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Nearly 60% of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis fail to receive needed care from specialists: Study

Nearly 60 per cent of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis - an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints - were not seen by a specialist within a one year period to treat the debilitating disease, according to a new study. Even more concerning is that women of child-bearing age are less likely to see a specialist than women 45 or older, say researchers from St. Michael's Hospital, the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, and Women's College Hospital

7 Jul 2010

Experts develop HVI method for assessing hunger

World hunger is often seen as the result of overpopulation, bad geography or natural or human-made disasters. But a new book, "The Atlas of World Hunger," reveals that the contours and causes of hunger are more complex - and in some ways more easily addressed - than those old assumptions suggest.

7 Jul 2010

Medicare reimbursement rates for outpatient repair of anal fistulas increased by 6%

Hospitals nationwide will receive six percent higher reimbursement payments for outpatient repair of anal fistulas using Cook Medical's Biodesign® Fistula Plug, a device designed specifically to treat this painful and embarrassing disorder of the lower GI tract. According to new Medicare payment schedules effective January 1st, hospital outpatient surgery departments will receive approximately $2,200 per procedure, while freestanding ambulatory surgery centers will be paid about $1,300 on average.

7 Jul 2010

MedClean Technologies signs Partnership Agreement with Bear Consulting

MedClean Technologies, 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 it has signed a Partnership Agreement with Bear Consulting aimed at implementing an expense reduction program that could save the Federal Government more than $100 million over the next decade.

7 Jul 2010

HHS Secretary releases $15M for operation of nurse managed health clinics

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced the release of $15,000,000 for the operation of 10 nurse managed health clinics to support the education and training of nurse practitioners. Nurse managed health centers staffed by nurse practitioners provide comprehensive primary health care services to populations living in medically underserved communities.

7 Jul 2010

KHN column – Insuring your health: Should patients get contraceptives from health plans at no cost?

"The average American woman who wants two children spends roughly five years trying to get pregnant or being pregnant. She spends a much longer time - 30 years, on average - trying to avoid pregnancy, often at no small expense. That may soon change, at least the expense part" (7/6).

7 Jul 2010

Lancet study series examines health in the Gaza Strip

Reuters reports on a series of studies published Friday in the Lancet, which examine the health of populations living in the Gaza Strip. The studies, which examined the effects of the violence on the region, conclude that Israel's blockade of the territory could "cause long-term damage to Palestinians' health, with many children at risk of stunted growth or malnutrition."

7 Jul 2010

Washington Post examines birth simulator for health worker training in developing world

A new device which simulates childbirth on a real woman could help train health workers to deliver babies and deal with complications, according to the Washington Post, which adds that the $100 low-tech "frontpack" is called "'MamaNatalie,' a name that plays on 'natalis,' which means 'pertaining to birth' in Latin."

7 Jul 2010

WHO H1N1 response probe's second meeting highlights divergent views

The independent team of health experts responsible for reviewing the WHO's response to H1N1 (swine flu) wrapped up a second round of public hearings on Friday, "during which members heard testimony from widely divergent groups, from health officials to some of its most public critics," CIDRAP News reports.

7 Jul 2010

Consumer groups: Force insurers to provide more details justifying price increases

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports on the continuing evolution of the new health overhaul's implementation rules: "Consumer advocates this week pushed for tough rules on how much information insurers must provide to justify premium increases, a step required by the new health overhaul law" (Appleby, 7/6).

7 Jul 2010

VA addresses health concerns including possible HIV exposure and Veterans' general poor health

"The Democratic chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee lambasted the Obama administration over its handling of an incident at a St. Louis VA center in which more than 1,800 veterans were told they may have been exposed to HIV. ... The Department of Veterans Affairs last month sent a letter to 1,812 patients informing them that could have been exposed to HIV and other deadly viruses because of dental equipment that was insufficiently sterilized over a period of 13 months."

7 Jul 2010

Dell hedging on health IT investment; Privacy concerns remain

The Wall Street Journal: Dell is hoping to capitalize on its purchase of health technology firm Perot Systems by providing services to new clients such as the 2,600-doctor Methodist Hospital System in Houston. Dell has contracted to create an electronic medical records system for Methodist, a new foray into IT services for the hardware-focused firm.

7 Jul 2010

Some patients pay more at Madison clinic to subsidize others

At the Our Lady of Hope Clinic in Madison, Wis., some patients — about half — pay a premium for boutique -- or concierge -- services, which pays for care for the other half -- those without insurance at all. "Now one year old, the clinic started off slowly but is gaining momentum and seems to be a viable business model, clinic officials said. The clinic has 110 paying patients, called benefactors, and serves about two dozen uninsured people weekly."

7 Jul 2010

Labor pushes in Mass. and Minn.; Nurses struggle with job hunt despite shortage

Massachusetts's largest health care union is going to try to pull workers at Boston's leading medical centers: Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess and Tufts hospitals, The Boston Globe reports. The union, led by Veronica Turner since last month, forged a deal in 2009 with Caritas Christi Health Care that gave 3,000 employees raises and bonuses.

7 Jul 2010

International conference focuses on HPV's impact on women

Scientists, clinicians and public health leaders from around the world are gathered in Montreal this week for the 26th International Papillomavirus Conference where they hope to generate awareness about human papillomavirus, Canwest News Service/Gazette reports (Martin/McCallum, 7/4).

7 Jul 2010

Medical waste: A rising challenge for health industry

The New York Times: The health care industry generates billions of pounds of garbage each year, and disposing of it all has become a problem. "The problem, fueled by a shift toward the use of disposables that made it simple to keep treatment practices sterile, has been an open secret for years, but getting the health care industry to change its habits has not been easy. No organization currently tracks how much medical trash the United States produces — the last known estimate, from the early 1990s, was two million tons a year."

7 Jul 2010

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

The Boston Globe: In Massachusetts, "[t]he number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed … despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use. According to state data released last week, emergency room visits rose by 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year.

7 Jul 2010

Health Care News and Research

Nearly 60% of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis fail to receive needed care from specialists: Study

Experts develop HVI method for assessing hunger

Medicare reimbursement rates for outpatient repair of anal fistulas increased by 6%

MedClean Technologies signs Partnership Agreement with Bear Consulting

HHS Secretary releases $15M for operation of nurse managed health clinics

KHN column – Insuring your health: Should patients get contraceptives from health plans at no cost?

Lancet study series examines health in the Gaza Strip

Washington Post examines birth simulator for health worker training in developing world

WHO H1N1 response probe's second meeting highlights divergent views

Consumer groups: Force insurers to provide more details justifying price increases

VA addresses health concerns including possible HIV exposure and Veterans' general poor health

Dell hedging on health IT investment; Privacy concerns remain

Some patients pay more at Madison clinic to subsidize others

Labor pushes in Mass. and Minn.; Nurses struggle with job hunt despite shortage

International conference focuses on HPV's impact on women

Medical waste: A rising challenge for health industry

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

Medicare patients battle tight rules while doctors express frustrations about payment issues

Battling medical jargon in doctor's office may improve patient health

Some state insurance commissioners push back on Fed premium rate reviews

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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