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Florida Medicaid recipients make fewer trips to doctors; Calif. payments to health clinics in jeopardy; Texas addresses nursing shortage

Northeast Florida's Medicaid recipients are making fewer trips to the doctor for chronic illnesses since state officials outsourced the government-subsidized health insurance program to private managed care companies. But it remains unclear from the analysis performed by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees the state's Medicaid program, whether they're healthier for it. Medicaid reform was launched in 2006 in Duval and Broward counties to test whether HMOs could rein in the state's Medicaid spending.

15 Jul 2010

Doctors reluctant to report colleagues for being impaired, incompetent

The Associated Press: "Your doctor could be drunk, addicted to drugs or outright incompetent, but other physicians may not blow the whistle. A new survey finds that many American physicians fail to report troubled colleagues to authorities, believing that someone else will take care of it, that nothing will happen if they act or that they could be targeted for retribution.

15 Jul 2010

A new practice: The doctor will see you

Catherine Arnst, writing for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Boston Globe, reports: "Dr. Dennis M. Dimitri, a family physician, runs a pretty unusual office. Few appointments are accepted in advance. Instead, patients call in the morning and are assigned a time slot later that day.

15 Jul 2010

Final rules for e-health rewards unveiled

The federal government has issued new regulations defining the "meaningful use" of electronic medical records, a requirement doctors must fulfill in order to gain funds from a $27-billion pot set aside in the 2009 stimulus law, The New York Times reports. "A doctor can receive up to $44,000 under Medicare and $63,750 under Medicaid, while a hospital can receive millions of dollars, depending on its size."

15 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 14, 2010

Today's headlines reflect coverage of new federal rules related to "meaningful use" of electronic health records as well as the latest on the federal deficit, the White House's new HIV/AIDS strategy and other developments.

14 Jul 2010

IAS announces recipients of CNIHR grants

The International AIDS Society today announced the recipients of its first joint research grant programme, Creative and Novel Ideas in HIV Research. CNIHR grants, funded in partnership with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the NIH-supported Centers for AIDS Research are designed to promote innovative research and new ideas from early stage investigators whose primary focus has previously been in fields of scientific inquiry other than HIV/ AIDS.

14 Jul 2010

RAF and MWHC to open new Imaging Center for Women

The new Imaging Center for Women will open for patients on July 19 at 10 a.m., just after a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The three-story angular glass and brick building on Mary Washington Healthcare's campus is located between the community hospital and Cowan Boulevard. Staff will move from the current facility in the Tompkins Martin Building July 15 and 16 in preparation for the opening.

14 Jul 2010

Call for clarification, education on enactment of new FSA restriction

A provision of health care reform could blindside consumers and create an administrative nightmare for providers and retailers as its January 1, 2011 implementation date draws closer. Without intervention, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, passed earlier this year, will require consumers to obtain a physician's "prescription" in order to use their pre-tax flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to pay for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines other than insulin.

14 Jul 2010

Loyola primary care physicians honored with Blue Ribbon rating from Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Loyola University Health System primary care physicians recently received a Blue Ribbon rating from Blue Cross and Blue Shield. This honor is given to physicians who have received a satisfaction rate of 85 percent or higher based on a member survey.

14 Jul 2010

NCCS supports two final rules issued by CMS, ONC for EHR incentive programs

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship announced its support of the two final rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for the electronic health record incentive programs at a briefing hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today.

14 Jul 2010

Slow-starting high risk pools look for bigger wave of enrollees, other reform issues

States have seen a "slow trickle" of enrollees for new federally funded high-risk pools but are expecting more to begin enrolling as word spreads about the coverage option, Politico reports.

14 Jul 2010

OSDUHS Mental Health and Well-Being Report reveals important trends in overall health of students

An ongoing survey of Ontario students in Grades 7 to 12 conducted for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shows that the number of students who rate their health as poor has significantly increased over the past two decades. The 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey Mental Health and Well-Being Report released today reveals important trends in mental health, physical health, and risk behaviours among Ontario students.

13 Jul 2010

Researchers examine impact of genetic ancestry on measures of lung function

Americans with lung disease may face a far greater level of lung damage than either they or their doctor suspect, depending on their individual genetic heritage, according to research published online July 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research implications range from diagnosing the severity of asthma, to disability decisions or eligibility for lung transplants, researchers say.

13 Jul 2010

Texas doctors bristle at Medicaid cuts as Congress to consider extending funds; State pinpoints high prescribing docs

Despite states' warnings that they will face massive budget cuts without help from Washington, Congress has not yet moved to provide $24.2 billion in additional Medicaid funding that many statehouses had anticipated would be included in a failed June bill, American Medical News reports. "Lawmakers return to Washington from their Independence Day break on July 12, but Democratic leaders have not offered a clear path forward on the issue" (Trapp, 7/12).

13 Jul 2010

Molina Healthcare signs definitive agreement to acquire Abri Health Plan

Molina Healthcare, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Abri Health Plan, a provider of Medicaid managed care services to BadgerCare Plus and SSI Managed Care enrollees in Wisconsin. The purchase price for the acquisition is expected to be approximately $16 million, subject to adjustments, and will be funded with available cash and/or the Company's credit facility.

13 Jul 2010

Tips on skin care

Your skin protects you, heals itself and lasts a lifetime. Find how to give it some skin care in return, to help keep it looking and feeling its best.

12 Jul 2010

Simple interventions by pediatricians change parent's perspective about child being overweight or obese

Some simple interventions used by pediatricians were enough to change a parent's perspective about a child's being overweight or obese, and change the parent's behaviors at home to reduce those risks.

12 Jul 2010

BCAN to celebrate first annual Bladder Cancer Awareness Day

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network will celebrate the first annual Bladder Cancer Awareness Day on Saturday, July 17 with more than two dozen volunteer-led events nationwide. In addition to raising public awareness about the risks and signs of bladder cancer, the events will serve as a forum for bladder cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers to meet and share their stories.

12 Jul 2010

Report shows experimental trials have higher risk for bias

A Johns Hopkins review of nearly 150 randomized controlled trials on children - all published in well-regarded medical journals - reveals that 40 to 60 percent of the studies either failed to take steps to minimize risk for bias or to at least properly describe those measures.

12 Jul 2010

Resident nurses find tough search for jobs post-graduation

Though a national shortage of nurses is taking hold, newly minted resident nurses are having a hard time finding jobs as the economy struggles, "delaying the retirement of experienced nurses," USA Today reports.

12 Jul 2010