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General internists leaves practice sooner than internal medicine subspecialists, says ACP survey

A survey conducted by the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) found that 9 percent of all internists originally certified between 1990 and 1995, including a significantly larger proportion of general internists (17 percent) than internal medicine subspecialists (4 percent), are no longer working in general internal medicine or one of its subspecialties about a decade after their original certification by ABIM.

10 May 2010

Watson Pharmaceuticals reaches patent litigation settlement with Teva Women's Health

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc. has reached a settlement with Teva Women's Health, Inc. on outstanding patent litigation related to Teva's Seasonale® (levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets USP, 0.15 mg/0.03 mg) product.

10 May 2010

AARP and coalition group urge Governor to enact legislation

Legislation that will bring a sweeping reform to the way in which for-profit nursing homes operate in Illinois and that will greatly improve the quality of care and safety for institutionalized residents passed the State Senate today, and is on its way to the Governor's desk.

10 May 2010

Proposal for regular health check ups for the mentally ill

SANE Australia has revealed data that shows that nearly 90% of patients with mental illness also suffer from chronic ailments like diabetes, heart disease etc.

9 May 2010

GP practices to get funds to employ full time nurses

There are nearly 40 percent GP practices in Australia who do not employ the services of a trained nurse. Authorities believe that there are 441,000 unnecessary hospital admissions each year only because of inability of patients to manage their chronic diseases due to lack of knowledge, or their inability to get adequate follow up care.

9 May 2010

Texas CHIP program faces budget uncertainties while Arizona Governor restores funds for health care programs for the poor

Seven years ago, state leaders working to close a $9.9 billion budget gap took a hatchet to government health insurance for children of the working poor. Thousands of children paid the price when officials tightened eligibility rules and whacked dental, vision and mental health benefits. Gradually, benefits were restored to the Children's Health Insurance Program and, this month, enrollment reached roughly the same level as in 2003.

7 May 2010

PCMA releases statement on PBM Audit Reform and Transparency Act of 2010

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have pioneered tools - including incentivizing the use of generic medications, e-prescribing, and mail-service pharmacies - that improve savings, access, and safety for consumers and payers. Since the key to access is affordability, payers and policymakers alike should explore broader use of PBMs' cost-savings tools and reject approaches that make prescription drugs more expensive.

7 May 2010

Today's opinions and editorials: Health reform's paperwork and accountability in Medicare

Without the support of the AMA it is quite possible that the health-care reform initiative would have failed. So why the effort to silence other doctors? (Hal Scherz, 5/7).

7 May 2010

Kent State University receives four-year, $2.7M grant to study cognitive status of heart failure patients

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $2.7-million grant to Kent State University for a collaborative research project with Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing, Summa Health System in Akron and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland to study cognitive impairment in heart failure patients.

7 May 2010

MFA reports continued growth in number of new policies issued

The latest Medicare Supplement membership figures show continued growth in the number of new policies being issued, according to Mark Farrah Associates. The number of policies issued in the last three years increased by 1.25% in 2009 when compared to the 2008 base. Growth slacked off somewhat compared to 2008 when carriers had experienced 2.67% growth in new policies. Nonetheless, this is encouraging as Medigap carriers are positioning to introduce new Plans M and N on June 1, 2010.

7 May 2010

HCA's first-quarter 2010 revenues increased to $7.544 billion

HCA Inc. today announced financial and operating results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

7 May 2010

BioSpecifics Technologies total revenues for first-quarter increase to $2.7M

BioSpecifics Technologies Corp., a biopharmaceutical company developing first in class collagenase-based products, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. The Company also highlighted key commercial and regulatory progress during the quarter, and provided its expected milestones for the remainder of 2010.

7 May 2010

New changes to 'Extra Help' program enables more people save on prescription drug costs

Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for "Extra Help" may be eligible to pay no more than $2.50 for generic drugs and $6.30 for each brand name drug thanks to changes to Medicare's Low-Income Subsidy Program for Part D prescription drug costs (also known as LIS or "Extra Help") that take effect this year. These changes make it easier than ever for people on Medicare with limited incomes to save on their drug costs.

7 May 2010

M-3 Information introduces iPhone application for depression, anxiety disorders

M-3 Information entered the smart phone application environment by offering the M-3 Checklist, a scientifically validated screen for depression and anxiety disorders, at the iTunes store on Friday, April 30, 2010. Adapted from M-3 Information's existing mymoodmonitor.com website, this mobile version, called mym3, provides the same validated mental health questionnaire optimized for smart phones. A first in iPhone applications, mym3 is designed to create a bridge between user responses and recommendations set forth in the content-rich M3 website application.

7 May 2010

DUSA Pharmaceuticals receives notice of allowance for patent covering blue light technology

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.®, a dermatology company that is developing and marketing Levulan® Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a notice of allowance for a key patent related to its proprietary PDT light source, the BLU-U®, Blue Light Photodynamic Therapy Illuminator.

7 May 2010

CML HealthCare reports 2.3% decrease in first-quarter 2010 revenue

CML HealthCare Income Fund, today reported its financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2010.

7 May 2010

Florida health agency will use voice recognition to crack down on health fraud

The Associated Press/Miami Herald: Florida health officials announced they will "begin using voice recognition technology to verify whether patients in Miami-Dade County are actually receiving home health care services the state is being billed for."

7 May 2010

The doctor pay fix: Medicare's Groundhog Day

NPR reports on the delayed fix for Medicare physician payments, "Medicare's version of Groundhog Day."

7 May 2010

IASIS Healthcare second-quarter net revenue up 7.9% to $624.5 million

IASIS Healthcare® LLC today announced financial and operating results for the fiscal second quarter and six months ended March 31, 2010.

7 May 2010

Doctors seeing patients in groups

The Denver Post: "Jeff Wilson saw a doctor recently about his high cholesterol — and five other patients with the same problem came to his appointment. It was a 'group visit,' a growing trend in health care that allows doctors to reach more patients and patients to get more face time with their physician, even if they have to share it."

7 May 2010

Medicare News and Research

General internists leaves practice sooner than internal medicine subspecialists, says ACP survey

Watson Pharmaceuticals reaches patent litigation settlement with Teva Women's Health

AARP and coalition group urge Governor to enact legislation

Proposal for regular health check ups for the mentally ill

GP practices to get funds to employ full time nurses

Texas CHIP program faces budget uncertainties while Arizona Governor restores funds for health care programs for the poor

PCMA releases statement on PBM Audit Reform and Transparency Act of 2010

Today's opinions and editorials: Health reform's paperwork and accountability in Medicare

Kent State University receives four-year, $2.7M grant to study cognitive status of heart failure patients

MFA reports continued growth in number of new policies issued

HCA's first-quarter 2010 revenues increased to $7.544 billion

BioSpecifics Technologies total revenues for first-quarter increase to $2.7M

New changes to 'Extra Help' program enables more people save on prescription drug costs

M-3 Information introduces iPhone application for depression, anxiety disorders

DUSA Pharmaceuticals receives notice of allowance for patent covering blue light technology

CML HealthCare reports 2.3% decrease in first-quarter 2010 revenue

Florida health agency will use voice recognition to crack down on health fraud

The doctor pay fix: Medicare's Groundhog Day

IASIS Healthcare second-quarter net revenue up 7.9% to $624.5 million

Doctors seeing patients in groups

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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