Health Care News and Research

RSS

MITA endorses eight key principles to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure and medical errors

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), the leading association representing the manufacturers, innovators and developers of medical imaging and radiation therapy systems, today endorsed eight key principles to reduce exposure to unnecessary medical radiation, further minimize medical errors and improve reporting of adverse events.

12 Feb 2010

MSMS and MOA call $300M tax on Michigan's health care system 'bad policy'

With reports that Gov. Jennifer Granholm will include a $300 million tax on Michigan's health care system as part of her fiscal year 2010-11 state budget proposal, the 15,000-member Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) and 5,500-member Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) urged lawmakers to reject the new taxing scheme, just as they did less than six months ago.

12 Feb 2010

Study shows benefits of stent grafts over balloon angioplasty for patients who undergo dialysis

A randomized multicenter study of 190 patients at 13 medical centers shows-- for the first time-- the "superior" benefit of stent grafts over balloon angioplasty for maintaining function of dialysis access grafts in kidney failure patients who undergo dialysis. Until now, no other therapy has proven more effective than angioplasty.

12 Feb 2010

Also in Global Health News: China's health care system; Breastfeeding practices in Pakistan; HIV transmission in MSM; Abu Dhabi joins malaria fight

The Los Angeles Times examines China's transition to "Western-style privatized medicine" through the government's "$124-billion overhaul, chiefly to improve service in rural areas." The article details the efforts of a woman from Inner Mongolia to get care in Beijing for her ailing father and looks at climbing health care costs and the growing "black market for medical care" (Pierson, 2/11).

12 Feb 2010

MCEG and HTMS report examines potential impact of reform on regional health plans

The Managed Care Executive Group and HTMS, with the help of Health Dialog, have jointly released a new report which examines strategic and operational priorities for 2010, as well as the potential impact of reform on regional health plans which composes the majority of the MCEG membership.

12 Feb 2010

Kaiser Permanente approves 500 grants and donations totaling $90M in fourth-quarter of 2009

Kaiser Permanente, one of America's leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans, announced today it approved 500 grants and donations nationwide totaling $90 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. In total, Kaiser Permanente approved $170 million in grants and donations to support efforts to keep people healthy during these tough economic times.

12 Feb 2010

KHN column -- Don't stop now: Lawmakers should pass the Senate bill

In her latest column for Kaiser Health News, Judy Feder writes: "Veterans of health reform battles know all too well that enacting health reform is as challenging to the nation's political system as it is important to the nation's well-being.

12 Feb 2010

Heavy rains hit tent camps in Haiti

Heavy rains hit earthquake survivors in tent camps in Port-au-Prince on Thursday, "bringing a warning of fresh misery to come for the 1 million people living on the streets," Reuters reports.

12 Feb 2010

Proving value a challenge for comparative effectiveness and pharmaceutical technologies

The Wall Street Journal reports that "an examination of one of the best-known examples of a comparative-effectiveness analysis shows how complicated such a seemingly straightforward idea can get" as officials look for savings in the health care system." One study, called Courage, "found that the most common heart surgery -- a $15,000 procedure that unclogs arteries using a small scaffold or stent -- usually yields no additional benefit when used with a cocktail of generic drugs in patients suffering from chronic chest pain."

12 Feb 2010

Scientists find single-dose of drug cures visceral leishmaniasis

A study has shown that a single infusion of Gilead Sciences' drug AmBisome, known generically as iposomal amphotericin B, cured nearly all patients with visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, a parasitic infection, Reuters reports.

12 Feb 2010

States push for insurers to increase coverage

States tackle several health care policy issues focused on health insurance coverage mandates and requirements.

12 Feb 2010

New York's detained youth lack coordinated mental health care

The New York Times: "The State of New York does not have a single full-time staff psychiatrist charged with overseeing the treatment of the 800 or so young people who are detained in state facilities at any given time." The Times reports that all 17 psychiatrists at the detention facilities in the state's juvenile justice system are working either on contract and part time.

12 Feb 2010

Mass. Gov. seeks greater authority to attack health costs

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick asked the state legislature to grant his administration broad new authority to "review and reject" excessive rates charged by medical providers in hopes of curbing costs and making health care more affordable, The Boston Globe reports. Under a bill filed Wednesday by Patrick, the rates that "hospitals and other health providers charge insurers would be 'presumptively disapproved as excessive' if they increased faster than the level of medical inflation, and they could be rejected after a public hearing."

