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Nation's top hospitals for emergency medical care

A report released today by HealthGrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital, identified the nation's top performing hospital for emergency medical care. The analysis also found large differences in the risk adjusted mortality rates for patients admitted through the Emergency Department, both by hospital and by market area.

21 Feb 2012

Temkin Group rates 13 health plans

A new research report published by Temkin Group, 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries. This is the second year that Temkin Group has released these ratings.

20 Feb 2012

Premier healthcare alliance awards new SEEDS agreement for coffee, tea and cocoa

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that a new SEEDS agreement for coffee, tea and cocoa has been awarded to KimBees's Inc. of Greensboro, N.C.

20 Feb 2012

Teleflex, Premier enter new agreements for ligation and stapling products, suture and trocars

Teleflex Incorporated, a leading global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery, has announced three new group purchasing agreements with the Premier healthcare alliance.

20 Feb 2012

Apixio introduces Clinical Knowledge Exchange at HIMSS 2012 conference

Apixio, Inc., the leading provider of clinical data integration, search and analytics for healthcare organizations, is introducing this week at the HIMSS 2012 conference, a technology framework called the Clinical Knowledge Exchange.

20 Feb 2012

Medicare cuts include psychotherapy payment reduction

Medicare recipients currently receiving mental health outpatient services stand to be affected by the payroll tax legislation passed by Congress today. As a result of the new law, which President Obama is expected to sign, payment for Medicare outpatient psychotherapy services will be cut by five-percent beginning March 1.

18 Feb 2012

Health law implementation: State insurance exchange bills; HHS rules on MLR Waiver requests

States are grappling to implement aspects of the Affordable Care Act.

18 Feb 2012

AADA expresses disappointment over Medicare SGR fix

The American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) is severely disappointed that Congress once again allowed partisan politics to stand in the way of a full sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix.

18 Feb 2012

CVS Caremark's integrated businesses help patients achieve better health

CVS Caremark's chief health care strategy officer today outlined how the company's integrated offerings -- retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefit management (PBM) and retail clinics -- are helping patients achieve better health by working to increase medication adherence and targeting behaviors to improve treatment for chronic diseases.

18 Feb 2012

Substituting antiepileptic drugs may lead to increase in risk of epilepsy

The substitution of brand-name antiepileptic drugs with cheaper generic equivalents has been an ongoing point of contention among doctors, federal officials and people with epilepsy.

18 Feb 2012

Medicare Part D beneficiaries flock to lower cost Part D plans with competitive pharmacy networks

New 2012 Medicare Part D data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show the growing popularity among Medicare Part D beneficiaries in choosing plans featuring lower cost preferred pharmacy network options.

18 Feb 2012

Not-for-profit company leads push for automation of Medicaid enrollment process

Venture capitalists and Wall Street have invested millions of dollars to capitalize on the health care industry's burgeoning demand for information technology. But in New York State, the push to automate the Medicaid enrollment process is being led not by a behemoth IT corporation, but by a tiny not-for-profit: the Hudson Center for Health Equity & Quality (Hudson Center). And 2012 is shaping up to be its breakout year.

18 Feb 2012

FDA to reconsider diet drug that failed to get approval in 2010

Next week, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will recommend whether the agency should approve the first new prescription diet pill in 13 years. The F.D.A. rejected the drug under review, Qnexa, in 2010, amid safety concerns, and the drug's manufacturer is now presenting additional data to argue its case.

18 Feb 2012

CMS urged to limit definition of research for reporting under Physician Payment Sunshine Act

Expressing concerns that many physicians will be discouraged from conducting medical research because of cumbersome reporting requirements and potential mischaracterizations of their income, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to adopt a limited definition of research for purposes of reporting under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act.

18 Feb 2012

PCMA launches That's What PBMs Do campaign in Maryland

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) has launched a new ad campaign in Maryland that highlights the core value proposition of pharmacy benefit managers.

18 Feb 2012

AUA: SGR is a fatally flawed payment system and a tremendous burden to physicians

In response to today's vote by Congress to legislation that provides a 10-month delay to Medicare physician reimbursement cuts, freezing current rates and averting a 27.4 percent cut, the American Urological Association (AUA) issued the following statement.

18 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: The constitution and birth control; War on Wyden

Give him points for cleverness. President Obama's birth control "accommodation" was as politically successful as it was morally meaningless. It was nothing but an accounting trick that still forces Catholic (and other religious) institutions to provide medical insurance that guarantees free birth control, tubal ligation and morning-after abortifacients - all of which violate church doctrine on the sanctity of life.

18 Feb 2012

Certain segments of hospitals show increased capability to achieve Stage 1 of meaningful use

New HIMSS Analytics data, reported in the December 2011 Summary of Meaningful Use Readiness, indicates certain segments of hospitals show increased capability to achieve Stage 1 of meaningful use. These hospital segments include:

18 Feb 2012

RelayHealth, CommunityHealth IT collaborate to develop a HIE

After three years of preparing small practices and safety net hospitals in rural Florida to participate in a regional health information exchange (HIE), the not-for-profit CommunityHealth IT has partnered with RelayHealth to enable the transfer of health information among providers and to empower patients and businesses with patient engagement tools.

18 Feb 2012

GOP lawmakers defend proposed overhaul of Medicare

Sens. Richard Burr and Tom Coburn are proposing a plan to raise Medicare's eligibility age and premiums and require the program to compete with private insurers. Rep. Paul Ryan, in the meantime, is "excited" to defend his own plan.

18 Feb 2012

Medicare News and Research

Nation's top hospitals for emergency medical care

Temkin Group rates 13 health plans

Premier healthcare alliance awards new SEEDS agreement for coffee, tea and cocoa

Teleflex, Premier enter new agreements for ligation and stapling products, suture and trocars

Apixio introduces Clinical Knowledge Exchange at HIMSS 2012 conference

Medicare cuts include psychotherapy payment reduction

Health law implementation: State insurance exchange bills; HHS rules on MLR Waiver requests

AADA expresses disappointment over Medicare SGR fix

CVS Caremark's integrated businesses help patients achieve better health

Substituting antiepileptic drugs may lead to increase in risk of epilepsy

Medicare Part D beneficiaries flock to lower cost Part D plans with competitive pharmacy networks

Not-for-profit company leads push for automation of Medicaid enrollment process

FDA to reconsider diet drug that failed to get approval in 2010

CMS urged to limit definition of research for reporting under Physician Payment Sunshine Act

PCMA launches That's What PBMs Do campaign in Maryland

AUA: SGR is a fatally flawed payment system and a tremendous burden to physicians

Viewpoints: The constitution and birth control; War on Wyden

Certain segments of hospitals show increased capability to achieve Stage 1 of meaningful use

RelayHealth, CommunityHealth IT collaborate to develop a HIE

GOP lawmakers defend proposed overhaul of Medicare

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