Medicare News and Research

RSS

Getting the 4-1-1 on waiting times at the emergency room

The Associated Press: Hospitals are increasingly using messaging systems, such as online notices, text messages or flashing billboards, to let people know how long the wait is at local emergency rooms. "It's a marketing move aimed at less urgent patients, not the true emergencies that automatically go to the front of the line anyway.

25 Aug 2010

Urologix 2010 fourth quarter net loss decreases 28.9% to $0.04 per share

Urologix, a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets minimally invasive Cooled ThermoTherapy™ technology to urologists to provide a durable and effective in-office treatment for patients suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), today reported financial results for its fourth quarter ended June 30, 2010 and for fiscal year 2010.

25 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 24, 2010

In today's headlines, a federal court judge blocks the Obama administration's stem cell policy. Meanwhile, state action related to health reform and health policy continues.

24 Aug 2010

Premier Purchasing Partners announces new agreements for surgical mesh, biological mesh

Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, today announced new agreements for surgical mesh and biological mesh. Surgical mesh product agreements have been awarded to: Atrium Medical Corp of Hudson, N.H.; Davol Inc. of Warwick, R.I.; Covidien of Mansfield, Mass.; and Medline Industries Inc. of Mundelein, Ill.

24 Aug 2010

Humana and Availity deploy CarePrescribe to Kentucky Physicians at no charge

Humana Inc. and Availity, LLC today announced the deployment of CarePrescribe, an electronic prescribing service, at no charge to eligible physician practices in Kentucky. Following the successful introduction of Availity CarePrescribe in Florida and Texas - where approximately 2,000 physicians are using the system - Kentucky physicians now have access to the free service as a valuable tool in improving efficiency, safety and quality, while reducing patient costs.

24 Aug 2010

Canadian Nurses Association to lead in development of national strategy for aging and health

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is poised to take on a leadership role in developing a national strategy for aging and health as Canadians reveal they are increasingly worried about the future of their health-care system.

24 Aug 2010

HHS to offer $32 million to increase health care access for rural Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today more than $32 million in FY 2010 funds to increase access to health care for Americans living in rural areas. The funds reach across seven programs administered by the Office of Rural Health Policy in HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration.

24 Aug 2010

Rural development in Australia

Rural health services in Australia are in bad shape. Cancer mortality rates are higher, waiting lines for doctor visits are longer, and budget share of Medicare spending is lower. Despite this the issue has not drawn the attention of the election campaign.

23 Aug 2010

Medica teams up with OptumHealth to deliver CDHPs to all commercial health plan customers

Medica today announced that it has teamed with OptumHealth Financial Services to deliver consumer-directed health plans to all of Medica's commercial health plan customers - making Medica the first health plan in Minnesota to offer a full spectrum of health benefit services to employers of all sizes.

23 Aug 2010

Publix Super Markets to introduce flu immunization program

"Flu clinics are an extension of the services our pharmacies provide to our customers as a convenient and affordable way to receive their vaccinations," said Maria Brous, Publix director of media and community relations. "At Publix, our pharmacies are dedicated to building relationships with our customers and their families for total health and wellness all year long."

23 Aug 2010

Today's opinions: More on the trustee's report, cutting the deficit

Republicans claim to be deeply worried about the deficit — their favorite political target, followed closely by President Obama's relentlessly demonized health care reform. So why are they so determined to overturn one of the central cost-control mechanisms of the new reform law? (8/21).

23 Aug 2010

Health overhaul raises regulators' profiles, confuses consumers

Modern Healthcare's 2010 list of the sector's most powerful players is out, and because of the health law, regulators in usually lower-profile federal agencies have carved out places near the top of the roster for the second year in a row. The magazine reports, "Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, stood at No. 31 on the list three years ago. This year, just as in 2009, she holds the No. 7 spot. Clancy's clout has risen with the agency, which was created 20 years ago to support and conduct healthcare outcomes research."

23 Aug 2010

RelayHealth achieves full accreditation with ePAP from EHNAC

RelayHealth, a leading provider of healthcare connectivity services, announced today that it has achieved full accreditation with the e-Prescribing Accreditation Program from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission. EHNAC's ePAP accreditation demonstrates the operational integrity of companies that use e-prescribing, by ensuring compliance with HIPAA regulations, accommodation of industry standards and proper use of relevant formats.

23 Aug 2010

Scientific findings provide new information on prostate cancer care

A new analysis has found that short-term and long-term costs of prostate cancer care vary considerably based on which treatment strategy a man initially receives. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study finds that treatments that may be less expensive in the short-term may have higher long-term costs.

23 Aug 2010

Study suggests PFP programs can improve RTAT, enhance patient care

A pay-for-performance (PFP) program implemented at one of the nation's largest general hospitals appeared to have a marked effect on expediting final radiology report turnaround times (RTAT), improving patient care, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

21 Aug 2010

Clinica of Virginia signs contracts with major insurance providers

Exmovere Holdings, Inc a biomedical engineering company, today announced that Clinica of Virginia, LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary, which now provides local patients with affordable, quality medical services has signed contracts with major insurance providers, Medicare, and Medicaid.

21 Aug 2010

Cedars-Sinai opens Advanced Heart Failure Unit in California

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute has opened an innovative 30-bed in-patient unit dedicated to providing advanced heart failure patients with an intensive, multidisciplinary approach to inpatient care.

20 Aug 2010

Medicare Part D cost estimate drops 41%: PCMA

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement on research cited by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that found the most recent 10-year cost estimate for Medicare Part D came in at $373 billion, a 41 percent drop from the initial cost estimate of $634 billion for 2004-2013

20 Aug 2010

Cancer patients may live longer with palliative and hospice care services: Study

A new study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, those who received palliative care lived, on average, almost two months longer than those who received standard care. Researchers also found that the patients receiving palliative care reported a higher quality of life through the final course of their illness.

20 Aug 2010

AHRQ grant allows Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative to develop birth-related injury reduction tehniques

The Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded a three-year demonstration grant for not-for-profit entities to Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis to extend a national collaborative that is reducing birth-related injuries.

20 Aug 2010