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Guidance allowing children with life-limiting illness to receive both hospice care and curative treatments praised

The families of dying children who are covered under Medicaid or the Medicaid expansion Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will no longer face the choice of stopping curative treatments in order for their terminally ill child to receive quality end-of-life care from hospice.

14 Sep 2010

Physicians Against ObamaCare challenges AMA

As Americans learn what ObamaCare will mean for quality and access to medical services, "we are witnessing an ever-increasing chorus of Americans -- from think tanks to tea partiers to accountants -- who are decrying the underhanded tactics" used to get the legislation passed, including the exploitation of the AMA's claim to speak for doctors.

14 Sep 2010

As overhaul unfolds, interest in at least one change spreads across aisle

At least one aspect of the GOP's health overhaul repeal push has become bipartisan: Objections to a provision requiring businesses that file 1099 tax forms to provide line-item detail of any purchases of $600 or more in a given year, The New York Times reports. Democrats, including Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, are saying they, too, would like to change the provision.

13 Sep 2010

HealthPlus of Michigan partners with Edifecs to achieve HIPAA 5010 compliance

Edifecs, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare software solutions specializing in Healthcare Channel Modernization for HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10, announced today that HealthPlus of Michigan has selected Edifecs solutions to accelerate their efforts to meet the upcoming HIPAA 5010 compliance mandate. HealthPlus, a nonprofit health benefits company serving more than 200,000 people throughout the state of Michigan, will use Edifecs SpecBuilder and XEngine products for mapping and translation of inbound and outbound HIPAA 5010 transactions.

13 Sep 2010

3M Health Information Systems releases ICD-10 Code Translation Tool

3M Health Information Systems, an international leader in ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding and clinical terminology management, has released the 3M ICD-10 Code Translation Tool, now fully integrated with 3M's medical vocabulary server, the 3M Healthcare Data Dictionary, to provide a single source solution for translating and converting ICD-9 based applications to ICD-10.

13 Sep 2010

Obama says increased health costs are factor of expanded coverage

President Obama on Friday defended the Democrats' healthcare law, saying the enormous expansion of insurance coverage made an increase in healthcare spending inevitable, The Hill reports.

13 Sep 2010

Lawmakers plot health overhaul tax provision change, other provisions under fire

Senate aides expect Republicans and Democrats to offer competing amendments to change a tax-reporting provision in the health law. "The provision requires businesses to report to the Internal Revenue Service purchases over the course of the year that exceed $600.

13 Sep 2010

Hospitals lobby for broader health IT rewards; Mobile devices infiltrate health care

The American Hospital Association stepped up its advocacy efforts to get lawmakers to revisit a program that will reward hospitals for adopting electronic medical records by expanding its opportunities for hospital systems with multiple facilities, The Hill reports.

13 Sep 2010

Physician shortage could grow under new health law

HealthDay/Bloomberg BusinessWeek: With tens of millions of patients newly insured under the law, "[s]ome experts worry that there could be longer wait times to see a doctor, particularly in rural areas and underserved markets where primary-care physicians are in short supply. … [P]rimary-care physicians make up only 35 percent of America's physician workforce, and the pipeline of fresh talent is tapering off.

10 Sep 2010

CMS issues hospice benefit guidance for terminally sick kids

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a guidance Thursday regarding a health overhaul mandate that state Medicaid programs allow terminally ill kids to get curative treatment even if they take hospice benefits, The Hill's Healthwatch Blog reports.

10 Sep 2010

Dartmouth study says primary care not always a cure-all

A new study by Dartmouth Health Atlas researchers contends that making primary care more widely accessible -- one of the goals of the health overhaul -- won't necessarily improve the nation's health, Reuters reports. The researchers found wide variations in the quality of care that do not always match up with the level of access to physicians.

10 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Health Affairs: Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers And Retail Clinics - Researchers analyzed samples of patient records and found "13.7 percent of all emergency department visits could take place at a retail clinic" - 7.9 percent when hours are restricted - and "an additional 13.4 percent of emergency department visits could take place at a urgent care center—8.9 percent when hours are restricted.

10 Sep 2010

Clinica of Virginia offers medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for $1.00

In an effort to promote wellness and help those who are struggling to make ends meet, Clinica of Virginia, LLC. is providing quality medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for only $1.00. The national economic downturn, combined with national bureaucracy, has created a shortage of physicians and clinics who accept Medicare and Medicaid. Chronic, multiple medical conditions plague those Americans who can financially afford it the least, and physicians' offices who accept Medicare or Medicaid are now far and few between. Clinica accepts both.

10 Sep 2010

Doctor works to measure outcomes of provider care

Forbes profiles "the most powerful doctor you never heard of," a Yale cardiologist who does "outcomes research" in which he measures "how well doctors are doing in the real world, outside of controlled trials--what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong and what they are forgetting to do entirely."

10 Sep 2010

IASIS Healthcare signs agreement to acquire Brim Holdings

IASIS Healthcare today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Brim Holdings, Inc., which operates Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas, and Pikes Peak Regional Hospital in Woodland Park, Colorado, in a cash-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $95 million, subject to customary closing conditions and working capital adjustments. Combined revenue of the two facilities is approximately $120 million.

10 Sep 2010

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the commonwealth is among the 103 Pennsylvania employers accepted into a federal program to help offset the rising health care costs for retirees.

10 Sep 2010

K-V successfully completes FDA inspection for resumption of manufacturing and shipment of products

K-V Pharmaceutical Company announced today that it has received notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") of the successful completion of an inspection of the Company's facilities and approval to return its first product to market. Under the Company's Consent Decree, successful FDA inspections of the Company's quality systems, processes and facilities are expected to be required before K-V is permitted to resume manufacturing and shipment of particular products.

10 Sep 2010

Illinois HFS selects Centene subsidiary for managed care services

Centene Corporation announced today its new subsidiary, IlliniCare Health Plan, was selected by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) as one of one of two vendors to provide managed care services to approximately 40,000 Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities in six Chicago area counties.

10 Sep 2010

New national assessment tool for nursing home residents

A fundamental shift will take place in skilled nursing homes beginning in October following the work of a California-based researcher and a team of investigators that has developed a new national assessment tool for nursing home residents.

10 Sep 2010

InHealth continues support for Northwestern and Duke with follow-on grants of over $830,000

The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth) has awarded two follow-on grants totaling more than $830,000 to research teams at Northwestern University and Duke University.

10 Sep 2010

Medicare News and Research

Guidance allowing children with life-limiting illness to receive both hospice care and curative treatments praised

Physicians Against ObamaCare challenges AMA

As overhaul unfolds, interest in at least one change spreads across aisle

HealthPlus of Michigan partners with Edifecs to achieve HIPAA 5010 compliance

3M Health Information Systems releases ICD-10 Code Translation Tool

Obama says increased health costs are factor of expanded coverage

Lawmakers plot health overhaul tax provision change, other provisions under fire

Hospitals lobby for broader health IT rewards; Mobile devices infiltrate health care

Physician shortage could grow under new health law

CMS issues hospice benefit guidance for terminally sick kids

Dartmouth study says primary care not always a cure-all

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Clinica of Virginia offers medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for $1.00

Doctor works to measure outcomes of provider care

IASIS Healthcare signs agreement to acquire Brim Holdings

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

K-V successfully completes FDA inspection for resumption of manufacturing and shipment of products

Illinois HFS selects Centene subsidiary for managed care services

New national assessment tool for nursing home residents

InHealth continues support for Northwestern and Duke with follow-on grants of over $830,000

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The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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