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Biomedical Systems selects Global 360's Process360 BPM suite for improving report, image communication

Global 360, a leading provider of Process and Document Management solutions, today announced that Biomedical Systems, a global leader in centralized diagnostic testing for the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, has chosen Global 360 to improve how critical reports and images are communicated and reported to its customers. In the process, the company will also save thousands on courier costs, satisfy a "going green" initiative, and mitigate risk, helping satisfy auditors and regulators.

12 Apr 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Immigration as a solution; Health care comparative shopping; and Medicare Advantage competitive pricing

Forty years ago there were five workers for every retiree. Now there are three. Within a couple of decades, there will be only two workers per retiree. There's no way just two workers will be able or willing to pay enough payroll taxes to keep benefits flowing to every retiree (Robert Reich, 4/11).

12 Apr 2010

Orszag says new Medicare payment board will help lower deficit

"An Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) established under the healthcare reform act will help to ensure the nation's future fiscal health, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said Thursday," McKnight's Long Term Care News & Assisted Living reports. "If set up correctly, the Medicare payment board will contribute to a reduction in national health costs and the federal deficit, Orszag said before the Economic Club of Washington last week, according to the Bureau of National Affairs.

12 Apr 2010

How will the health overhaul affect you?

Nonprofit and advocacy Web sites, online "chats" with government officials, and hotlines for lawmakers are getting barraged with questions about how the health law will affect Americans, Kaiser Health News reports. "No matter which source they turn to, consumers are asking about every element of the bill. People who don't have health care coverage want to know how they can enroll in the high-risk pools that are scheduled to be up and running within 90 days.

12 Apr 2010

Aetna hit with penalty, suspended from signing up new Medicare members

The Wall Street Journal: Medicare officials have suspended the Aetna insurance company from enrolling new members for "its Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription-drug plans because the insurer didn't comply with rules about changing drug-plan designs, the government said." The sanctions come after the government says the Connecticut-based insurance company did not "meet requirements to make sure seniors could continue on their medications during changes to the Aetna plans in 2009 and those offered this year."

12 Apr 2010

Americans asking: 'How will health reform help me?'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey writes about the questions stemming from the new health reform law: "David wanted to know how the new health care overhaul law would impact retiree health care coverage.

12 Apr 2010

Automated UV radiation helps decontaminate healthcare-associated pathogens

Attendees of the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infection were offered a record 37 presentations on the critical role of contaminated environmental surfaces in the transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings.

12 Apr 2010

Alere Health to lead series of key panel discussions at World Health Care Congress

Highlighting what employers and health plans can do to increase participation and results in health and wellness programs, Alere Health, LLC, a leader in personal health support solutions, will be leading a series of key panel discussions with prominent Alere clients including Blue Shield of California, Tufts Health Plan and Union Bank at the 7th annual World Health Care Congress.

12 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 12, 2010

Among today's headlines are stories about House lawmakers facing the music back home regarding their health votes.

12 Apr 2010

DMPC to guarantee DM and wellness outcomes for elite group

Al Lewis, president of the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium, Inc., the founder and first president of the Disease Management Association of America and the person most often credited with establishing the metrics by which disease management is measured announced today that he will be personally validating and guaranteeing disease management (DM) and wellness outcomes for an elite, award-winning group of vendors, health plans, benefits consultants and employers.

12 Apr 2010

Complicating doctors' work: Prescription drug scams and excessive paper work

News outlets examine two issues affecting doctors' work: patients fraudulently seeking prescriptions and overwhelming paper work.

12 Apr 2010

HAC-CNY signs multi-year agreement with Axolotl

Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange services and solutions, and Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York, the regional health information organization connecting medical providers across Central New York, today announced that the Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York has signed a multi-year agreement with Axolotl to deploy its Elysium Exchange suite of applications to build a clinical information exchange network to connect Central New York's health care providers.

12 Apr 2010

High OOP costs discouraging many cancer patients from filling prescriptions

A new study presented today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 22nd Annual Meeting finds that one in six cancer patients with high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs abandons their medication. The study by Prime Therapeutics (Prime), a thought leader in pharmacy benefit management, found patients with an OOP cost greater than $200 were at least three times more likely to not fill their prescription than those with OOP costs of $100 or less.

12 Apr 2010

Medical clinic for the sole purpose of committing Medicare fraud

Miami residents Jose and Denisse Martinez were each sentenced today to three years in prison for their role in running a Canton, Mich.,-based drug infusion clinic designed to defraud Medicare, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS). U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts also ordered Jose and Denisse Martinez to pay $649,000 in restitution, jointly with co-defendants, and to each serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms.

12 Apr 2010

Patients receiving medications in 90-day supplies less likely to have adherence problems: Study

A new study presented today at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 22nd Annual Meeting by Prime Therapeutics, a thought-leader in pharmacy benefit management, provides new evidence to support an easy, low-cost way to help keep patients with chronic conditions on their medications: provide them with a three-month drug supply.

12 Apr 2010

Stupak to retire, Republicans continue to hit Democrats on health care

CBS News reports that Rep. Bart Stupak, a lightning rod holdout on health care reform who eventually voted for the law, will retire this year. "Had Stupak sought re-election, he would have faced challengers from both the left and the right backed by interest groups angered by Stupak's health care vote" (Condon, 4/9).

12 Apr 2010

Kaiser Health News examines health innovations from developing countries

Kaiser Health News examines several health care innovations that started out in developing countries and were then brought to the U.S.

12 Apr 2010

Firm hopes to save on health costs with concierge doctor

The (Milwaukee) Business Journal explores the story of Serigraph, a West Bend, Wis., company which gave up on "fine-tuning" insurance coverage for workers and turned to concierge medicine instead. "Industry experts said the move is one that other employers likely will begin considering as they grapple with increasing health care costs."

12 Apr 2010

Threats against lawmakers on the rise after health reform

Threats against lawmakers have risen threefold in recent months, The Washington Post reports. Lawmakers reported 42 threats in the first three months of this year, compared with 15 in last three months of 2009, said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance W. Gainer, who had information about threats involving both chambers." Gainer said the threats ranged from "very vulgar to serious" and included death threats.

12 Apr 2010

After Haiti visit, Congresswoman says she saw no sign of Red Cross

After a visit to Haiti, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Thursday that she did not see evidence of the organization during a trip to the country earlier this week with Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Kristin Gilibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), The Hill's Washington Scene reports.

12 Apr 2010