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AvMed to optimize Member Services call center operation with Panviva SupportPoint

AvMed Health Plans announced today that it has chosen Panviva SupportPoint, a world-wide leader in Business Process Guidance (BPG) systems, to optimize its Member Services call center operation and drive even higher levels of member satisfaction.

10 Dec 2010

New 5-minute Memory Orientation Screening Test to identify elderly patients with dementia

A new 5-minute test to identify elderly patients with dementia promises to give doctors a more sensitive tool to use in the Annual Wellness Examination. The Memory Orientation Screening Test (MOST™) developed by Mitchell Clionsky, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, and Emilymarie Clionsky, MD, an internist/psychiatrist, is based on their clinical experience with thousands of patients who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias, which now afflicts more than 5 million Americans.

10 Dec 2010

Talecris initiates clinical trial to evaluate 2 doses of PROLASTIN-C for emphysema due to AAT deficiency

Talecris Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced today the initiation of a clinical trial evaluating the safety and the pharmacokinetic profile of two doses of PROLASTIN®-C (Alpha(1)-Proteinase Inhibitor [Human]) (A1PI), a therapy indicated for chronic augmentation and maintenance in adults with emphysema due to alpha(1)-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. AAT deficiency is a rare, genetic disorder in which low levels of the alpha(1) protein circulating in the lungs can increase an individual's risk of developing emphysema.

10 Dec 2010

AACR reports majority of women do not get regular mammograms

Only half of eligible women in the United States are getting their annual mammograms, even if they have insurance to pay for the procedure, according to data presented at the 33rd Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

10 Dec 2010

Senate approves Medicare 'doc fix'

The Senate's $19.2 billion pay fix was approved by unanimous consent Wednesday and now will go to the House, where it is expected to gain passage before Congress leaves Washington for the holidays. The measure is paid for by a tweak in the health overhaul law.

10 Dec 2010

Rule makers in health reform hot seat; Number of administration waivers from key aspect of law climbing

As rulemaking continues to be the new focus in the health law debate, media outlets report on the Obama administration use of waivers regarding a key aspect of the new law.

10 Dec 2010

Powerful GOP lawmakers clarifying plans for cutting health costs, repealing reform law

The Republican lawmaker who will take the chair of the House's main investigative committee has made clear his interest in examining the overuse of expensive medical procedures while a newly tapped GOP subcommittee chief pledges to "dismantle Obamacare." Meanwhile, the food safety bill has been folded into must-pass legislation to fund the U.S. government.

10 Dec 2010

More young people in nursing homes; Home health care agencies face Medicare rate cuts

An analysis of federal data from the Department of Health and Human Services by NPR's Investigative Unit found that there's one age group that's going into nursing homes at a higher rate. And it's not the elderly (Shapiro, 12/9).

9 Dec 2010

OpEds: How debt panel 'punted' on health costs; Sustainable 'doc fix;' Arizona 'death panel;' Sebelius on flu vaccine

In this Kaiser Health News column, Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll write: "By some accounts, the Republican takeover of the House is a game changer for health reform. Already, it has reinvigorated debate over the law, and the media have focused on what federal legislators can or will do to alter it. But more attention should be directed elsewhere. The future trajectory of health reform will be shaped far more by interest group agendas and state-level actions than by the new House leadership's stated plans. Not only has the game changed, but so have the most important players" (12/9).

9 Dec 2010

Clarient introduces Mammostrat test to quantify likelihood of breast cancer recurrence

Clarient, Inc., a premier technology and services resource for pathologists, oncologists and the pharmaceutical industry, today announced the commercial launch of Mammostrat, a patented, novel test designed to help quantify the likelihood of recurrence of breast cancer following surgery and initial treatment.

9 Dec 2010

AARP Pennsylvania applauds U.S. Senate for protecting seniors' access to their doctors

AARP Pennsylvania State Director Dick Chevrefils today released a statement applauding the U.S. Senate for passing legislation that will preserve access to doctors for people in Medicare by stopping a scheduled 25 percent cut in reimbursement.

9 Dec 2010

Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center symposium aims for high-value health care system in the US

In a sustained effort to seek consensus-driven, patient-centered priorities that would build a high-value health care system, the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center hosted a symposium Dec. 5-7 entitled "Achieving the Vision: Advancing High-Value Health Care," which featured patients, providers, payers and national policy experts.