12 Feb 2010

Opinions: Rebuilding Haiti

In a Baltimore Sun opinion piece, Richard Santos - president and CEO of IMA World Health, a non-profit that provides health care services and supplies - describes what he sees as the top three priorities for the rebuilding of Haiti, beginning with healthcare, which he describes as " foundational to all else." He continues, "Development groups have experience setting up basic health care systems in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other difficult environments.

12 Feb 2010

Today's opinions and editorials: A litigation explosion, Anthem Blue Cross and starting fresh

What would a fresh start look like? It would begin with a new bill. Amending the 2,000 pages in either the Senate or House bill would prove to be impossible. They were born of an unseemly process and based on a premise already rejected by the American people. Language from the existing bills, in areas of agreement, could obviously be used to expedite drafting (Michael O. Leavitt, 2/11).

12 Feb 2010

Payments, pricing info, paperwork may contribute to costs, confusion

The way doctors, hospitals and other health care providers are paid creates a so-called "perverse incentive" to order more and more medical services, even when those services do not contribute to better health, according to researchers for Dartmouth's Atlas of Health, CNN's investigations unit reports. The report explores a lawsuit filed against a physician-owned hospital in McAllen, Texas, by one of the physician-owners.

12 Feb 2010

Biological-based therapies are alternative medicines for women recovering from breast cancer

Biological-based therapies such as diet supplements and vitamins are the most popular complementary and alternative medicines for women recovering from breast cancer, according to a Michigan State University researcher working to create a support intervention for women in treatment for the disease.

12 Feb 2010

Medicaid and other state programs face questions about fraud, other difficulties

The state's Medicaid Fraud Division said two state agencies, the Health Department and Human Services Department that administer the Medicaid program, "'filtered' and 'sanitized' information and documents requested by investigators, hindering numerous investigations." The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wil investigate the allegations (Furlow, 2/10).

12 Feb 2010

Gregg ready for 'dialogue' on health reform, Pelosi ready for reconciliation fight

Politico: "Is [Sen.] Judd Gregg [R- N.H.] a tease or a real potential partner for President Barack Obama in trying to salvage some health care reform in this Congress? ... [T]he New Hampshire conservative brings both a proven ability to swing Republican votes and a background in health care and deficit issues. In a letter to Obama released late Tuesday, Gregg welcomed the [Feb. 25] meeting as a chance for 'constructive dialogue'" and he told Politico he is "open to specific deficit-reduction and cost-containment steps that could be taken to win Republicans' support for health reform," though he has rejected the president's proposals.

12 Feb 2010

COBRA extension included in newly unveiled Senate jobs bill

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D- Mont., and ranking Republican Charles Grassley, R- Iowa, this morning jointly unveiled a draft of the chamber's jobs bill, "vowing to maintain the 'bipartisan character' of their negotiations going forward," The Washington Post 44 reports. "The $85 billion package ... is the first in what Democratic leaders say will be a series of job-creation measures the Senate will address in 2010."

11 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

MITA endorses eight key principles to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure and medical errors

MSMS and MOA call $300M tax on Michigan's health care system 'bad policy'

Study shows benefits of stent grafts over balloon angioplasty for patients who undergo dialysis

Also in Global Health News: China's health care system; Breastfeeding practices in Pakistan; HIV transmission in MSM; Abu Dhabi joins malaria fight

MCEG and HTMS report examines potential impact of reform on regional health plans

Kaiser Permanente approves 500 grants and donations totaling $90M in fourth-quarter of 2009

KHN column -- Don't stop now: Lawmakers should pass the Senate bill

Heavy rains hit tent camps in Haiti

Proving value a challenge for comparative effectiveness and pharmaceutical technologies

Scientists find single-dose of drug cures visceral leishmaniasis

States push for insurers to increase coverage

New York's detained youth lack coordinated mental health care

Mass. Gov. seeks greater authority to attack health costs

Opinions: Rebuilding Haiti

Today's opinions and editorials: A litigation explosion, Anthem Blue Cross and starting fresh

Payments, pricing info, paperwork may contribute to costs, confusion

Biological-based therapies are alternative medicines for women recovering from breast cancer

Medicaid and other state programs face questions about fraud, other difficulties

Gregg ready for 'dialogue' on health reform, Pelosi ready for reconciliation fight

COBRA extension included in newly unveiled Senate jobs bill

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

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

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Applications Engineer

Latest News