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Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer,' report finds

The Associated Press: "Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer' as well as its likely leading cause of death, the American Cancer Society contends in a new report it will present at a global cancer conference in China this week. Cancer costs more in productivity and lost life than AIDS, malaria, the flu and other diseases that spread person-to-person, the report concludes.

18 Aug 2010

HealthGrades honors Eastern Long Island Hospital with Outstanding Patient Experience Award

Eastern Long Island Hospital (ELIH) is among the top 15 percent in the nation for patient experience based on an analysis of patient surveys from 3,775 hospitals across the country by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. By placing in the top 15 percent, ELIH received the 2010/2011 HealthGrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award(TM).

17 Aug 2010

Natick VNA offers checklist to help patients make informed choice of home health care provider

Home from the hospital already? As stays for hospital patients grow progressively shorter, even for procedures as serious as repairing a brain aneurysm or inserting a pacemaker, patients' need for highly skilled nursing care at home is growing. Indeed, every week, thousands of these patients are referred to home health care services.

17 Aug 2010

Hospitals save $284 million through Premier's Quality Connect quality improvement program

Hospitals participating in a Premier healthcare alliance quality improvement program have saved more than $284 million over the past year through improvements in clinical performance and enhancements in professional practice evaluation.

17 Aug 2010

Emdeon and Noridian Mutual Insurance enter strategic relationship

Emdeon Inc., a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced a strategic relationship with Noridian Mutual Insurance Company (NMIC), doing business as Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, and Noridian Administrative Services, LLC (NAS). NMIC provides quality health care coverage and additional supplemental coverage for those seeking medical, life, disability, long-term care and related insurance coverage.

17 Aug 2010

Simple, low-cost interventions reduce most common hospital-acquired infections

Urinary catheters are often left in place longer than needed, and new research shows that reminder systems that encourage hospital staff to remove catheters promptly can reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 52 percent.

17 Aug 2010

Cambridge Heart second quarter 2010 total revenue decreases 18%

Cambridge Heart, Inc., today reported results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010. Full financial statements and corresponding commentary can be found in the Company's Form 10-Q, which is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 16, 2010.

17 Aug 2010

Hospitals address slashed payments, technology investments and rehospitalizations

Boston Herald: Massachusetts hospital officials say that reduced federal and state payments may destabilize health care delivery. The state's combined Medicaid and CHIP program, known as MassHealth, plans to cut hospital reimbursements "by $75 million in its main contract between hospitals and MassHealth, according to the Massachusetts Hospital Association, which cited 'discussions' with the state in outlining the proposed cut to its members over the weekend.

17 Aug 2010

As EMR vision takes shape, doctors brace — especially those who are late in their careers

The vision of a fully wired health system — the goal of a push by doctors, hospitals and the federal government — is coalescing at a Michigan hospital, the Detroit Free Press reports. "Patients at some of the state's largest health systems over the next few years, for example, will have hospital rooms wired into a computer system that lets them see their vital signs, medicines and the name and photograph of the hospital staffer who enters their room.

17 Aug 2010

Doctors online

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plans for e-health mean that physicians will be able to diagnose patients using webcams over the internet under a hi-tech health policy. Ms Gillard launched her futuristic health plans in Brisbane yesterday. Under this $392 million health plan, families with home computers will be able to get access to an after hours online doctor using webcams and internet messaging services such as Skype from July 2012. Services would improve once the Government rolls out its high-speed national broadband network.

16 Aug 2010

Politics and Health Reform: Democrats, Republicans trying to sway seniors

The Associated Press: Democrats, "running scared in an election year," are hopeful that a $250 check - to help seniors afford prescription drugs - will turn the tide of public opinion. "Democrats ... are trying to overcome older people's mistrust of the new health care law, which expands coverage for younger generations by cutting Medicare payments to hospitals and insurers. … Behind the hoopla, the reality is modest. The $250 check, for example, is just a fraction of what many people in the prescription coverage gap have to pay.

