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The Australian examines development of low-cost water purifiers by Indian companies

The Australian reports on how four large businesses in India are developing low-cost water purifiers for some of the country's "poorest of the poor."

13 Aug 2010

Education and screening of pregnant women recommended for prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Featured in the August edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada is a new consensus clinical practice guideline which recommends that screening for alcohol consumption be done periodically for all pregnant women and women of child-bearing age.

13 Aug 2010

Prices drop for PBMs; Pharmacy lobby opposes survey regarding Medicaid prices

Prices are falling for major pharmacy benefit managers, such as Medco and CVS Caremark, as the firms compete for clients, but the falling rates "don't appear to be sliding into a frenzy of unreasonable pricing," The Wall Street Journal reports. "In the current 'selling season,' when PBMs look to sign customers for the following year, discounts on new contracts have deepened by one or two percentage points, on average, from a year ago.

13 Aug 2010

Visiting Nurse Service of New York to acquire 'Lombardi' Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the nation's largest not-for-profit home health care organization, announced today that it has successfully bid for, and is set to acquire, the Long Term Home Health Care Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center. The transaction was filed at a closed, one-time bid auction on August 10, 2010. The purchase price of $30,150,000 is pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Attorney General's Office.

13 Aug 2010

GOP Rep. Ryan potential 'foil' for Obama; Candidates consider reform's role in races

The New York Times: Rep. Paul Ryan, "as you may have heard, is the Republican star of the moment. A 40-year-old from southeastern Wisconsin serving his sixth term in the House, Mr. Ryan has been getting a lot of attention for his 'Roadmap for America's Future,' an unusually austere proposal to vanquish the federal debt by, among other things, partly dismantling Social Security and Medicare as they currently exist."

13 Aug 2010

LevPharm to distribute Innovotech's bioFILM PA- test in Israel

Innovotech Inc., a pioneer in the field of biofilm product development, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with LevPharm Ltd of Israel to market and distribute its bioFILM PA- test to hospitals and clinics within Israel.

13 Aug 2010

WHO releases H1N1 Emergency Committee roster

Five of the 15 experts advising the WHO on H1N1 (swine flu) had ties to the pharmaceutical industry, "including for flu vaccine research," according to the Emergency Committee members' list released by the agency Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

13 Aug 2010

Mobile and free clinics provide low cost medical care to uninsured patients

Reuters, on mobile clinics including the Family Van, a nonprofit clinic affiliated with Harvard University, in Boston: "The van -- which visits six low-income neighborhoods around Boston weekly -- is one of about 2,000 such mobile clinics in the United States. Advocates say the approach can help control the rising cost of health care by helping people with chronic diseases to stay out of the emergency room, often the first recourse for inner-city residents.

13 Aug 2010

Insurers, small businesses and ER care all affected by overhaul

News outlets consider the impact of health reform on insurers — who are seeking flexibility on mandates — as well as changes to premiums, small businesses and emergency room care.

13 Aug 2010

Polls show public confusion continues regarding new health law

In three recent polls, large percentages of Americans said the health law would cut Medicare benefits, slash doctors pay and ration health care to patients, all false claims that remain pervasive despite reform supporters' efforts to educate the public, USA Today reports. "Six weeks before the nation's health care delivery system begins a huge transformation, confusion reigns.

13 Aug 2010

FTC works to crack down on health care 'discount' plans

Reuters: "The Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday it is working with 24 states to crack down on sellers of medical discount plans that market them as health insurance that covers doctors, hospitals and other services." The prevalence of such plans has increased since March, when Congress passed its health overhaul.

13 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Health law's effect for Democrats; Canadians' view; Cutting Medicare costs; The health issue in Tenn. Governor's race

Despite lofty predictions that a broad-based Democratic constituency would be activated by the health care reform bill, recent polling shows that the bill has been a disaster for the party — with near 60 percent of voters saying that they oppose the measure (Douglas Schoen, 8/11).

13 Aug 2010

Interleukin Genetics, University of Michigan to conduct landmark clinical study on periodontal disease

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today that the Company has signed an agreement with the University of Michigan to conduct a landmark clinical study on risk factors predictive of periodontal disease progression to tooth loss using a new version of Interleukin Genetics' PST genetic test.

12 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 12, 2010

Some of today's headlines highlight how the new health reform law is playing beyond Washington, D.C.'s beltway.

12 Aug 2010

CHA supports FTC's efforts to eliminate fraudulent marketing of discount health care programs

CHA supports the FTC's efforts to eliminate fraudulent and misleading marketing of discount health care programs. Discount health care programs provide millions of members with access to substantial savings on health care products and services. It's important that consumers have continued access to legitimate discount programs which make health care more affordable while also being protected against fraudulent outfits that misrepresent these programs.

12 Aug 2010

News outlets look at how H1N1 will inform WHO's future outbreak response

Following the WHO's decision on Tuesday to declare the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic over, several news outlets reviewed the emergence of the virus around the world, exploring how some of the lessons learned from H1N1 could assist the WHO's handling of future outbreaks.

12 Aug 2010

Health Net Foundation, Health Net of California to provide $7M to keep Central Valley clinics open

With the State of California's budget situation threatening to again halt payments to the state's health clinics, the Health Net Foundation and Health Net of California, Inc., together, are prepared to provide up to $7 million in zero-interest financing to help prevent Central Valley clinics from shutting their doors.

12 Aug 2010

ER visit rates increase at twice growth rate of population

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that emergency visit rates have increased at twice the rate of growth of the U.S. population from 1997 to 2007; Medicaid patients accounted for a large proportion of the increase, often coming with more severe illnesses and complications.

12 Aug 2010

U.S. announces additional $20M in flood aid for Pakistan

The U.S. will give an additional $20 million to aid Pakistan, bringing the total amount of flood assistance to $55 million, Mark Ward, acting director of the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, told reporters at a press briefing Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

12 Aug 2010

HFMA identifies seven competencies for promoting integration between hospitals, physicians

As the nation moves toward healthcare reform, one of the key strategies that healthcare providers will deploy in order to succeed in a reform environment is clinical integration. The Healthcare Financial Management Association recently released a new whitepaper Integration in a Reform Environment: Strategies for Success.

12 Aug 2010

Health Care News and Research

The Australian examines development of low-cost water purifiers by Indian companies

Education and screening of pregnant women recommended for prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Prices drop for PBMs; Pharmacy lobby opposes survey regarding Medicaid prices

Visiting Nurse Service of New York to acquire 'Lombardi' Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center

GOP Rep. Ryan potential 'foil' for Obama; Candidates consider reform's role in races

LevPharm to distribute Innovotech's bioFILM PA- test in Israel

WHO releases H1N1 Emergency Committee roster

Mobile and free clinics provide low cost medical care to uninsured patients

Insurers, small businesses and ER care all affected by overhaul

Polls show public confusion continues regarding new health law

FTC works to crack down on health care 'discount' plans

Today's Opinions: Health law's effect for Democrats; Canadians' view; Cutting Medicare costs; The health issue in Tenn. Governor's race

Interleukin Genetics, University of Michigan to conduct landmark clinical study on periodontal disease

First Edition: August 12, 2010

CHA supports FTC's efforts to eliminate fraudulent marketing of discount health care programs

News outlets look at how H1N1 will inform WHO's future outbreak response

Health Net Foundation, Health Net of California to provide $7M to keep Central Valley clinics open

ER visit rates increase at twice growth rate of population

U.S. announces additional $20M in flood aid for Pakistan

HFMA identifies seven competencies for promoting integration between hospitals, physicians

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