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First Edition: August 17, 2010

Today's headlines include news about new federal funding to help states regulate rising health insurance premiums and more information about the costs of cancer.

17 Aug 2010

Study examines ways to reduce growing cancer burden in developing world

"The growing burden of cancer in developing countries could be reduced without expensive drugs and equipment, scientists said on Monday, but it requires a global effort similar to the fight against HIV/AIDS," Reuters reports in an article that examines a study published in the Lancet by a group of American scientists who have created the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries.

17 Aug 2010

Employers can play key role in promoting better health: Report

As the U.S. continues to struggle with both cost and quality issues in an evolving health care system, employers can play a key role in promoting better health and more efficient use of resources, The Health Project reported this week.

17 Aug 2010

'Heart-wrenching' Pakistan floods need more aid from international community, U.N. Secretary-General says

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that the flooding in Pakistan is the worst natural disaster he has seen and called on the international community to expedite the aid effort, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ban traveled to flooded areas of the country and surveyed damage on Sunday (Rodriguez, 8/16).

17 Aug 2010

Natick VNA offers checklist to help patients make informed choice of home health care provider

Home from the hospital already? As stays for hospital patients grow progressively shorter, even for procedures as serious as repairing a brain aneurysm or inserting a pacemaker, patients' need for highly skilled nursing care at home is growing. Indeed, every week, thousands of these patients are referred to home health care services.

17 Aug 2010

Emdeon and Noridian Mutual Insurance enter strategic relationship

Emdeon Inc., a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced a strategic relationship with Noridian Mutual Insurance Company (NMIC), doing business as Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, and Noridian Administrative Services, LLC (NAS). NMIC provides quality health care coverage and additional supplemental coverage for those seeking medical, life, disability, long-term care and related insurance coverage.

17 Aug 2010

Simple, low-cost interventions reduce most common hospital-acquired infections

Urinary catheters are often left in place longer than needed, and new research shows that reminder systems that encourage hospital staff to remove catheters promptly can reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 52 percent.

17 Aug 2010

Report cards, disclosures readied or deleted on hospital infections in some states

After several years of delay, Illinois has begun posting hospital infection data on its 'hospital report card' website, including facilities in the greater St. Louis area. State officials say the website — www.healthcarereportcard.illinois.gov — will benefit not only the consumer but also the health care industry. … So far, Illinois reports rates for only central line associated bloodstream infections in hospital intensive care units that occurred last year.

17 Aug 2010

Average selling prices of dental implant fixtures decrease 3.3% in Europe

According to Millennium Research Group, the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, average selling prices of dental implant fixtures and final abutments have decreased 3.3% and 8.1%, respectively, over the past year. This occurred as dentists attempted to maintain profitability during the economic crisis by demanding greater discounts and increasingly purchasing implants from low-cost manufacturers.

17 Aug 2010

New DNA sequencing method can lead to effective individualized medicine

In experiments with potentially broad health care implications, a research team led by a University of Washington physicist has devised a method that works at a very small scale to sequence DNA quickly and relatively inexpensively.That could open the door for more effective individualized medicine, for example providing blueprints of genetic predispositions for specific conditions and diseases such as cancer, diabetes or addiction.

17 Aug 2010

Bariatric surgery can result in sustained reversal of obesity, type 2 diabetes: Study

Results of a large national study show that nearly three-quarters of obese patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo weight-loss surgery are able to stop insulin and other antidiabetes drugs within six months. In the Johns Hopkins study of insured, obese, diabetic patients, researchers also found that in the third year following surgery, average annual health care costs per patient decreased by more than 70 percent. The study is published in the Archives of Surgery this month.

17 Aug 2010

Hospitals address slashed payments, technology investments and rehospitalizations

Boston Herald: Massachusetts hospital officials say that reduced federal and state payments may destabilize health care delivery. The state's combined Medicaid and CHIP program, known as MassHealth, plans to cut hospital reimbursements "by $75 million in its main contract between hospitals and MassHealth, according to the Massachusetts Hospital Association, which cited 'discussions' with the state in outlining the proposed cut to its members over the weekend.

