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Study says quality not hurt when nurse anesthetists work without doc guidance

A new study published Tuesday in Health Affairs suggests that nurse anesthetists' quality of work is not lower when they aren't supervised by a doctor, The Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports. "The background for this is that Medicare won't reimburse for anesthesia services unless a physician is supervising what's going on.

5 Aug 2010

Canadian physician organization: Country's health system needs to be 'massively transformed'

The Toronto Star: Canada's largest physician group released a report Tuesday saying that Canada's health system needs to be changed to allow "universal access to prescription drugs and improved outpatient services." The Canadian Medical Association called for the changes because it says the system is insufficient to meet the needs of Canada's aging population.

5 Aug 2010

Consumer, insurers prepare as more health law provisions will take effect next month

Associated Press: Health care reform hits another milestone next month, with new provisions that include a coverage expansion for young adults and restrictions on an insurer's ability to impose annual coverage limits or to reject children with pre-existing medical conditions. Insurance coverage that starts on or after Sept. 23 will have to comply with these changes and others that were put in place when President Barack Obama signed the health overhaul into law March 23." Many plans won't renew until later on (Murphy, 8/3).

5 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest home genetic tests may cause unnecessary stress

In the age of the Internet, where cybercondriacs are just a mouse click away from a diagnosis, do-it-yourself home genetics test may seem like the next logical step in managing health. But these tests, which are relatively new and available online, are often not comprehensive and may cause unnecessary stress, warns Suzanne Mahon, DNSc., a clinical professor of hematology and oncology at Saint Louis University.

5 Aug 2010

FDA to crack down on devices; Big pharma places riskier bets on biologics

The Associated Press: "Makers of X-ray machines, drug pumps and other medical devices would have to submit more safety information to win federal approval under a proposal designed to tighten regulation of thousands of products reviewed each year. The Food and Drug Administration released recommendations Tuesday night designed to improve oversight of the U.S. device industry, including the government's ability to revoke approval for products that prove unsafe or ineffective" (Perrone, 8/3).

5 Aug 2010

HF-WBI effective for patients with early stage breast cancer

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has released evidence-based guidelines to define appropriate fractionation of whole breast irradiation (WBI), finding that hypofractionated (HF) WBI is effective for many patients with early-stage breast cancer. These guidelines are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.

5 Aug 2010

One of health care's remaining frontiers: Health information exchange

The Peoria Journal Star highlights a problem the health care industry has been slow to confront: Exchanging health information. "In the computer age, the ability to share health information would appear to be the least of the reform challenges facing the nation's medical industry. 'But different hospitals don't speak to each other.

5 Aug 2010

Florida orders company to stop selling unauthorized health insurance

The Association for Independent Managers may have already sold 1,800 unauthorized policies in Florida that "could leave Floridians who buy the coverage without insurance when they need medical care," The Miami Herald reports. "The Department of Financial Services has received complaints from about 100 consumers involving 49 agents selling health benefits provided by AIM" (Shah, 8/3).

5 Aug 2010

Andy Griffith Medicare ad prompts showdown with GOP

Veteran television star Andy Griffith appeared in a new commercial for Medicare that promotes health law changes the administration says should help seniors, such as free wellness visits and lower drug costs, U.S. News & World Report writes. "The commercial, launched on the 45th anniversary of Medicare last week, is part of a public education campaign about changes to Medicare benefits. Retirees' knowledge about the health reform law's impact on Medicare remains mixed.

5 Aug 2010

Americans continue to get fatter, CDC finds

The New York Times: "Americans are continuing to get fatter and fatter, with obesity rates reaching 30 percent or more in nine states last year, as opposed to only three states in 2007, health officials reported on Tuesday. The increases mean that 2.4 million more people became obese from 2007 to 2009, bringing the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population.

5 Aug 2010

Hospital advertising spending remains strong in Dallas region

"The weak economy has siphoned money from advertising budgets in most major industries, but local hospital advertising has remained steady, thanks to one company. Texas Health Resources, the largest hospital system in North Texas, accounted for about half of not-for-profit advertising spending last year" and "tripled its advertising spending from 2008 to 2009 with the launch of its rebranding campaign, said Steve Hanson, senior vice president for growth and development at Texas Health.

