Health Care News and Research

RSS

Obama Administration struggles to soothe health reform concerns; Insurance Commissioners issue rules

The Associated Press reports that the new health reform law "hasn't helped Americans feel any more secure about their own medical care." That's according to a survey, to be released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which says "consumer confidence spiked in April after Obama signed landmark legislation to expand coverage and start trying to control costs.

20 Aug 2010

HealthPartners receives grant to study primary care clinics' transformation to health care homes

The HealthPartners Research Foundation has received an US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant to study the transformation of traditional primary care clinics in Minnesota to "health care homes," also known as "medical homes."

20 Aug 2010

Study shows disparities in asthma ER visits between African Americans and whites

Aetna leaders will present the findings of a new study today at the Academy for Health Equity Conference in Littleton, Colorado. The study looked at the differences in the use of the emergency room (ER) by minority populations suffering from asthma and the potential to improve health outcomes and cost savings by addressing disparities in asthma ER visits.

20 Aug 2010

Educational intervention program encourages Latina women towards postpartum care

Latinas participating in an educational intervention program were two-and-a-half times more likely to seek postpartum care than were those who did not have access to a similar program, a new study finds.

20 Aug 2010

Cedars-Sinai opens Advanced Heart Failure Unit in California

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute has opened an innovative 30-bed in-patient unit dedicated to providing advanced heart failure patients with an intensive, multidisciplinary approach to inpatient care.

20 Aug 2010

Experts discuss role of technology and innovation in healthcare industry

Leaders from healthcare, technology companies and academia will meet on Tuesday, Aug. 24, for a day-long session in the Chippewa Valley technology corridor. Participants will discuss how the use of technology and innovation can help overcome some of the biggest challenges facing the healthcare industry.

20 Aug 2010

FDA releases statement on urgent nationwide egg recall

Working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state public health partners, the FDA reviewed epidemiologic and environmental investigation documents and identified 3 best-case clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses. Tracebacks revealed Wright County Egg in Iowa as the common shell egg supplier in these clusters.

20 Aug 2010

University of California, Irvine launches new Clinical Research Certificate Program

University of California, Irvine today announced the launch of its new Clinical Research Certificate Program. In order to close the widening gap between the rapid expansion of biomedical discoveries and the application of those discoveries in a clinical environment, UC Irvine School of Medicine developed the program in partnership with UC Irvine Extension to equip medical industry professionals with the academic knowledge, technical skill and critical thinking ability necessary to understand and evaluate clinical studies...

20 Aug 2010

New coverage for colorectal cancer screening to drive US markets for gastrointestinal endoscopy devices in 2010

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, new coverage instituted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 will remove the financial disincentives associated with colorectal cancer screening for a large segment of the US population. As a result of these changes in reimbursement, a growing number of colorectal cancer screening procedures will be performed through 2014, driving sales of many gastrointestinal endoscopy devices, including videoscopes and biopsy forceps.

20 Aug 2010

Elsevier to offer computed tomography through Mosby's Imaging Suite

Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, today announced an exclusive partnership with The American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) to provide a complete series of computed tomography modules through Mosby's Imaging Suite for technologists' continuing education.

20 Aug 2010

CMS: Seniors will see modest increase in Medicare drug premiums but improved benefits

The Associated Press: "Seniors will see a modest increase in their Medicare prescription premiums next year but benefits will also improve, federal health officials said Wednesday. The average monthly premium charged by Medicare drug plans for standard coverage will rise to an estimated $30 in 2011, an increase of $1 over 2010..." But, the AP notes that "Medicare prescription plans vary widely in costs and benefits.

20 Aug 2010

Report: Diabetes costs account for nearly a quarter of all hospital spending

The Fiscal Times examines a recent report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality about diabetes, "a disease that's costing Americans $83 billion a year in hospital fees—23 percent of total hospital spending. ... Add to this the costs of the hidden diabetes epidemic: $18 billion for the estimated 6.3 million people with undiagnosed diabetes, and $25 billion for 57 million, or one in four, American adults with pre-diabetes.

20 Aug 2010

AAPC Physician Services launches medical auditing service

AAPC Physician Services, a practice management solutions provider, announces the launch of its medical auditing service line based on feedback from physicians and a strong demand for industry expertise.

20 Aug 2010

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

The New York Times: "In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

20 Aug 2010

Business Group: Large employers grappling with health law changes

Reuters: As large employers take steps to comply with the health overhaul law, such as removing plans' spending limits and covering more preventive services at no cost to patients, they are also planning to shift more health care costs to workers, according to a report by the National Business Group on Health.

20 Aug 2010

Study finds black women with SLE develop cardiovascular disease at early age

A recent study by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine found significant racial disparities in the age of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients at the time of hospital admission for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and CVD-related death. Black women were youngest to both be admitted with CVD and to have an in-hospital death due to CVD.

20 Aug 2010

Grand Junction, Colorado: Still the health care poster child

In this story for Kaiser Health News, Bill Scanlon reports: "Just a year ago, as opposition to the proposed health overhaul flared at town hall meetings around the country, President Barack Obama made this western Colorado town of 53,000 people a crucial stop on his tour to revive the stalled initiative" (Scanlon, 8/19).

20 Aug 2010

After multiple medevac crashes, NTSB wants increased safety technology

USA Today: "The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling on regulators to require new lifesaving technologies on many air ambulances, including night-vision goggles, terrain avoidance computers and autopilot controls.

20 Aug 2010

USPTO rules out Oculir's claim on noninvasive glucose measuring device patent

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has held that all claims in Oculir's Patent No. 6,958,039 to be invalid as not patentable based on prior art from a patent disclosure by Yale researcher, Dr. Marc Abreu.

20 Aug 2010

Schwarzenegger announces Calif. health IT network plan

Los Angeles Times: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a high-tech vision for his state Tuesday, including an unprecedentedly broad computer network. "Schwarzenegger joined U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at the UC Davis Cancer Center on Tuesday to announce the launch of the country's largest 'telehealth' system, which organizers say will one day connect patients to hundreds of hospitals and clinics statewide using broadband technology." The broadband network will be devoted entirely to the health care sector (Hennessy-Fiske, 8/18).

20 Aug 2010