17 Aug 2010

FDA considers dropping Avastin approval, approves five-day emergency contraception pill

The Food and Drug Administration is considering revoking its approval of a last-ditch breast cancer drug over the debate on "medical spending and effectiveness that flared during the battle over health-care reform," The Washington Post reports. "The [FDA] is reviewing the recommendation of influential scientific advisers to revoke authorization of the drug to treat metastatic breast cancer.

17 Aug 2010

ZHRK negotiates to acquire controlling interest in Weifang Municipal Hospital

BioPharm Asia, Inc. announced today that its newly-acquired subsidiary, Beijing Zhihe Ruikang Hospital Management Ltd., is negotiating to acquire a controlling interest in Shandong Weifang Municipal Hospital.

17 Aug 2010

FDA issues Proposal to Withdraw Marketing Approval for orthostatic hypotension drug midodrine hydrochloride

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today proposed to withdraw approval of the drug midodrine hydrochloride, used to treat the low blood pressure condition orthostatic hypotension, because required post-approval studies that verify the clinical benefit of the drug have not been done.

17 Aug 2010

Innovative programs help blunt problems caused by primary care shortage

USA Today: "The shortage of primary care doctors could lead to longer waits not only for primary care, but also for specialty care as well as greater use of expensive emergency rooms for non-emergencies, researcher Walt Zywiak of Computer Sciences Corp., an international consulting company headquartered in Falls Church, Va., noted in a July report.

17 Aug 2010

States scrambling to ensure they comply with health reform law

The New York Times reports that some states are scrambling to ensure they can comply with the new federal health law. "Insurance commissioners in about half the states say they do not have clear authority to enforce consumer protection standards that take effect next month. Federal and state officials are searching for ways to plug the gap. Otherwise, they say, the ability of consumers to secure the benefits of the new law could vary widely, depending on where they live."

17 Aug 2010

HHS awards States $46 million to oversee health insurance premium increases

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced grant awards of $46 million to 45 states and the District of Columbia. These Affordable Care Act grants will be used to help improve the oversight of proposed health insurance premium increases, take action against insurers seeking unreasonable rate hikes, and ensure consumers receive value for their premium dollars.

17 Aug 2010

Insurance industry looks to make lemonade from health reform

Restaurant workers - who account for 4 to 6 million of the nation's uninsured - will have new options for health coverage even before the law kicks in with new subsidies and "exchanges" in 2014, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "Their trade group, the National Restaurant Association, was able to line up a smorgasbord of individual and small-group plans from UnitedHealth, some priced 15 to 20 percent cheaper than the open market.

17 Aug 2010

As EMR vision takes shape, doctors brace — especially those who are late in their careers

The vision of a fully wired health system — the goal of a push by doctors, hospitals and the federal government — is coalescing at a Michigan hospital, the Detroit Free Press reports. "Patients at some of the state's largest health systems over the next few years, for example, will have hospital rooms wired into a computer system that lets them see their vital signs, medicines and the name and photograph of the hospital staffer who enters their room.

17 Aug 2010

Health Care News and Research

First Edition: August 17, 2010

Study examines ways to reduce growing cancer burden in developing world

Employers can play key role in promoting better health: Report

'Heart-wrenching' Pakistan floods need more aid from international community, U.N. Secretary-General says

Natick VNA offers checklist to help patients make informed choice of home health care provider

Emdeon and Noridian Mutual Insurance enter strategic relationship

Simple, low-cost interventions reduce most common hospital-acquired infections

Report cards, disclosures readied or deleted on hospital infections in some states

Average selling prices of dental implant fixtures decrease 3.3% in Europe

New DNA sequencing method can lead to effective individualized medicine

Bariatric surgery can result in sustained reversal of obesity, type 2 diabetes: Study

Hospitals address slashed payments, technology investments and rehospitalizations

FDA considers dropping Avastin approval, approves five-day emergency contraception pill

ZHRK negotiates to acquire controlling interest in Weifang Municipal Hospital

FDA issues Proposal to Withdraw Marketing Approval for orthostatic hypotension drug midodrine hydrochloride

Innovative programs help blunt problems caused by primary care shortage

States scrambling to ensure they comply with health reform law

HHS awards States $46 million to oversee health insurance premium increases

Insurance industry looks to make lemonade from health reform

As EMR vision takes shape, doctors brace — especially those who are late in their careers

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