5 Aug 2010

Roche inaugurates National Infusion Site Awareness Week to promote diabetis management

Roche Diabetes Care, makers of the ACCU-CHEK portfolio of diabetes management products and services, is pleased to announce the inaugural National Infusion Site Awareness Week, Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Roche made the announcement during the 37th annual American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) conference to highlight the important role that certified diabetes educators and other health care professionals play in promoting better site management for the 400,000 people in the United States with Type 1 diabetes who use an insulin pump.

5 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 4, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include reports about yesterday's Missouri vote on a ballot measure to challenge the health reform law and the latest on today's likely Senate consideration of Medicaid assistance for states.

4 Aug 2010

Number of Cyberchondriacs increase to 175 million: 2010 Harris Poll

The latest Harris Poll, measuring how many people use the Internet to look for information about health topics, finds that the numbers continue to increase. The Harris Poll first used the word Cyberchondriacs to describe these people in 1998, when just over 50 million American adults had ever gone online to look for health information. By 2005, that number had risen to 117 million. In the new poll, the number of Cyberchondriacs has jumped to 175 million from 154 million last year, possibly as a result of the health care reform debate.

4 Aug 2010

Advocacy intervention does not improve depressive symptoms among abused Chinese women: Study

Among Chinese women who are survivors of intimate partner violence, an advocacy intervention that included empowerment sessions and telephone support from social workers did not result in a clinically meaningful improvement in depressive symptoms, according to a study in the August 4 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

4 Aug 2010

Patients taking memantine show improvement in cognitive function, Merz analyses shows

In September 2009, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care concluded that no benefit has been proven for memantine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. An assessment now presented of 2 previously unpublished studies and new analyses by the manufacturer Merz do not change this conclusion. However, IQWiG describes the deficits of the newly provided analyses and specifically illustrates how the analyses would have to be presented in order to be considered in a benefit assessment.

4 Aug 2010

New law to increase employment-based coverage for children

A recent law that requires group health plans and insurers to make dependent coverage available for children until they attain the age of 26 will increase employment-based coverage by estimates ranging from 680,000 to 2.12 million individuals, according to recently released regulations.

4 Aug 2010

MCOL releases new Accountable Care Learning Kit CD-ROM

MCOL, a leading publisher of health care business information announces the release of the new Accountable Care Learning Kit CD-ROM.

4 Aug 2010

IPS looks at anticipated impact of free-trade talks on India's generic drug industry

With reports that ongoing negotiations between India and the European Union are expected to end in a free-trade agreement "by the end of August," Inter Press Service examines the concerns among drug manufacturers and exporters over how the agreement might reduce growth in India's generic medicines industry.

4 Aug 2010

Report examines effects of traumatic events on mental health status of adults in Central African Republic

More than three-quarters of adults in the Central African Republic report witnessing or personally experiencing traumatic events during the most recent wave of violence, and more than half meet criteria for depression or anxiety, according to a report in the August 4 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

4 Aug 2010

Health Care News and Research

Study says quality not hurt when nurse anesthetists work without doc guidance

Canadian physician organization: Country's health system needs to be 'massively transformed'

Consumer, insurers prepare as more health law provisions will take effect next month

Scientists suggest home genetic tests may cause unnecessary stress

FDA to crack down on devices; Big pharma places riskier bets on biologics

HF-WBI effective for patients with early stage breast cancer

One of health care's remaining frontiers: Health information exchange

Florida orders company to stop selling unauthorized health insurance

Andy Griffith Medicare ad prompts showdown with GOP

Americans continue to get fatter, CDC finds

Hospital advertising spending remains strong in Dallas region

Roche inaugurates National Infusion Site Awareness Week to promote diabetis management

First Edition: August 4, 2010

Number of Cyberchondriacs increase to 175 million: 2010 Harris Poll

Advocacy intervention does not improve depressive symptoms among abused Chinese women: Study

Patients taking memantine show improvement in cognitive function, Merz analyses shows

New law to increase employment-based coverage for children

MCOL releases new Accountable Care Learning Kit CD-ROM

IPS looks at anticipated impact of free-trade talks on India's generic drug industry

Report examines effects of traumatic events on mental health status of adults in Central African Republic

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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