9 Dec 2010

Mortality is higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers, says study

If you need dialysis for advanced kidney disease, where you get it could make a big difference. A large study found that patients in certain large chain facilities are significantly more likely to die than those treated elsewhere. Mortality was also higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers.

9 Dec 2010

WSJ investigation: A sharp rise in specific prostate therapy parallels high Medicare payments

Roughly one in three Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with prostate cancer today gets a sophisticated form of radiation therapy called IMRT. …The story behind the sharp rise in the use of IMRT — which stands for intensity-modulated radiation therapy — is about more than just the rapid adoption of a new medical technology.

9 Dec 2010

Downstream cancer care linked to complications during surgery

Patients who have complications after colorectal cancer surgery are less likely to get chemotherapy, even when it is clearly recommended for their diagnosis, a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

9 Dec 2010

Teva, Active Biotech report positive initial results from laquinimod Phase III study in multiple sclerosis

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech announced today initial results from the two-year Phase III ALLEGRO study, which demonstrated that relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with 0.6 mg daily oral laquinimod experienced a statistically significant reduction in annualized relapse rate compared to placebo. Additional clinical endpoints, including significant reduction in disability progression, as measured by Expanded Disability Severity Scale (EDSS), were also achieved.

9 Dec 2010

Urgent reform of Medicaid-financed community care for ADHD children needed

The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 expands Medicare benefits to scores of previously uninsured individuals including many of our nation's children. While access to treatment is laudable, the quality of such treatment is the subject of an article in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

9 Dec 2010

Senators announce deal to 'fix' Medicare doctor payments - for now

Senate leaders announced a deal late Tuesday to stave off deep cuts to physicians' Medicare payments by repurposing money set aside for the health law, Politico reports. The deal, announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., changes ... "how much money consumers would have to repay if they receive too large a subsidy in the health insurance exchanges after 2014.

9 Dec 2010

Personalized medicine advocates push for better reimbursement system

The U.S. reimbursement for diagnostic tests is outdated and inhibits the development of more personalized tests for patients, according to a report released Tuesday by the Personalized Medicine Coalition.

9 Dec 2010

Three drug companies to pay $421 million in fraud settlement

Los Angeles Times: Three pharmaceutical firms — Roxane, Abbott Laboratories and B. Braun Medical — "agreed to pay more than $421 million to settle claims of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid — the latest in a string of large healthcare fraud settlements announced by the Justice Department. The drug companies charged one set of prices to doctors and pharmacies but reported another set of inflated figures that were used as benchmarks by government insurers reimbursing healthcare providers, authorities said" (Zajac, 12/8).

9 Dec 2010

Medicare News and Research

AvMed to optimize Member Services call center operation with Panviva SupportPoint

New 5-minute Memory Orientation Screening Test to identify elderly patients with dementia

Talecris initiates clinical trial to evaluate 2 doses of PROLASTIN-C for emphysema due to AAT deficiency

AACR reports majority of women do not get regular mammograms

Senate approves Medicare 'doc fix'

Rule makers in health reform hot seat; Number of administration waivers from key aspect of law climbing

Powerful GOP lawmakers clarifying plans for cutting health costs, repealing reform law

More young people in nursing homes; Home health care agencies face Medicare rate cuts

OpEds: How debt panel 'punted' on health costs; Sustainable 'doc fix;' Arizona 'death panel;' Sebelius on flu vaccine

Clarient introduces Mammostrat test to quantify likelihood of breast cancer recurrence

AARP Pennsylvania applauds U.S. Senate for protecting seniors' access to their doctors

Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center symposium aims for high-value health care system in the US

Mortality is higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers, says study

WSJ investigation: A sharp rise in specific prostate therapy parallels high Medicare payments

Downstream cancer care linked to complications during surgery

Teva, Active Biotech report positive initial results from laquinimod Phase III study in multiple sclerosis

Urgent reform of Medicaid-financed community care for ADHD children needed

Senators announce deal to 'fix' Medicare doctor payments - for now

Personalized medicine advocates push for better reimbursement system

Three drug companies to pay $421 million in fraud settlement

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