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Senators announce deal to 'fix' Medicare doctor payments - for now

Senate leaders announced a deal late Tuesday to stave off deep cuts to physicians' Medicare payments by repurposing money set aside for the health law, Politico reports. The deal, announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., changes ... "how much money consumers would have to repay if they receive too large a subsidy in the health insurance exchanges after 2014.

9 Dec 2010

Neurologist wins trial for defamation against Utah Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

The worst abuses in government health programs may be by officials who press false charges. Threatening criminal prosecution to try to get a physician to pay monies amounts to "extortion," admitted one prosecutor in sworn testimony published in the winter 2010 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (http://www.jpands.org/vol15no4/becker.pdf).

8 Dec 2010

Smoking cessation products available on PBS

Australia’s federal government has announced that it will subsidize the cost of nicotine patches to help smokers quit. The announcement was made by Health Minister Nicola Roxon on Thursday who said that concession card holders would be able to access Nicorette, Nicabate P and Nicotinell under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from February 1, 2011. She said, “Cancer scars the lives of too many Australians and we know that reducing the smoking rate is one of the most effective ways to reduce the rate of death from this terrible disease.” Anti-smoking drug Varenicline (Champix) would also be available for willing quitters.

8 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 8, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include more detail on the deal reached to avoid a scheduled cut in physician's Medicare pay.

8 Dec 2010

34% of Britons put getting cancer down to fate

Cancer is the nation's number one fear but more than a third think getting the disease is down to fate and there is nothing they can do to avoid it - according to a Cancer Research UK survey out today (Wednesday).

8 Dec 2010

Some progress, but big challenges remain in prevention of cardiovascular disease

'Some progress, but the big challenges remain'. This was the verdict after the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) hosted the 2010 European Summit on CVD Prevention on 30 November. The summit was attended by a broad cross-section of medical experts, healthcare organisations, national societies, regulators and representatives from the European Union (EU).

8 Dec 2010

Study examines impact of poor care coordination on quality, cost of care in America

Many Americans seek medical treatment from a variety of care providers and often must play the role of informing each doctor what the others are recommending or prescribing. This fragmented experience of poorly coordinated care is due in part to a lack of consistent systems and processes in place to coordinate care across providers and facilities.

8 Dec 2010

Issues in health delivery: Hospital-spread infections; Finger-prick blood tests for diabetes; Medicare spent millions on unnecessary stents

News outlets report on a variety of issues and developments related to quality of care and health delivery systems.

8 Dec 2010

Proactive therapies may prove to avert stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

One evening last March, Larry Ambrose left his bed in the middle of the night to check the time. Much to the 71-year-old's surprise, he was only able to see three out of the four glowing numbers on the digital clock in his kitchen. Ambrose returned to bed, but within days was hospitalized for what was later diagnosed as a stroke. After extensive testing, his physicians told him they could not determine the cause.

8 Dec 2010

N.Y. charges 33 with selling prescriptions to dealers

The Associated Press: Thirty-three people have been charged in Buffalo, N.Y., "in a large-scale investigation that has opened a window into an emerging class of suppliers in the illicit drug trade: medical patients, including many who rely on the publicly funded Medicaid program to pay for their appointments and prescriptions" who sell their prescription drugs.

8 Dec 2010

Conn. addresses insurance rates, Mass. physician groups evaluate controversial payment plan

"House and Senate leaders are eyeing passage of a second midyear spending bill before the start of the next legislative session to address more caseload-driven accounts that are running short on funds five months after Gov. Deval Patrick signed the fiscal 2011 budget. The deficiencies, which follow inaccurate enrollment estimates for MassHealth and other social service programs, threaten to eat into some the revenue surpluses the state has amassed over the first half of fiscal 2011, when tax receipts have exceeded projections" (Murphy, 12/7).

8 Dec 2010

European summit agrees that lifestyle change is the only answer to heart disease

‘Some progress, but the big challenges remain’. This was the verdict after the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) hosted the 2010 European Summit on CVD Prevention on 30 November. The summit was attended by a broad cross-section of medical experts, healthcare organisations, national societies, regulators and representatives from the European Union (EU).

