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Today's OpEds: A new breed of medical education, more on the Medicare 'doc fix,' efforts to cut health care waste

Medical schools in particular may transform the way healthcare is practiced and viewed by the general community and its leaders. The medical school with this focus will not only pursue traditional missions like research and teaching students diagnostic skills but also emphasize community involvement, local medicine, social consciousness and local cultural issues (Dr. John Rock, 6/28).

28 Jun 2010

Medicare turns to more comprehensive tools to find fraud

Federal Times: The Recovery Board, which oversees the $275 billion economic stimulus package that was approved by the federal government in 2009, is using a software platform from Palantir Technologies, based in Palo Alto, Calif. "The software tool analyzes information contained on various government-maintained databases — GSA's list of suspended or debarred contractors, the Treasury Department's financial crimes network and other law enforcement records — along with open-source data such as newspaper articles, lawsuits and other public documents.

28 Jun 2010

KHN column: The Medicare 'doc fix': How to make political lemonade

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Austin Frakt writes: "The mechanism that governs the growth rate of Medicare spending on physician services isn't working.

28 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 28, 2010

Today's health policy headlines continue to track the tax package difficulties faced by Senate Democrats in their efforts to extend the COBRA benefit subsidy and enhanced Medicaid funding for states.

28 Jun 2010

OPQC Scheduled Birth Initiative reduces unnecessary planned late pre-term, near-term deliveries in Ohio

A statewide Ohio program significantly reduced the monthly rate of inappropriately scheduled births before 39 weeks gestation, helping to avoid expensive neonatal intensive care unit admissions and decrease the risk of infant deaths, according to two studies by the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

28 Jun 2010

Senate fails to pass 'extenders' bill, state Medicaid funding

After a bill to extend jobs and economic relief programs failed for the third time in the Senate Thursday, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would withdraw the bill, Politico reports. The legislation included financial relief for states, including billions to support Medicaid programs.

28 Jun 2010

Kansas doctor and wife found guilty of prescribing painkillers, causing deaths

"A federal jury Thursday found a Kansas doctor and his wife guilty of conspiring to profit from illegally prescribing painkillers to dozens of patients who later died, in a case highlighting medical treatment of chronic pain sufferers and prescription drug abuse."

28 Jun 2010

Insurer sees coming health insurer 'oligopoly,' doctors band together on system changes

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that health insurer WellPoint's investor-relations chief said Thursday that health insurers are "moving towards an oligopoly" accelerated by the new law. "New regulations on administrative spending and premium increases will push some independent insurers out of business or into deals with bigger rivals, said Michael Kleinman, vice president for investor relations, at a Wells Fargo & Co. conference in Boston.

28 Jun 2010

Bayer signs agreement to supply Adalat XL product to Teva Canada

Bayer Inc. and Teva Canada Limited today announced they have entered an agreement regarding Bayer's Adalat XL (nifedipine) 20, 30 and 60 mg product. Effective immediately, Bayer Inc. will supply Adalat XL exclusively to Teva Canada Limited and Teva Canada Limited will become the sole distributor in Canada of brand name Adalat XL product.

28 Jun 2010

Pennsylvania reports drop in hospital infections, other patient care issues include CT scans

The Pennsylvania Department of Health found that 12.5 percent fewer patients contracted infections in the state's hospitals in 2009 than a year earlier, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But the reports shows that there were 25,914 infections in 2009. "'Though the report seems to show we're making progress, 25,914 is still a very large number and shows we still have our work cut out for us in bringing that number down,' Stephen Ostroff, the state's acting physician general, said Thursday.

25 Jun 2010

House passes 6-month Medicare 'doc fix,' Obama to sign bill

Last night, the House approved, 417-1, a Senate bill staving off a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. Some lawmakers grumbled the bill doesn't go far enough.

25 Jun 2010

Friday opinions: Mandate to buy insurance; Medicare and 'political game'

If Americans want a private health insurance system that does not base the price of individually sold policies on that individual's health status and that does not allow an insurer to refuse to sell a policy because of an individual's health issues, then they should accept a mandate that all Americans purchase at least a minimum package of health insurance (Uwe Reinhardt, 6/25).

