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State highlights: Trying to save care for poor with Medicaid budget deals

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley asked legislators in her third State of the State address Wednesday to overhaul how public schools are funded, improve crumbling roads, and make prisons a safer place for those who guard the most violent offenders. She pledged to work to improve residents' health, especially in rural areas, without expanding Medicaid. For example, she said, next year the state's Medicaid agency will begin fully reimbursing rural hospitals for uncompensated care.

19 Jan 2013

Greenway earns ONC HIT certificate for PrimeSUITE 2014

Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc., announced today that Greenway PrimeSUITE 2014 (17.0) is compliant with the ONC 2014 Edition criteria and was certified as an EHR Module on Jan. 15, 2013 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), an ONC-ACB, in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

19 Jan 2013

Income disparities, segregation may account for survival differences in U.S. hemodialysis patients

Complex socioeconomic and residential factors may account for differences in survival between Black and White kidney failure patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

19 Jan 2013

Review underscores safety of federal childhood immunization schedule

A review of the available evidence underscores the safety of the federal childhood immunization schedule, according to a report released today by the Institute of Medicine. University of Michigan population ecologist Pejman Rohani served on the 13-person committee that wrote the report.

19 Jan 2013

Allergan receives FDA approval for Botox to treat overactive bladder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) to treat adults with overactive bladder who cannot use or do not adequately respond to a class of medications known as anticholinergics.

18 Jan 2013

Penalties, progress and politics all play into state health law decisions

States like California, Kansas and Virginia continue to contemplate specific aspects of the health law. Meanwhile, Florida will face health law penalties if it doesn't make changes to its insurance program for state workers. And, in Indiana, Democrats are pushing for more implementation, despite the opposition of Republicans -- who control the state legislature and governor's mansion.

18 Jan 2013

Emergent BioSolutions commences NuThrax Phase 2 trial in anthrax infection

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial for NuThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed with CPG 7909 Adjuvant), also known as AV7909, with the dosing of the first subject.

18 Jan 2013

Octapharma receives FDA approval for Octaplas to treat blood clotting disorders

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Octaplas, a pooled plasma (human) blood product for the replacement of clotting proteins (coagulation factors) in certain medical conditions where patients have insufficient levels.

18 Jan 2013

Life Technologies, ASU partner on new project to quickly measure radiation exposure

Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute- has announced a partnership with Life Technologies Corporation as it enters the next phase of a multi-million-dollar, multi-institutional research project to develop a medical device to rapidly assess an individual's exposure to radiation in the event of a nuclear incident.

18 Jan 2013

Feds launch 'full throttle' effort to expand health coverage

The Department of Health and Human Services redesigns its website as part of its campaign to raise awareness about the health law's requirement that most people carry insurance. Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals judge temporarily blocks the government from forcing a Christian publisher to comply with its mandate to cover all birth control options.

17 Jan 2013

EHRs: Quality care versus cost savings, next 'meaningful use' rules

Some say adoption of electronic health records are not saving money like they'd hoped, but that it does improve care. In the meantime, doctor groups want a delay in the next round of "meaningful use" rules that give doctors financial incentives for utilizing such records.

17 Jan 2013

H1N1 flu vaccination during pregnancy does not increase risk of fetal loss

Norwegian pregnant women who received a vaccine against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus showed no increased risk of pregnancy loss, while pregnant women who experienced influenza during pregnancy had an increased risk of miscarriages and still births, a study has found. The study suggests that influenza infection may increase the risk of fetal loss.

17 Jan 2013

Obama unveils gun control policies, including mental health provisions

The plan includes a variety of executive actions which touch the health care system, including clarifications that the health law does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes and that no federal law prohibits health care providers from reporting threats of violence to law-enforcement authorities.

17 Jan 2013

Protein Sciences receives FDA approval for Flublok vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved Flublok, the first trivalent influenza vaccine made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology. Flublok is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in people 18 through 49 years of age.

16 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: N.Y. gun law could pose problems for health professionals; 'Jarring discrepancy' between medical costs and premium increases; State officials wage battle against health law

The broad gun control bill approved Tuesday by the New York Legislature substantially strengthens the state's gun control laws. ... Some sections of the law, however, were not fully vetted in the rush. One provision asks health care professionals - physicians, psychologists, registered nurses or licensed clinical social workers - to report to local health care officials when they have reason to believe that patients could harm themselves or others. ... The provision would seem to raise significant legal questions.

16 Jan 2013

Some children with autism lose symptoms and diagnosis as they grow older

Some children who are accurately diagnosed in early childhood with autism lose the symptoms and the diagnosis as they grow older, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health has confirmed. The research team made the finding by carefully documenting a prior diagnosis of autism in a small group of school-age children and young adults with no current symptoms of the disorder.

16 Jan 2013

First Edition: January 16, 2013

Today's headlines include reports examining how mental health issues play a role in efforts to curb gun violence and expand gun control efforts.

16 Jan 2013

New initiative aims to accelerate biomarker search in Parkinson's

A new initiative aims to accelerate the search for biomarkers - changes in the body that can be used to predict, diagnose or monitor a disease - in Parkinson's disease, in part by improving collaboration among researchers and helping patients get involved in clinical studies.

16 Jan 2013

Hospital fees, provider cuts to steady Medicaid programs in Ga., Calif. linger

New hospital fees and provider cuts in Georgia and California aim to make their Medicaid programs more solvent, but fights over details are keeping the plans shelved for now.

16 Jan 2013

States to get more time to set up exchanges, flexibility in Medicaid expansion

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a rule Monday detailing how states should coordinate certain elements of health exchanges and Medicaid.

16 Jan 2013