivation in Calif.

Baltimore's new health commissioner: Technology can help fix public health challenges

AP reports on efforts to monitor authenticity of antimalarials, other drugs in Africa

Experts examine COBRA subsidy program following its expiration

Children affected by Katrina still face emotional problems, study finds

WHO calls on countries to prevent, control spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria

Overhaul could vex both insurance executives and brokers

HHS to offer $32 million to increase health care access for rural Americans

Medica teams up with OptumHealth to deliver CDHPs to all commercial health plan customers

'Village' movement and community health clinics offer alternative models of care

Today's opinions: More on the trustee's report, cutting the deficit

Medical loss ratio rules for insurers could bring controversy to Sebelius' office

Health overhaul raises regulators' profiles, confuses consumers

Health law changes rules for docs with in-house imaging machines

Obama administration rewriting medical privacy rules

China Yongxin Pharmaceuticals second-quarter 2010 revenue increases 21.8 % to $11.16 million

First Edition: Aug. 23, 2010

MedClean technologies second quarter 2010 revenue decreases to $131,758

AHRA announces third Patients First grant program to provide health care facilities

Scientists report global shortage of radioactive isotopes for medical scans

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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