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CCHIT certifies Eclipsys’ PeakPractice EMR/PM solution

Eclipsys Corporation®, The Outcomes Company®, today announced that the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) has listed its PeakPractice™ solution (version 1093) a CCHIT Certified® 08 Ambulatory electronic health record (EHR), and meets the Certification Commission’s EHR criteria for office-based use.

12 Oct 2009

Socioeconomic and geographic disparities in the use of breast-conservating therapy

According to a new study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, although breast-conserving surgery (BCS), commonly known as lumpectomy, is increasingly being used to treat older women with nonmetastatic invasive breast cancer, there are still significant socioeconomic and geographic disparities in the use of this type of therapy.

12 Oct 2009

Concord Coalition sends list of suggestions concerning the healthcare reform bill

In the coming days, you have the unenviable task of combining the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform bill with the bill that emerged from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Aware of the difficulty and the competing pressures you face, we have identified in the attached memorandum key areas where we believe the potential of the legislation to produce fiscal gains can be strengthened. We hope our views will help guide your work -- consistent with fiscal responsibility and sustainability.

12 Oct 2009

CBO: Medical malpractice reform would save $54 billion over 10 years

The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that reforming some aspects of medical malpractice law would reduce the federal deficit by $54 billion over a decade.

12 Oct 2009

Critical moments ahead for health reform legislation

News outlets looked ahead as the President and Capitol Hill lawmakers prepare for Tuesday's vote in the Senate Finance Committee on health overhaul legislation.

12 Oct 2009

Dems get boost from another Republican supporting health reform

Former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Thomas Scully is the latest Republican to throw his support behind health care reform.

12 Oct 2009

Caring for Alzheimer's patients proves costly

Newsday reports that the high cost of caring for Alzheimer's patients "can easily deplete even the deepest bank account. Because the disease lasts so long - anywhere from two to 20 years, depending on the stage at diagnosis - and because the type of care needed often falls beyond the scope of government health care programs, families find themselves scrambling to find the money needed to maintain care for their loved one."

9 Oct 2009

Lawmakers renew demands for public option in health bill

Senate and House Democrats are renewing their calls for a strong government-run public option in their respective chambers.

9 Oct 2009

PFCD releases the updated comparison of chronic care provisions contained within health reform bill

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) today released an updated comparison of chronic care provisions contained within health reform legislation to reflect the amended Senate Finance Committee proposal. The amended "Chairman's Mark" includes numerous provisions to prevent and manage chronic disease, the top cost driver in health care, as do the two other major pieces of health reform legislation under consideration in Congress.

9 Oct 2009

Today's editorials and opinions

After years of struggling with costs that were eating into his bottom line, David White, a small business owner in Maine, recently dropped health insurance for himself and his employees. It was a nerve-wracking decision (Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., 10/8).

9 Oct 2009

Health policy research roundup

Urban Institute: Variation in Insurance Coverage Across Congressional Districts New Estimates from 2008 -- Drawing from data from the American Community Survey, the authors of this brief explore the variation in rates of uninsurance, public and private coverage across congressional districts.

9 Oct 2009

Hospital-insurer tug of war leaves patients in middle

The Washington Post reports on a health care battle between a hospital and insurers that is leaving patients caught in the middle. At Bayonne Medical Center in New Jersey, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield delivered letters to patients at the hospital "warning that the patient would face a huge hospital bill if he did not leave right away."

9 Oct 2009

Arizona clinic stops accepting Medicare, some Penn. Medicare Advantage plans cancelled

The Arizona Republic reports: "One of the Mayo Clinic's two family-medicine practices in Arizona soon will stop accepting Medicare, leaving thousands of patients to pay out of pocket for routine doctor's visits or find a new physician." The changes go in effect on Jan. 1 and apply to primary-care services at the Mayo Clinic Family Medicine-Arrowhead.

9 Oct 2009

Health industries: Changes could kill health reform bill

Insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers are concerned that changes in a Senate bill could derail efforts — and their agreement — to overhaul the nation's health care system.

9 Oct 2009

Fox News Channel airs misleading data from HHS

Doug Harrison, CEO and Founder of The SCOOTER Store, is outraged that misleading data from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General's report was recently cited during a Fox News Channel segment on the costs of providing medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries.

9 Oct 2009

Are doctors to blame? NPR reports on what drives up medical costs

NPR reports on how decisions by doctors can drive up medical consumption, published as part of a partnership with This American Life. The story is the first in a three-part series about why American health care costs are so high.

9 Oct 2009

Manual microdissection to remove biopsy cavities from breast cancer specimens essential

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced results from a study demonstrating the critical role of manual microdissection to remove all biopsy cavities from breast cancer specimens. Genomic Health's Oncotype DX is the only commercially available breast cancer test that employs manual microdissection following review by a board certified surgical pathologist with breast expertise to predict a patient's benefit from chemotherapy and risk of disease recurrence.

9 Oct 2009

AST assembles at Capitol Hill to support health care reform for kidney transplant recipients

As Congress wraps up work on health care reform, members of the American Society of Transplantation's (AST) Public Policy Committee arrived on Capitol Hill today to discuss the importance of supporting a health care provision that would ensure kidney transplant recipients continue to receive.

9 Oct 2009

Persistent, growing disparities underscore the need for national reform

The cost and quality of health care, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's second state scorecard report released today.

9 Oct 2009

One-third of long-term care executives believe the new QIS process to improve quality of care

As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services roll out the new nursing home Quality Indicator Survey process to states around the country, a new poll reveals more than one-third of long-term care executives believe the new QIS process will improve their quality of care. But they're uncertain how long it will take to make an impact.

9 Oct 2009

Medicare News and Research

CCHIT certifies Eclipsys’ PeakPractice EMR/PM solution

Socioeconomic and geographic disparities in the use of breast-conservating therapy

Concord Coalition sends list of suggestions concerning the healthcare reform bill

CBO: Medical malpractice reform would save $54 billion over 10 years

Critical moments ahead for health reform legislation

Dems get boost from another Republican supporting health reform

Caring for Alzheimer's patients proves costly

Lawmakers renew demands for public option in health bill

PFCD releases the updated comparison of chronic care provisions contained within health reform bill

Today's editorials and opinions

Health policy research roundup

Hospital-insurer tug of war leaves patients in middle

Arizona clinic stops accepting Medicare, some Penn. Medicare Advantage plans cancelled

Health industries: Changes could kill health reform bill

Fox News Channel airs misleading data from HHS

Are doctors to blame? NPR reports on what drives up medical costs

Manual microdissection to remove biopsy cavities from breast cancer specimens essential

AST assembles at Capitol Hill to support health care reform for kidney transplant recipients

Persistent, growing disparities underscore the need for national reform

One-third of long-term care executives believe the new QIS process to improve quality of care

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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