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Patient perceptions don't match Medicare hospital data

More than 120 hospitals given top marks by patients for providing excellent care also have a darker distinction: high death rates for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia, a USA Today analysis of new Medicare data has found (Sternberg and Schnaars, 8/5).

6 Aug 2011

Medicaid changes rile advocacy groups in Calif., N.C. and Fla.

As states seek to find ways to curb costs in their Medicaid programs, many are getting opposition from patients and providers.

6 Aug 2011

Mass. hospitals get Medicare funding lift, lots of criticism

The state's hospitals will get $275 million more a year in Medicare payments because of a special provision inserted in the health law. Critical reactions are coming from both inside and outside of Massachusetts.

6 Aug 2011

St. Jude hosts Sibling Star Day event for brothers and sisters of cancer patients

When a child is battling cancer or other serious illness, the entire family is affected, including siblings. Recognizing the important role brothers and sisters play in the healing process, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital recently hosted Sibling Star Day, an event dedicated to celebrating the brothers and sisters of St. Jude patients.

6 Aug 2011

Michigan Neurosport Concussion Program offers free online courses for high school coaches

Spencer Helgren was bawling his eyes out, but it was the fourth quarter and he wasn't going to sit down on the sidelines. He kept playing through the tears. It was the first of several head injuries on the football field for the junior from Westwood High school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. At the time, he just thought he'd had his bell rung and he'd be fine - despite the unusual crying spell.

6 Aug 2011

Congressional heavy-hitters back Michigan's MLR waiver request

Michigan Republican lawmakers Dave Camp and Fred Upton endorsed their home state's request for a temporary waiver from the health law's medical-loss ratio requirement. Meanwhile, The Miami Herald asks if ACOs will be the next health care revolution.

6 Aug 2011

UAB Sports Medicine to open Concussion Clinic at Children's of Alabama

From the alluring smell of concession stand snacks to the sounds of the marching band, Friday nights in the fall are full of excitement surrounding an all-American tradition: football. But the sport has gained increasing attention in recent years more for the injuries it can cause than for the game itself.

6 Aug 2011

Roundup: State workers in Conn. get lock on retirement health funds

State employees have never warmed to the idea of having to contribute a portion of their pay to help fund their retirement health care, and one of the arguments they make against it is the history of special accounts' being used as a piggybank by legislators and governors when money is tight.

6 Aug 2011

Research roundup: Hospitalists & health costs; treating substance abuse

This study looks at the effects hospitalists -- or physicians who specialize in hospital medicine and health care -- have on patient care, costs and use of medical services.

6 Aug 2011

AHRQ: Arizona and Maryland see great drop in hospital deaths from pneumonia

Deaths of Americans age 18 and over hospitalized for pneumonia plummeted by 45 percent between 2000 and 2007 regardless of who paid for their care, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

6 Aug 2011

Debt-ceiling legislation could reduce Medicare payments to hospitals

MedeAnalytics, a leading provider of healthcare performance management solutions, today released an estimate of the impact on Medicare payments to hospitals by recently enacted debt-ceiling legislation. Bottom line: over the next 10 years, individual hospitals could see Medicare payments reduced by $1.1 to $1.4 million per year.

5 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 5, 2011

In the news today... The cost of premiums for Medicare's prescription drug program won't rise in 2012. Meanwhile, Medicare data reveal a gap in hospital performance and perception.

5 Aug 2011

Triple threat of catching three varieties of flu in one season

Each year, 200,000 Americans are hospitalized due to flu-related complications. That number can rise or fall - often dramatically - based on the effectiveness of the selected flu vaccine, said Dr. Jorge Parada, director of infection prevention and control at Loyola University Health System.

5 Aug 2011

Transvaginal nephrectomy could increase rate of living donors for kidney transplants

Kidney transplant from a living donor, besides of being the best option for young people and those affected by particular conditions, results in increased organ survival and solves in part the organ shortage afflicting Spain since the mid-90 despite the high rate of cadaveric donation.

5 Aug 2011

Cancer Information Service celebrates helping one million Canadians

Fear, anxiety, helplessness, anger - these are some of the often overwhelming feelings that people can encounter when dealing with cancer. When faced with a cancer diagnosis, knowledge is power. The Canadian Cancer Society empowers Canadians with timely cancer information so that people can make informed decisions about their health.

5 Aug 2011

Clinical warning system that uses wireless sensors can track vital signs of at-risk patients

A clinical warning system that uses wireless sensors to track the vital signs of at-risk patients is undergoing a feasibility study at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

5 Aug 2011

More than 120 hospitals have high death rates for heart failure or pneumonia: USA TODAY

A USA TODAY analysis of more than 4,600 U.S. hospitals has found that 120 of those most highly rated by patients have higher than average death rates for heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia. More than a dozen of these hospitals have high death rates for at least two of those conditions.

5 Aug 2011

Proximal colon retroflexion technique safe and effective for neoplasia detection

A new study from researchers in Indiana reports that use of a retroflexion technique in the right side of the colon during colonoscopy is safe and results in the detection of additional adenomatous polyps in approximately four percent of patients.

5 Aug 2011

ESC to produce focused update on AF Guidelines following early termination of PALLAS Trial

The Guidelines Department of the European Society of Cardiology has issued the following statement today: "The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is aware of the early termination of the PALLAS trial because of adverse outcomes associated with dronedarone.

5 Aug 2011

MEDSEEK, NextGen enter agreement to create Enterprise Patient Portal

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced it has entered into an agreement with MEDSEEK to create the NextGen Enterprise Patient Portal.

5 Aug 2011