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Patients to have online access to their prescription data for improved safety

As part of its mission to accelerate the adoption of health information exchange throughout California, the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement's California Health eQuality program awarded $400,000 to L.A. Care, the nation's largest publicly operated health plan, to develop Blue Button functionality.

22 Nov 2013

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

In the beginning, Chris Hempel noticed the clumsiness. Her girls tripped over toys on the floor. Their grandfather said he couldn't teach them to pedal their tricycles. … The Hempels learned of people who called themselves citizen-scientists. Many shared research papers and their day-to-day experience. Some talked of their willingness to try any promising drug. Others sought a role as equal partners with researchers. Scientists, while sympathetic, generally believe their work should be left to experts. Families are encouraged to raise money if they want to help, but the traditional view is that amateurs can't shape research or find cures. The Hempels found a maddening gap between the search for scientific knowledge and the search for treatments (Amy Docker Marcus, 11/2013).

22 Nov 2013

Narrow choices for doctors and hospitals could keep costs down but add to consumer concerns

The Associated Press offers examples of limited networks that exclude some of the most prestigious hospitals in the Chicago and New York City areas.

22 Nov 2013

Investigation into Medicare payment decision spotlights issues of insider trader and 'political intelligence'

Investigators are hitting a wall in an insider-trading probe of how a government funding decision made its way to investors before it was officially released, according to people familiar with the probe.

22 Nov 2013

Study: Patients staying on medications does not lower hospital readmission rates

A targeted effort to help high-risk heart failure patients stay on their medications did improve adherence to drug regimens, but had surprisingly little effect lowering hospital readmission rates, according to a study at Duke Medicine.

21 Nov 2013

State highlights: Mo. doctors propose Medicaid payment reform project; N.C. Medicaid billing problems persist; Calif. nursing home pays $48M to settle fraud case

Some doctors want to make Missouri's Medicaid program a little more like a health club. A proposal outlined by a pair of doctors Tuesday would create a pilot project in which primary care physicians would be paid a flat monthly amount for each Medicaid patient they accept (Lieb, 11/19).

21 Nov 2013

Administration tech official says about 40% of HealthCare.gov remains to be built

Henry Chao, who has overseen much of the work on healthcare.gov, said much of the "back office" work, including the system to send insurers their payments, has not been completed.

21 Nov 2013

AAOS releases Appropriate Use Criteria covering five different treatments for rotator cuff injuries

Each year, close to 2 million people in the United States visit their doctor for shoulder pain associated with a rotator cuff injury. Approximately one-third of rotator cuff tears will require surgery, with the remaining injuries benefiting from nonsurgical treatment including pain medication and rehabilitation exercises. To help physicians determine the best treatment for each patient, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recently released Appropriate Use Criteria covering five different treatments for rotator cuff injuries.

21 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 20, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports that President Barack Obama places some of the blame for the health law's woes with Republicans, and details of comments by an Obama administration tech official that a large portion of the healthcare.gov 'back office' functions are yet to be built.

20 Nov 2013

State highlights: Calif. fines three insurers for denying therapy; Colo.'s Denver Health to shed jobs; Ambulance Co. agrees to pay feds $3M over fraud allegations

California officials said three of the state's largest health insurers illegally denied speech and occupational therapy to patients, and regulators fined one of the companies, Health Net Inc., $300,000 for repeated violations. The state Department of Managed Health Care said Monday that it ordered Health Net, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California to stop denying medically necessary therapy in cases of developmental disabilities, autism and other medical conditions.

20 Nov 2013

Senate gives final approval to bill tightening control over drug-compounding pharmacies

The Senate gave final approval to a bill Monday that gives federal regulators greater oversight of compounding pharmacies like the ones responsible for a deadly meningitis outbreak last year. The President is expected to sign the bill.

20 Nov 2013

White House officials say 20% won't be able to complete HealthCare.gov process to buy insurance

In a progress report, Obama administration officials are predicting that, despite fixes that have been made, one in five people won't be able to buy health insurance via the online process. Still, the pace of enrollments has more than doubled, the New York Times reports.

