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Medical billing errors create significant costs for patients

The Denver Post reports on billing errors and the experience of Mike Dziedzic, who was charged with more than $100,000 in medical claims while caring for his dying wife because of a transposed pair of digits in a medical identification number.

6 Apr 2010

U.S. Marshals seizes unapproved drug products

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals on March 31 seized a range of consumer products, including creams, capsules, tablets, gum, throat spray, and shampoos from a Haywood, Wis., manufacturer.

6 Apr 2010

Qutenza 8% patch now available for pain associated with PHN: NeurogesX

NeurogesX, Inc. announced today that Qutenza® (capsaicin) 8% patch, the first and only product containing prescription-strength capsaicin, is now available. Clinical studies have shown that a single one-hour Qutenza application can provide three months relief from pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia, the nerve pain that can occur after shingles.

6 Apr 2010

Preventive care, illegal immigrants and other health law notes

Reports continue to explore elements of the health reform debate such as the politically contentious issue of illegal immigrants' coverage, health care coverage for young adults, disease prevention and the next tanning-salon tax.

6 Apr 2010

Prescription drug abuse reaches epidemic proportions

Poisoning is now the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. While several recent high-profile Hollywood celebrity cases have brought the problem to public attention, the rates of unintentional poisoning deaths have been on the rise for more than 15 years.

6 Apr 2010

Officials focus on inequalities in medical research

"After years of individual cancer centers exploring ways to recruit more people from minority populations for cancer studies, $3.8 million in federal stimulus money has been awarded to five institutions — including M.D. Anderson (Cancer Center at the University of Texas) — to work on the issue together for the next two years. The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the project."

6 Apr 2010

World Health Day to focus on making cities healthier

As part of this year's World Health Day, the WHO on Wednesday will launch a program to encourage cities to become more healthy to help mitigate the health risks associated with rapid urbanization, Agence France Presse/Inquirer.net Global Nation reports.

6 Apr 2010

Rice University's nano-bio-chip 93% specific in detecting patients with premalignant lesions

The gentle touch of a lesion on the tongue or cheek with a brush can help detect oral cancer with success rates comparable to more invasive techniques, according to preliminary studies by researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston and San Antonio and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

6 Apr 2010

Some Democrats facing resistance at home - from both sides - for health reform votes

Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo., "a first-term Democrat in a Republican district, was one of just eight House members who switched their votes from 'no' to 'yes' when President Obama's health-care bill finally passed Congress.

6 Apr 2010

Health IT funding raises security concerns; Some hospitals face barrier to funding

"Two big questions yet to be answered with electronic health records are: Do they save money? And can they be made 100 percent secure? The verdict is still out on both. The thought of one's personal medical information being just a computer click away does not sit well with many consumers." The paper reviews several surveys from last year to note that "security is on everyone's mind" (Smith, 4/5).

6 Apr 2010

60 Minutes examines PEPFAR in Uganda

CBS News' 60 Minutes reports from Uganda about how PEPFAR has helped people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the country and the challenges Uganda still faces in fighting the spread of the virus. The show includes interviews with Peter Mugyenyi of the Joint Clinical Research Center in Kampala, Uganda, and other doctors on the ground, who discuss how HIV-positive children and adults are alive today as a result of PEPFAR and how the program has helped to improve the way Africans view the United States.

5 Apr 2010

Mass. municipalities could be hard hit by Cadillac tax

The Boston Globe: "Massachusetts municipalities that offer employees, retirees, and elected officials the most generous and costly health insurance plans will feel the squeeze of the new national health care law's tax on 'Cadillac' insurance plans. A family health plan that costs more than $27,500 would be subject to a 40 percent tax on every dollar spent above that threshold.

5 Apr 2010

States, hospital systems puzzling over possible effects of health reform

The Los Angeles Times: "Over the next decade, many of [the new health law's] consequences will play out at places like St. Joe's, a 431-bed nonprofit hospital founded by the Sisters of Providence in 1943, and in surrounding community clinics."

5 Apr 2010

Health law may worsen primary care doctor shortage

NPR: "The new health bill signed by President Obama includes an incentive for doctors to serve the poorest patients by increasing their federal Medicaid payments. This could be quite a significant inducement, as an additional 16 million people are expected to join the Medicaid rolls in the next 10 years."

5 Apr 2010

Washington, D.C, hosts 7th Annual World Health Care Congress

With the most sweeping changes to national health care policy now law, the 7th World Health Care Congress will feature the first post-reform gathering of the nation's top health care executives from all industry sectors.

5 Apr 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Implementation of reform, questions of constitutionality and more on the individual mandate

The wisest course now is to replace the new health care law with immediate insurance reforms and step-by-step reductions in health care costs so that more Americans can afford to buy insurance (Sen. Lamar Alexander, 4/3).

5 Apr 2010

Few veterans seek review of disability rating, panel finds

"Only a small fraction of wounded veterans who could get better benefits have applied in the two years since Congress, acting on concerns the military was cutting costs by downplaying injuries, ordered the Pentagon to review disputed claims," The Associated Press reports.

5 Apr 2010

Conference to combat health care fraud

With estimates of annual losses as much as $230 billion and legitimate costs also skyrocketing, the US health care industry is now looking to better control the impact of fraud. And with the ever-growing amount of data involving health care claims, new automated fraud-fighting capabilities are absolutely required.

5 Apr 2010

Ingen Technologies's SMART Nasal Cannula to be featured at upcoming Las Vegas MedTrade convention

Ingen Technologies, Inc., a leading manufacturer of respiratory medical devices, recently announced today that the SMART Nasal Cannula is a featured new product at the upcoming MedTrade convention in Las Vegas from May 10 through May 13, 2010. The Las Vegas MedTrade convention is the largest home health care expo in the world. Ingen is an exhibitor and will be part of the New Product showcase at MedTrade. The SMART Nasal Cannula is the Next-Generation of cannulas that improve oxygen therapy and reduce expenditures.

5 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 5, 2010

Both the politics and policies of health reform continue to grab headlines, with reports highlighting how lawmakers are faring in their districts during this congressional recess. News outlets also are exploring how specific provisions of the new law will work.

5 Apr 2010