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Annual spring conference to focus on behavioral health services for children, youth and young adults

Developing comprehensive behavioral health services for children, youth, young adults and families will be the subject of the annual spring conference of Community Care, a nonprofit behavioral health managed care organization that is part of UPMC and based in Pittsburgh.

29 Jan 2010

ECRI Institute publishes Health Devices guidance article for hospitals

Electronic health records (EHRs) are the future of medical record keeping. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes incentive payments for hospitals that adopt an EHR, but the timetable for implementation is especially tight.

29 Jan 2010

Patients with hearing, vision and speech disabilities to be provided with auxiliary aids and services

Patients with hearing, vision, and speech disabilities, who receive care at University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics, will be screened and provided with auxiliary aids and services as required by federal law under a Resolution Agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

29 Jan 2010

AHRQ and American College Of Cardiology team up to study risks and benefits of ICDs

A $3.5 million research project that will study the long-term benefits and risks of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in patients at risk of death from ventricular fibrillation will be supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American College of Cardiology, the two groups announced today.

29 Jan 2010

One in five nursing homes receive poor quality ratings, analysis finds

USA Today: "One in five of the nation's 15,700 nursing homes have consistently received poor ratings for overall quality, a USA Today analysis of new government data finds. More than a quarter-million patients live in homes given another set of low scores within the past year, according to data released today by Medicare, which first released the star ratings of the nation's nursing homes in late 2008.

29 Jan 2010

Obama appeals for health reform despite recent setbacks

The New York Times reports that "after spending 2009 emphasizing that a health care overhaul was his top domestic priority, Mr. Obama gave it much less prominence in his [State of the Union] address. He did not mention it until more than half an hour in — a sign of how imperiled the bill has become."

29 Jan 2010

NovaSom Diagnostic System approved for diagnostic evaluation of adults with OSA

Some 18-20 million Americans are at risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and of those, only 5 to 10 percent have been diagnosed. Studies prove that fatality is a major risk of undiagnosed and untreated OSA; however, once detected, OSA can be readily and successfully treated.

29 Jan 2010

Increased cost sharing may hurt seniors' health care

Cost sharing and increased co-pays, even if it's just a few dollars, can lead seniors to put off visits to the doctor and result in increased hospital admissions and longer hospital stays, according to a new study.

28 Jan 2010

Mcdonnell says Democratic agenda, including health care effort, is too expensive

In his response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said the nation cannot afford the Democratic agenda, including health care, The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2010

Federal panel awards almost $500 million to La. to replace New Orleans Charity Hospital

Ending one of the longest-running disputes left by Hurricane Katrina, a federal arbitration panel ruled Wednesday that Louisiana would receive $474.8 million — nearly all it had requested — to pay for the replacement of Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which has been closed since the storm.

28 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 28, 2010

It's the morning after the State of the Union address. What's the state of health reform?

28 Jan 2010

National summit to focus on new ways of eliminating health care fraud

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder will convene a “National Summit on Health Care Fraud” on Thursday January 28, bringing together leaders from the public and private sectors to identify and discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse in the U.S. health care system.

28 Jan 2010

Centering Healthcare Institute receives the Cares Award for its CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care program

Centering Healthcare Institute has been honored by the Premier healthcare alliance with the 18th Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award for its CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care program, which provides an innovative prenatal group care model now present in more than 300 sites across America. Centering Healthcare Institute last night received the Cares Award and $70,000 for the work it has done to provide care to mothers and babies nationwide.

28 Jan 2010

American Academy of Actuaries urges policymakers to reform national financial security and fiscal health

As President Obama readies his State of the Union address, the American Academy of Actuaries is urging policymakers to adopt four cornerstones to focus the nation's domestic policy agenda to improve the financial security of all Americans and restore the nation's fiscal health.

28 Jan 2010

National home care and health care leaders launch national home-health quality-improvement campaign

National home care and health care leaders kicked off an 18-month national home-health quality-improvement campaign this month at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) headquarters.

28 Jan 2010

Med-IC aims to improve health care for older adults

The Medicare Innovations Collaborative, or Med-IC, is a pilot program that will put some of the nation’s best ideas for improving health care for older adults into practice at hospitals around the country, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University announced.

28 Jan 2010

Medicare false claims: Los Angeles DME company owner pleads guilty

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to submitting nearly $1 million in false claims to Medicare, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney George S. Cardona for the Central District of California.

28 Jan 2010

Researchers urge for a national health trust for personal and public health

The United States has an inefficient and expensive health care system, but it could be improved with a new integrated health care system detailed in a new study in the American Journal of Public Health (February 2010 Vol. 100 No. 2).

28 Jan 2010

Health organizations urge Congress to protect Medicare beneficiaries' access to critical rehabilitative services

A coalition of organizations representing consumers, health professionals and providers recently sent a letter to Congressional Leadership, calling for the immediate reinstatement of the exceptions process for Medicare Part B outpatient therapy services. Without such efforts, thousands of Medicare beneficiaries will exceed arbitrary limitations on physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services.

28 Jan 2010

Epidemiological study shows Parkinson's disease is more common among whites and Hispanics

The largest epidemiological study of Parkinson's disease in the United States has found that the disease is more common in the Midwest and the Northeast and is twice as likely to strike whites and Hispanics as blacks and Asians.

28 Jan 2010

Medicare News and Research

Annual spring conference to focus on behavioral health services for children, youth and young adults

ECRI Institute publishes Health Devices guidance article for hospitals

Patients with hearing, vision and speech disabilities to be provided with auxiliary aids and services

AHRQ and American College Of Cardiology team up to study risks and benefits of ICDs

One in five nursing homes receive poor quality ratings, analysis finds

Obama appeals for health reform despite recent setbacks

NovaSom Diagnostic System approved for diagnostic evaluation of adults with OSA

Increased cost sharing may hurt seniors' health care

Mcdonnell says Democratic agenda, including health care effort, is too expensive

Federal panel awards almost $500 million to La. to replace New Orleans Charity Hospital

First Edition: January 28, 2010

National summit to focus on new ways of eliminating health care fraud

Centering Healthcare Institute receives the Cares Award for its CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care program

American Academy of Actuaries urges policymakers to reform national financial security and fiscal health

National home care and health care leaders launch national home-health quality-improvement campaign

Med-IC aims to improve health care for older adults

Medicare false claims: Los Angeles DME company owner pleads guilty

Researchers urge for a national health trust for personal and public health

Health organizations urge Congress to protect Medicare beneficiaries' access to critical rehabilitative services

Epidemiological study shows Parkinson's disease is more common among whites and Hispanics

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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