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Health reform bill moving ahead, despite lingering questions

CongressDaily: "Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said his committee will convene again Tuesday. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the only committee Republican who might cross sides to vote for the health bill, remained on the fence late last week. 'Obviously, there's some things that require significant improvement, for example, on the individual mandate,' Snowe said.

5 Oct 2009

Workshop to revise and update Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Therapy Management

URAC, the nation's leading health care accreditation and education organization, will introduce new performance measures and reporting standards to its Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) and Drug Therapy Management (DTM) Accreditation programs at a workshop focused on the latest revisions and updates to the standards.

5 Oct 2009

Obama: 'I will not accept partisan efforts' blocking health reform bills

President Obama returned to the topic of health care reform in his weekly Saturday radio and internet address, calling it "a critical step in rebuilding our economy."

5 Oct 2009

Study examines roles of PCPs and hepatologists in post-transplant care

A recent study by researchers from the University of Colorado looked at post-transplant care to determine whether primary care physicians (PCPs) or hepatologists are better suited to manage the overall health care of patients who received a liver transplant (LT).

5 Oct 2009

Lawsuit filed against MultiCare Health System for unilaterally implementing a mandatory vaccination policy

Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), representing more than 16,000 registered nurses in Washington State, has filed a lawsuit in federal court against MultiCare Health System for unilaterally implementing a mandatory vaccination policy. This new policy will force nurses to get the flu vaccination or to wear face masks as a condition of employment and may result in the firing of nurses who do not comply with the policy.

3 Oct 2009

HSPH's survey on H1N1 vaccines

In a new survey, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that just 40% of adults are "absolutely certain" they will get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves, and 51% of parents are "absolutely certain" that they will get the vaccine for their children. The survey examined the reasoning among those who said they would not get the vaccine or might not. This is the latest in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH. The polling was done September 14-20, 2009.

3 Oct 2009

CSPI sues Bayer for false claims on Men's One A Day multivitamins

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has sued the German drug company Bayer for falsely claiming that the selenium in Men's One A Day multivitamins might reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The lawsuit is filed in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco.

3 Oct 2009

Clinical scientists call for a reform in clinical psychology training programs

The prevalence of mental health disorders in this country has nearly doubled in the past 20 years. Who is treating all of these patients? Clinical psychologists and therapists are charged with the task, but many are falling short by using methods that are out of date and lack scientific rigor. This is in part because many of the training programs-especially some Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD) programs and for-profit training centers-are not grounded in science.

3 Oct 2009

Surgical masks nearly as effective as N95 respirators in protecting health care workers against influenza

Surgical masks appear to be no worse than, and nearly as effective as N95 respirators in preventing influenza in health care workers, according to a study released early online today by JAMA. The study was posted online ahead of print because of its public health implications. It will be published in the November 4 issue of JAMA.

3 Oct 2009

Grady's challenges highlight problems of safety-net hospitals

Andy Miller writes for Kaiser Health News about Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital and how it serves as an example of the challenges safety-net hospitals face. Recent equipment upgrades and changes "signify hope for Grady, which edged away from the brink of collapse over the past year.

3 Oct 2009

University HealthSystem Consortium awards UH Case Medical Center the 2009 Quality Leadership Award

University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center is one of five academic medical centers in the nation to receive the 2009 Quality Leadership Award from the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC). The prestigious award is given to teaching hospitals that demonstrate excellence in delivering high-quality care, as measured by the UHC Quality and Accountability Study conducted annually since 2005.

3 Oct 2009

NCPA: Bill may allow seniors to continue getting valuable health care supplies from community pharmacies

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 3663, a bill introduced yesterday by Reps. Zach Space (D-OH) and Lee Terry (R-NE) extending the accreditation deadline for pharmacies providing Medicare Part B Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31, 2009.

3 Oct 2009

The Center for Health Value Innovation launches new book on value-based designs for the healthcare system

Cutting through the clutter of health care reform discussions, leaders from The Center for Health Value Innovation (www.vbhealth.org), the nation’s leading information exchange for value-based design, gathered on Capitol Hill yesterday to celebrate the publication of Leveraging Health and emphasize the Center’s dedication to aligned incentives that improve health and economic security for Americans in every community.

3 Oct 2009

Surgical masks appear as effective as N95 respirators against influenza: Study

A McMaster University study has found that surgical masks appear to be as good as N95 respirators in protecting health-care workers against influenza.

3 Oct 2009

Senate finance amends reform bill to allow states to negotiate with insurers

The Senate Finance Committee approved a handful of amendments aimed at cutting costs for consumers — although some disagree that that's what the changes will do — in its health care reform bill Thursday.

3 Oct 2009

Professor's research to transform mobile phones into powerful medical devices

Cell phones have come a long way in the last decade. Today, one can talk, text message, shoot photos and video, send and receive e-mail, and even access the Web. Now imagine a cell phone that can be used to monitor diseases like HIV or malaria and to test water quality after a major disaster like a hurricane or earthquake.

3 Oct 2009

American Lung Association launches new smoking cessation campaign

The American Lung Association is launching a new smoking cessation campaign, "Quitter in You," designed to highlight the need to change the way Americans look at quitting.

3 Oct 2009

States grapple with budgets, quality and compliance; California offers cautionary tale for lawmakers

Though Massachusetts is the preferred health reform example of Democratic lawmakers, one report suggests they look to California, too. Meanwhile, states are grappling with quality, budgets and compliance issues.

3 Oct 2009

Study: Medicaid enrollment surges, threatening state budgets

"The recession is driving up enrollment in Medicaid at higher than expected rates, threatening gargantuan state budget gaps even as Congress and the White House seek to expand the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled," The New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2009

Six hospitals to pay $8 million to Medicare to settle allegations of false claims

Six hospitals in Indiana and Alabama have agreed to pay the United States more than $8 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Department of Justice announced today.

3 Oct 2009

Health Care News and Research

Health reform bill moving ahead, despite lingering questions

Workshop to revise and update Pharmacy Benefit Management and Drug Therapy Management

Obama: 'I will not accept partisan efforts' blocking health reform bills

Study examines roles of PCPs and hepatologists in post-transplant care

Lawsuit filed against MultiCare Health System for unilaterally implementing a mandatory vaccination policy

HSPH's survey on H1N1 vaccines

CSPI sues Bayer for false claims on Men's One A Day multivitamins

Clinical scientists call for a reform in clinical psychology training programs

Surgical masks nearly as effective as N95 respirators in protecting health care workers against influenza

Grady's challenges highlight problems of safety-net hospitals

University HealthSystem Consortium awards UH Case Medical Center the 2009 Quality Leadership Award

NCPA: Bill may allow seniors to continue getting valuable health care supplies from community pharmacies

The Center for Health Value Innovation launches new book on value-based designs for the healthcare system

Surgical masks appear as effective as N95 respirators against influenza: Study

Senate finance amends reform bill to allow states to negotiate with insurers

Professor's research to transform mobile phones into powerful medical devices

American Lung Association launches new smoking cessation campaign

States grapple with budgets, quality and compliance; California offers cautionary tale for lawmakers

Study: Medicaid enrollment surges, threatening state budgets

Six hospitals to pay $8 million to Medicare to settle allegations of false claims

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

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