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Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services has taken steps to prevent its contractors from conducting certain duplicative postpayment claims reviews - reviews of the same claims that are not permitted by the agency - but CMS neither has reliable data nor provides sufficient oversight and guidance to measure and fully prevent duplication.

16 Aug 2014

Cops, computer analysts hunt for Medicare fraud

The Wall Street Journal looks closely at the work of the Medicare Strike Force, which includes FBI agents and CMS workers. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office finds Medicare audit contractors may hammer hospitals with multiple reviews of the same payment claims.

16 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of updates regarding health policy and the health care marketplace.

15 Aug 2014

Sunshine Act website marked by technical problems

Modern Healthcare reports that this website, which is designed to report industry payments to physicians and teaching hospitals, was temporarily suspended last week but is scheduled to be publicly accessible Sept. 30. Meanwhile, the Des Moines Register explores issues related to the National Practitioner Data Bank.

15 Aug 2014

State highlights: Mass. hospitals see 70% jump in mistakes; changes coming to Md.'s state employee health plan

Massachusetts acute-care hospitals reported 753 serious medical errors and other patient injuries last year, a 70 percent annual jump that health officials attributed mostly to expanded definitions of what constitutes medical harm. So-called serious reportable events in other types of hospitals, including those that provide psychiatric or rehabilitative care, rose 60 percent from 2012, to 206.

15 Aug 2014

Longer looks: A sugar cube pyramid; Obamacare's successes; the suicide checklist

Dean Angstadt, a 57-year-old, self-employed logger, said that the Affordable Care Act saved his life. ... Kathy Bentozi, a 58-year-old Pennsylvanian, is also thankful for Obamacare. ... Joshua Haymore, a 27-year-old Coloradan, could not get a specialist to see him for weeks last year ... Now that he has Medicaid, his prescriptions cost $3 and his health has improved significantly. Those are just three of thousands of good-news stories coming from the insurance expansion in the Affordable Care Act. ... But there is scant evidence that Americans have started to take notice, or care (Annie Lowrey, 8/13).

15 Aug 2014

Severe obstructive sleep apnea associated with elevated blood pressure despite medication use

A new study shows a strong association between severe, untreated obstructive sleep apnea and the risk of elevated blood pressure despite the use of high blood pressure medications.

15 Aug 2014

Testicular cancer incidence: an interview with Dr Rebecca Johnson, Medical Director, Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program Seattle Children's Hospital

We observed that, over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the incidence of testicular cancer in Hispanic American adolescents and young adults (AYAs) between 15 and 39 years of age.

15 Aug 2014

Insurance rate hikes could be issue in key states

Although rate hikes average 7.5 percent nationally for the individual health insurance market, consumers in politically key states such as Florida and North Carolina may see higher increases-- and insurers are partly blaming the administration's decision to allow consumers to hold onto their old policies.

14 Aug 2014

Findings may lead to better ways for preventing gum disease, diabetes and Crohn's disease

Bacteria inside your mouth drastically change how they act when you're diseased, according to research using supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center.

13 Aug 2014

State highlights: Aging inmate care outside prison; Colo.'s teen birth rate drop; Minn. rural doc shortage

Providing health care to an aging prison population is a large and growing cost for states. Not only do inmates develop debilitating conditions at a younger age than people who are not incarcerated, but caring for them in the harsh environment of prisons is far more expensive than it is on the outside.

13 Aug 2014

Research leads to optimal design of alternative to open-heart surgery

University of Houston (UH) professor Suncica "Sunny" Canic is a mathematician, not a medical doctor, but her research could save the lives of heart patients.

13 Aug 2014

Scientists identify predictors of prospective memory impairment after TBI

Kessler Foundation scientists have identified predictors of prospective memory impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Findings were epublished on July 28 by the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

13 Aug 2014

Silicon Valley startup pitches self-insurance software

Collective Health says it can help employers save money with software that helps them pay workers' health costs directly. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Apple is preparing to roll out "HealthKit," a monitoring app, as part of the iPhone 6 this fall.

13 Aug 2014

Tackling rising healthcare costs: an interview with Professor Graeme Currie, Warwick Business School

I think the main reason involves the impact of an aging population, some of whom age healthily, but many of whom, unhealthily, particularly those from poorer sectors of society.

12 Aug 2014

Postoperative 'doctor shopping' linked to higher narcotic use among orthopaedic patients

"Doctor shopping," the growing practice of obtaining narcotic prescriptions from multiple providers, has led to measurable increases in drug use among postoperative trauma patients.

12 Aug 2014

Best way to improve doctor's bedside manner may lie in new tool

The best way to improve a doctor's bedside manner may lie in a new tool that evaluates and helps medical residents improve their communication and other soft skills to become better doctors, according to a new study led by Women's College Hospital's Dr. Tim Dwyer.

12 Aug 2014

Doctor News and Research

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

Cops, computer analysts hunt for Medicare fraud

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Sunshine Act website marked by technical problems

State highlights: Mass. hospitals see 70% jump in mistakes; changes coming to Md.'s state employee health plan

Longer looks: A sugar cube pyramid; Obamacare's successes; the suicide checklist

Severe obstructive sleep apnea associated with elevated blood pressure despite medication use

Testicular cancer incidence: an interview with Dr Rebecca Johnson, Medical Director, Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program Seattle Children's Hospital

Insurance rate hikes could be issue in key states

Findings may lead to better ways for preventing gum disease, diabetes and Crohn's disease

State highlights: Aging inmate care outside prison; Colo.'s teen birth rate drop; Minn. rural doc shortage

Research leads to optimal design of alternative to open-heart surgery

Scientists identify predictors of prospective memory impairment after TBI

Silicon Valley startup pitches self-insurance software

Tackling rising healthcare costs: an interview with Professor Graeme Currie, Warwick Business School

Postoperative 'doctor shopping' linked to higher narcotic use among orthopaedic patients

Best way to improve doctor's bedside manner may lie in new tool

Plan International outlines strategies to combat Ebola outbreak

Viewpoints: The doctor is in -- at Walmart; a 'hole' in the Halbig strategy

State highlights: Mo. drops many from Medicaid; Mich. Medicaid shift savings

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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