16 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Challenges for independent Medicare board; Lack of independent analysis of Medicare finances; Medical schools shouldn't fear restrictions on ties to industry

One of the most promising aspects of the new health-care reform is the creation of an independent board to recommend changes in federal health programs and a fast-track provision that would allow these changes to take effect automatically unless Congress comes up with alternatives that would save a similar amount (8/16).

16 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 16, 2010

Today's headlines reflect coverage of state health reform implementation issues as well as other emerging policy issues in the nation's health system.

16 Aug 2010

Retirees give thumbs up to health insurance exchanges

The reviews are in, and retirees give the thumbs up to health insurance exchanges. In an independent survey of 443 retirees who use a health insurance exchange to compare and choose private individual Medicare and supplement plans, 85% of their reviews were positive.

16 Aug 2010

Johns Hopkins Professor develops ‘CAPABLE’ study to identify solutions on health challenges

In Baltimore City, dozens of older adults are now aging safely in their homes, thanks to the work of Assistant Professor Sarah L. Szanton, PhD, CRNP, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

16 Aug 2010

Watson to launch ella emergency contraceptive in fourth-quarter 2010

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that it intends to launch ella® (ulipristal acetate), a novel oral emergency contraceptive, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Watson's announcement follows the approval of ella® by the FDA as safe and effective in preventing unintended pregnancy for up to 120 hours – or five days – post-unprotected intercourse (UPI) or contraceptive failure.

16 Aug 2010

Medicare fraudsters shift targets a la "whack-a-mole"

The Economist: In an effort to staunch the flow of up to $60 billion a year to Medicare fraudsters, federal officials are launching a series of new safeguards that target program areas favored by the con artists. "The Department of Health and Human Services is setting up data systems to monitor payments. A telephone-monitoring programme, with voice-recognition, will verify that health-care workers really are making home visits.

16 Aug 2010

Medicare disability recipient dies of brain tumor after having coverage interrupted

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Paula Oertel, whose brain tumor disappeared for nine years while she was on an expensive drug and returned after she temporarily lost her insurance coverage, has died as a result of the tumor spreading through her brain. The interruption of her Medicare coverage of the drug directly contributed to her death, contends her doctor, Mark Malkin, chief of neuro-oncology at Froedtert Hospital.

16 Aug 2010

Treatment for diabetics cost U.S. hospitals 25% more than stays for non-diabetics

U.S. hospitals spent $83 billion in 2008 caring for people with diabetes, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In that year, nearly one of every five hospitalizations involved a person with diabetes.

16 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

Health Affairs: Medicare Doesn't Work As Well For Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does For Older Enrollees - This paper examines "how well Medicare works for [the 8 million] nonelderly disabled beneficiaries compared to the elderly, based on findings from a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries conducted in 2008 by the Kaiser Family Foundation."

16 Aug 2010

Medicare News and Research

Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer,' report finds

HealthGrades honors Eastern Long Island Hospital with Outstanding Patient Experience Award

Natick VNA offers checklist to help patients make informed choice of home health care provider

Hospitals save $284 million through Premier's Quality Connect quality improvement program

Emdeon and Noridian Mutual Insurance enter strategic relationship

Simple, low-cost interventions reduce most common hospital-acquired infections

Cambridge Heart second quarter 2010 total revenue decreases 18%

Hospitals address slashed payments, technology investments and rehospitalizations

As EMR vision takes shape, doctors brace — especially those who are late in their careers

Doctors online

Politics and Health Reform: Democrats, Republicans trying to sway seniors

Today's Opinions: Challenges for independent Medicare board; Lack of independent analysis of Medicare finances; Medical schools shouldn't fear restrictions on ties to industry

First Edition: August 16, 2010

Retirees give thumbs up to health insurance exchanges

Johns Hopkins Professor develops ‘CAPABLE’ study to identify solutions on health challenges

Watson to launch ella emergency contraceptive in fourth-quarter 2010

Medicare fraudsters shift targets a la "whack-a-mole"

Medicare disability recipient dies of brain tumor after having coverage interrupted

Treatment for diabetics cost U.S. hospitals 25% more than stays for non-diabetics

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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