20 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: GOP excuse for 'doing nothing;' Sen. Rubio: No taxpayer-funded bailout of the insurance industry

As the people's representatives, the U.S. Congress should completely eliminate the possibility of a bailout of insurance companies. On Tuesday I am introducing legislation that would eliminate the risk corridor provision, ensuring that no taxpayer-funded bailout of the health insurance industry will ever occur under ObamaCare. If this disaster of a law cannot survive without a bailout rescue valve, it is yet another reason why it should be repealed (Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., 11/18).

20 Nov 2013

Patients at highest risk for suffering full-blown ischemic attack less likely to receive optimal care

Among thousands of hospital patients treated for a "mini stroke," those who were at highest risk for suffering a full-blown ischemic attack were less likely to received optimal care, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Medicine.

20 Nov 2013

Report issued early warnings about HealthCare.gov risks

An analysis done in late March by McKinsey & Co. called attention to a number of trouble spots. Meanwhile, Politico details a "Red Team" report done by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that also sounded alarms.

20 Nov 2013

ProPublica: Medicare could save billions with generic drugs

The nonprofit news service analyzed millions of prescriptions. Also, a CMS official says "the Medicare program is stronger today than in recent memory."

20 Nov 2013

UC San Diego study suggests racial inequality leads to higher mortality in cancer patients

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say metastatic colorectal cancer patients of African-American descent are less likely to be seen by cancer specialists or receive cancer treatments. This difference in treatment explains a large part of the 15 percent higher mortality experienced by African-American patients than non-Hispanic white patients.

20 Nov 2013

Chronic diseases account for increasing proportion of GPs' workload

GPs in Australia are working three hours less per week in direct clinical care, however they are dealing with more health problems per visit, research led by the University of Sydney shows.

19 Nov 2013

Aortic valve replacement improves survival and outcomes in elderly patients

Jose Augusto Barreto-Filho, M.D., Ph.D., of the Federal University of Sergipe and the Clinica e Hospital Sao Lucas, Sergipe, Brazil, and colleagues assessed procedure rates and outcomes of surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) among 82,755,924 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries between 1999 and 2011.

19 Nov 2013

First Edition: November 19, 2013

Today's headlines include news that Obama administration officials were warned about the possibility of website difficulties months ago by an outside consulting firm.

19 Nov 2013

Medicare News and Research

Patients to have online access to their prescription data for improved safety

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

Narrow choices for doctors and hospitals could keep costs down but add to consumer concerns

Investigation into Medicare payment decision spotlights issues of insider trader and 'political intelligence'

Study: Patients staying on medications does not lower hospital readmission rates

State highlights: Mo. doctors propose Medicaid payment reform project; N.C. Medicaid billing problems persist; Calif. nursing home pays $48M to settle fraud case

Administration tech official says about 40% of HealthCare.gov remains to be built

AAOS releases Appropriate Use Criteria covering five different treatments for rotator cuff injuries

First Edition: November 20, 2013

State highlights: Calif. fines three insurers for denying therapy; Colo.'s Denver Health to shed jobs; Ambulance Co. agrees to pay feds $3M over fraud allegations

Senate gives final approval to bill tightening control over drug-compounding pharmacies

White House officials say 20% won't be able to complete HealthCare.gov process to buy insurance

Viewpoints: GOP excuse for 'doing nothing;' Sen. Rubio: No taxpayer-funded bailout of the insurance industry

Patients at highest risk for suffering full-blown ischemic attack less likely to receive optimal care

Report issued early warnings about HealthCare.gov risks

ProPublica: Medicare could save billions with generic drugs

UC San Diego study suggests racial inequality leads to higher mortality in cancer patients

Chronic diseases account for increasing proportion of GPs' workload

Aortic valve replacement improves survival and outcomes in elderly patients

First Edition: November 19, 2013

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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