25 Jun 2010

Prescription Solutions introduces Clinical Vantage to improve health and well-being of members

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefit management organization and a UnitedHealth Group company, has launched Clinical Vantage, a suite of clinical programs that enables clients to create specialized solutions to meet their particular needs to improve the health and well-being of members.

25 Jun 2010

Research roundup: Docs' views of industry gifts; Chemotherapy payments; Health law and states

How Medicare's Payment Cuts For Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs Changed Patterns Of Treatment -- This study examines the impact that Medicare payment cuts for chemotherapy drugs had on treatment for Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed lung cancer, before and after implementation of the June 2005 new payment system, focusing on five chemotherapy drugs "in common use singly or jointly for lung cancer..."

25 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 25, 2010

Today's headlines reflect the latest news about the House passing a temporary ban on cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, while Senate Democrats failed to gain approval for their jobs bill, which included enhanced Medicaid aid to states.

25 Jun 2010

HHS Secretary to speak about benefits of Affordable Care Act for women

Today, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will speak to the National Partnership for Women and Families about how the Affordable Care Act will benefit women.

25 Jun 2010

Thomson Reuters names Mayo Clinic as one of top 10 hospital systems in the country

Mayo Clinic, for the second year in a row, has been a named a top U.S. health system, according to a Thomson Reuters survey that analyzed the quality and efficiency of 255 health systems across the country. Mayo Clinic, as an enterprise organization operating in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, was ranked among the 10 top performers.

25 Jun 2010

June 2010 independent survey of retirees covered by Medicare

A June 2010 independent survey of 408 retirees covered by Medicare revealed that 90 days after the passage of health care reform legislation 64% are "very" or "somewhat" confident Medicare will be available the rest of their lives, but just 23% have the same confidence it will be here for their children. The survey further revealed that 61% of respondents are "not" confident that Medicare will be here for their children and another 14% are "unsure."

25 Jun 2010

Surgical care improvement measures associated with lower probability of postoperative infection: JAMA

An analysis of data on adherence to surgical care improvement measures finds that when analyzed as a composite infection-prevention score, the improvement measures were associated with a lower probability of postoperative infection. However, adherence to individual measures - the format of publicly reported performance data - was not associated with a significantly lower risk of infection, according to a study in the June 23/30 issue of JAMA.

25 Jun 2010

House will take up stand-alone 'doc fix' as senate tries once again to advance broader jobs bill

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House may pass a bill as early as Thursday evening that would spare doctors from cuts in Medicare payments." This legislation also is part of a larger piece measure that provides assistance to states and extends some unemployment benefits. "Pelosi said it is "clear" the Senate will be unable to pass the larger bill, so the House is considering passing a much smaller bill that deals only with Medicare payment for doctors."

25 Jun 2010

Medicare News and Research

Today's OpEds: A new breed of medical education, more on the Medicare 'doc fix,' efforts to cut health care waste

Medicare turns to more comprehensive tools to find fraud

KHN column: The Medicare 'doc fix': How to make political lemonade

First Edition: June 28, 2010

OPQC Scheduled Birth Initiative reduces unnecessary planned late pre-term, near-term deliveries in Ohio

Senate fails to pass 'extenders' bill, state Medicaid funding

Kansas doctor and wife found guilty of prescribing painkillers, causing deaths

Insurer sees coming health insurer 'oligopoly,' doctors band together on system changes

Bayer signs agreement to supply Adalat XL product to Teva Canada

Pennsylvania reports drop in hospital infections, other patient care issues include CT scans

House passes 6-month Medicare 'doc fix,' Obama to sign bill

Friday opinions: Mandate to buy insurance; Medicare and 'political game'

Prescription Solutions introduces Clinical Vantage to improve health and well-being of members

Research roundup: Docs' views of industry gifts; Chemotherapy payments; Health law and states

First Edition: June 25, 2010

HHS Secretary to speak about benefits of Affordable Care Act for women

Thomson Reuters names Mayo Clinic as one of top 10 hospital systems in the country

June 2010 independent survey of retirees covered by Medicare

Surgical care improvement measures associated with lower probability of postoperative infection: JAMA

House will take up stand-alone 'doc fix' as senate tries once again to advance broader jobs bill

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (2nd Edition) eBook

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How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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