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Hospitals try new tactics to reduce hospital falls

The nation's medical workforce grapples with preventing falls in the hospital to improve patient safety. In the meantime, seniors in some places of the country are more likely to fill prescriptions for high-risk drugs, and Miami's seniors lead the nation in filling Medicare prescriptions.

18 Oct 2013

Use of effective, risky drug therapies by Medicare patients varies across US

A new report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project shows that the use of both effective and risky drug therapies by Medicare patients varies widely across U.S. regions, offering further evidence that location is a key determinant in the quality and cost of the medical care that patients receive.

18 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports and analyses of the Capitol Hill deal to raise the debt limit and reopen the federal government, as well as the latest developments regarding the health law's federal and state health insurance exchanges.

17 Oct 2013

Where seniors live affects their health care and the medications they get

The Associated Press examines how geography can make a key difference in the treatments that Medicare beneficiaries receive. Other outlets look at the annual open enrollment period for Medicare prescription drug plans. USA Today reports that thousands who rely on nursing home trust funds have had their savings mismanaged or stolen.

17 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 16, 2013

Today's headlines including stories detailing how certain health law provisions are factoring in to the continuing congressional budget stalemate.

16 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: 'False hysteria' over health law's part-time criteria; marketplaces 'flunk' initial test; Ben Carson's surprising assessment

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has had a difficult launching, but the more serious challenges for the law relate not to glitch-filled Web sites but rather to its possible long-term effects on the United States economy. The law is not likely to last if it imposes a severe drag on growth and job creation, or involves large costs obscured by the legislative gimmicks used to shape the scoring of the bill by the Congressional Budget Office. Indeed, Casey B. Mulligan has discussed the negative effects of the legislation on the American labor market in a series of posts on Economix, while the policy expert Charles Blahous explains in detail why the "fiscally reckless" legislation will aggravate the already difficult federal and state fiscal situations (Philip Swagel, 10/14).

16 Oct 2013

Shutdown commentaries: Compromise may take nick out of health law; 'The Party of Gimme'

But the tentative agreement includes two problematic provisions related to health care reform. One would require the Department of Health and Human Services to verify that people receiving subsidies for insurance have incomes low enough to qualify.

16 Oct 2013

Medicare open-enrollment begins: Seniors should carefully consider new options

Officials are cautioning seniors to stay away from the health law's new online marketplaces -- as open-enrollment season begins for Medicare managed care and prescription plans.

16 Oct 2013

Phase 3 ODYSSEY MONO trial with alirocumab meets primary efficacy endpoint

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Phase 3 ODYSSEY MONO trial with alirocumab, an investigational monoclonal antibody targeting PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), met its primary efficacy endpoint.

16 Oct 2013

UTMB researchers find high variability in PSA-ordering practice among primary care physicians

Many primary care doctors continue to administer the prostate-specific antigen test to even their oldest patients despite the fact that no medical organization recommends prostate cancer screening for men older than 75, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

15 Oct 2013

Shutdown commentaries: The man who championed the strategy; 'opening salvo in a generational war;' lack of funding hurts public health efforts

'I really believe we are in a great position right now," says Michael Needham, the 31-year-old president of Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the nation's largest conservative think tank. By "we" he means the Republican Party and the conservative movement; their "great position" refers to the potential to win the political battle over the government shutdown. Though Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the public face of the high-risk strategy to "defund" ObamaCare, the masterminds behind it are a new generation of young conservatives, chief among them Mr. Needham. From a tactical view, the strategy has been deployed with precision.

15 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the budget deal taking shape in the Senate would not derail the health law, but would include some tweaks.

15 Oct 2013

State highlights: Md. submits plan to tie overhaul hospital charges to state's economy

A selection of health policy stories from Maryland, California, Missouri and Florida.

15 Oct 2013

Researchers to present latest findings in emergency medicine research at ACEP13-Scientific Assembly

Leading researchers in emergency medicine will present more than 400 studies during ACEP13-Scientific Assembly, the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in Seattle, Washington.

15 Oct 2013

Rates of hospital-acquired bedsores not accurate tool for comparing hospital quality, says report

The data Medicare uses to publicly report hospital rates of patients developing pressure ulcers (or bedsores) is not an accurate source for comparing hospitals on how well they prevent the condition, says a new University of Michigan study.

15 Oct 2013

Medicare open enrollment starts Tuesday

Beneficiaries are encouraged to take a close look at their options during their upcoming enrollment period, which is separate from the sign-up in the health law's marketplaces.

15 Oct 2013

Battle boundaries have changed as key negotiators appear to have abandoned GOP efforts to delay or defund the health law

As the nation approaches its debt limit and the federal government remains shut down, a deal continues to be elusive.

15 Oct 2013

State-run marketplaces rebounding from opening snags

Politico Pro examines how the marketplaces operated by states compare to the federally run operation. Other outlets look at some of the individual issues in states.

15 Oct 2013

Teva gets FDA approval for generic version of TOBI in US

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announces today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of the generic equivalent to TOBI (Tobramycin Inhalation Solution USP) in the United States.

15 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 14, 2013

Today's headlines include the latest on the budget negotiations as well as examinations of what's happening with the health law's online insurance marketplaces.

14 Oct 2013

Medicare News and Research

Hospitals try new tactics to reduce hospital falls

Use of effective, risky drug therapies by Medicare patients varies across US

First Edition: October 17, 2013

Where seniors live affects their health care and the medications they get

First Edition: October 16, 2013

Viewpoints: 'False hysteria' over health law's part-time criteria; marketplaces 'flunk' initial test; Ben Carson's surprising assessment

Shutdown commentaries: Compromise may take nick out of health law; 'The Party of Gimme'

Medicare open-enrollment begins: Seniors should carefully consider new options

Phase 3 ODYSSEY MONO trial with alirocumab meets primary efficacy endpoint

UTMB researchers find high variability in PSA-ordering practice among primary care physicians

Shutdown commentaries: The man who championed the strategy; 'opening salvo in a generational war;' lack of funding hurts public health efforts

First Edition: October 15, 2013

State highlights: Md. submits plan to tie overhaul hospital charges to state's economy

Researchers to present latest findings in emergency medicine research at ACEP13-Scientific Assembly

Rates of hospital-acquired bedsores not accurate tool for comparing hospital quality, says report

Medicare open enrollment starts Tuesday

Battle boundaries have changed as key negotiators appear to have abandoned GOP efforts to delay or defund the health law

State-run marketplaces rebounding from opening snags

Teva gets FDA approval for generic version of TOBI in US

First Edition: October 14, 2013

Event guide: 4th Extra-Hepatic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Delivery 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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