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Female cancer patients unhappy with the way doctors discussed about fertility preservation options

Young female cancer patients are unhappy about the way fertility preservation options are discussed with them by doctors before starting cancer treatment, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Sheffield and The Children's Hospital, Sheffield.

23 Jul 2013

D.C., Minnesota march forward with online insurance marketplace

With less than three months until its go-live date, District officials say the city's health insurance exchange is already functioning as planned by one important measure: prices. City insurance regulators announced Friday that they have finishing granting approval to the plans set to be offered on the exchange, known as D.C. Health Link, starting Oct. 1. Four insurers are offering 301 different plans, and three of the four lowered their prices from their initial proposals after learning what their competitors were planning to charge (DeBonis, 7/19).

23 Jul 2013

Loyola sports medicine physician's advice for parents of high school athletes: Don't let them play football

Prominent sports medicine physician Dr. Pietro Tonino of Loyola University Medical Center has some blunt advice for parents of high school athletes who want to play football this fall: Don't let them do it.

23 Jul 2013

Investigating one of the 'fundamental flaws' in the pricing of health care

The Washington Post investigates how the use of data plays into what some view as a distortion in physician pay.

23 Jul 2013

Health care professionals face workplace risks, on-the-job injuries

Healthcare workers -- particularly nurses, nurses' aides, orderlies, and attendants -- suffer more musculoskeletal injuries than those working in any other field, a Public Citizen report found. Those injuries cost the U.S. about $7 billion each year, according to the Public Citizen report, which was written by Keith Wrightson and Taylor Lincoln, both of the organization's Congress Watch division. The increased number of on-the-job injuries may be the result of comparatively sparse rates of safety inspections at healthcare facilities, according to 2010 data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Petrochko, 7/19).

23 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the continuing efforts in opposition to the health law as well as a Washington Post investigation into a "flaw" in U.S. health care pricing.

22 Jul 2013

State highlights: Court hears arguments on Fla. 'gun-gag' law; Univ. of Minn. seeks to scale back coverage; fewer Utah docs see Medicaid patients

The top attorney for the state of Florida asked a federal appeals court today to reinstate a Florida law that regulates what physicians can ask patients about gun ownership, asserting that the law does not actually stifle such questions. Yes, it does, countered a lawyer representing several Florida medical societies and individual physicians who challenged the law as an infringement on their First Amendment right to free speech (Lowes, 7/18).

20 Jul 2013

Research roundup: Eye care disparities; more complications for Medicaid patients after spine surgery; the cost to states opting against Medicaid expansion

After analyzing 2003-2004 data of patients who underwent spinal surgery at two medical institutions, they found that Medicaid beneficiaries were at much higher risk of experiencing any type of complication than patients who are privately insured. "The results of our study further support the growing body of literature that Medicaid patients have higher rates of complications," the authors write. When evaluating patients and considering the likelihood of complications, "Medicaid status should be considered as well," they concluded (Hacquebord et al., 7/15).

20 Jul 2013

Professional athletes can return to competition after vertebral fusion surgery

Most professional athletes are able to return to competition within a year after vertebral fusion surgery on the upper (cervical) spine, reports a study in the July issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

20 Jul 2013

Based on preliminary insurance premiums, HHS sees lower-than-expected Obamacare costs

Coverage of health law implementation issues include reports about a recent Department of Health and Human Services analysis that concluded premium costs would be less than initially projected in 11 states, as well as news about rate shock, the role of the health law in triggering a shift to part-time work and other issues.

20 Jul 2013

IMS Health study assesses effectiveness of healthcare system in India

While progress has been made in India over the past decade from both public and private sector initiatives, significant challenges persist in providing quality healthcare on an equitable, accessible and affordable basis across all regions and communities, according to a new IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics study.

20 Jul 2013

Community health faces new subpoena into Medicare admissions practices

Community Health has received a subpoena for two executives to testify in an investigation into its Medicare admissions. The hospital operator also reports its income fell 57 percent on weak patient volume and debt.

20 Jul 2013

Whittier IPA signs agreement with Alere Accountable Care Solutions to build community-wide HIE

Whittier Independent Practice Association, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, announced that it has signed an agreement with Alere Accountable Care Solutions to build a community-wide health information exchange.

20 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 19, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of President Barack Obama's Thursday speech pitching the positives of the health law.

19 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Baucus applauds 'listening to customers' on employer mandate delay; Unions 'wake up' to problems with health law; Medicare's 'two midnights' rule

Any successful business leader will tell you the importance of listening to customers, gathering their input and suggestions and always putting them first. That lesson was not lost on the Obama administration earlier this month when it correctly decided to push back the implementation of the Affordable Care Act's employer responsibility provision - the employer mandate - until 2015. I'm sure this was a tough call, but it was the right one. It shows the administration is listening to the business community and working to address its concerns, as well as the concerns of Congress (Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., 7/17).

19 Jul 2013

Study: Ultrasound waves applied to specific areas of brain appear to alter patients' moods

University of Arizona researchers have found in a recent study that ultrasound waves applied to specific areas of the brain appear able to alter patients' moods. The discovery has led the scientists to conduct further investigations with the hope that this technique could one day be used to treat conditions such as depression and anxiety.

19 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Running out of money in old age; GOP favors the Pentagon over Americans' health care; Texas Senator's support on abortion stand doesn't reflect American attitudes

Nearly half of all Americans will outlive their assets, dying with practically no money at all. Even more worrisome, that's true even among households that met the traditional standards for secure retirement income. ... The results can be measured in more than merely dollars and cents. [MIT Economist James] Poterba's paper found that this group is "disproportionately in poor health," in part because they have no resources to cover medical expenses outside Medicare. Most shocking, many of these households were considered to have entered retirement in good financial shape; they didn't count on outliving their plans (Michael Hiltzik, 7/16).

18 Jul 2013

Doctor News and Research

Female cancer patients unhappy with the way doctors discussed about fertility preservation options

D.C., Minnesota march forward with online insurance marketplace

Loyola sports medicine physician's advice for parents of high school athletes: Don't let them play football

Investigating one of the 'fundamental flaws' in the pricing of health care

Health care professionals face workplace risks, on-the-job injuries

First Edition: July 22, 2013

State highlights: Court hears arguments on Fla. 'gun-gag' law; Univ. of Minn. seeks to scale back coverage; fewer Utah docs see Medicaid patients

Research roundup: Eye care disparities; more complications for Medicaid patients after spine surgery; the cost to states opting against Medicaid expansion

Professional athletes can return to competition after vertebral fusion surgery

Based on preliminary insurance premiums, HHS sees lower-than-expected Obamacare costs

IMS Health study assesses effectiveness of healthcare system in India

Community health faces new subpoena into Medicare admissions practices

Whittier IPA signs agreement with Alere Accountable Care Solutions to build community-wide HIE

First Edition: July 19, 2013

Viewpoints: Baucus applauds 'listening to customers' on employer mandate delay; Unions 'wake up' to problems with health law; Medicare's 'two midnights' rule

Study: Ultrasound waves applied to specific areas of brain appear to alter patients' moods

Viewpoints: Running out of money in old age; GOP favors the Pentagon over Americans' health care; Texas Senator's support on abortion stand doesn't reflect American attitudes

Study finds health law likely to push up premium prices in Mass.; New York health plan costs set to fall

Social media and DNA fingerprinting played important role in alerting strep outbreak

Few tips to keep in mind while fasting

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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