7 Dec 2010

Lutheran Medical Center implements Medsphere's OpenVista EHR solution

Lutheran Medical Center (LMC) and Medsphere Systems Corporation today announced the successful implementation of Medsphere's OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) solution throughout the hospital. The full service 476-bed teaching hospital is now on track to achieve meaningful use and qualify for millions of dollars made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

7 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 7, 2010

In today's headlines, Senate leaders appear to be nearing a one-year deal on Medicare's physician pay problem.

7 Dec 2010

Expansion of newborn screening throws some families on a journey of great uncertainty

Mandatory genetic screening of newborns for rare diseases is creating unexpected upheaval for families whose infants test positive for risk factors but show no immediate signs of the diseases, a new UCLA study warns.

7 Dec 2010

Report: Baltimore cardiologist inserted 'medically unnecessary' stents

Abbott Laboratories, a $30 billion-a-year, Chicago-based pharmaceutical firm, ranked [Dr. Mark] Midei among its top-volume doctors in the Northeast and made plying him with research money and 'VIP trips' part of its business plan in late 2008 — about the time Midei's usage of Abbott-brand stents soared, the report said.

7 Dec 2010

Investigator recommends screening mammogram during first week of menstrual cycle

Try to schedule your screening mammogram during the first week of your menstrual cycle. It might make breast cancer screening more accurate for pre-menopausal women who choose to have regular mammograms. This recommendation comes from an article published online December 3 in Radiology by Diana Miglioretti, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute.

7 Dec 2010

Emergency Medical Services' AMR segment to acquire Doctor's

Emergency Medical Services Corporation today announced that its American Medical Response segment has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Doctor's Ambulance Service. Founded in 1974, Doctor's provides emergency and non-emergency ambulance services in Orange County, California.

7 Dec 2010

New poll reflects views on Palin and abortion; Abortion clinic protests planned

Most American women don't trust Mama Grizzly on abortion, birth control and sex ed, a new poll obtained by POLITICO shows. The survey, conducted for Planned Parenthood by Democratic pollster Hart Research Associates, found that just 24 percent of registered voters choose Sarah Palin as trustworthy on women's health issues, versus 54 percent who consider Planned Parenthood trustworthy (Kliff, 12/6).

7 Dec 2010

Cardiologist provided unnecessary stent implants: investigation

In a new investigation a Senate Finance Committee has found that a former cardiologist, Mark Midei at Towson, Md.-based St. Joseph Medical Center performed 585 medically unnecessary stent implants, costing Medicare and private insurers a combined $6.6 million in fraudulent reimbursement fees. These stents are special medicated or wire tubes that are placed inside coronary arteries of the heart to prevent them from collapsing or clogging up which may lead to a hear attack.

6 Dec 2010

Doctor News and Research

Senators announce deal to 'fix' Medicare doctor payments - for now

Neurologist wins trial for defamation against Utah Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

Smoking cessation products available on PBS

First Edition: December 8, 2010

34% of Britons put getting cancer down to fate

Some progress, but big challenges remain in prevention of cardiovascular disease

Study examines impact of poor care coordination on quality, cost of care in America

Issues in health delivery: Hospital-spread infections; Finger-prick blood tests for diabetes; Medicare spent millions on unnecessary stents

Proactive therapies may prove to avert stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

N.Y. charges 33 with selling prescriptions to dealers

Conn. addresses insurance rates, Mass. physician groups evaluate controversial payment plan

European summit agrees that lifestyle change is the only answer to heart disease

Lutheran Medical Center implements Medsphere's OpenVista EHR solution

First Edition: December 7, 2010

Expansion of newborn screening throws some families on a journey of great uncertainty

Report: Baltimore cardiologist inserted 'medically unnecessary' stents

Investigator recommends screening mammogram during first week of menstrual cycle

Emergency Medical Services' AMR segment to acquire Doctor's

New poll reflects views on Palin and abortion; Abortion clinic protests planned

Cardiologist provided unnecessary stent implants: investigation

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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