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Doctors criticize insurers over rankings

Doctor groups are slamming insurers for increasingly using rankings "to steer patients toward certain physicians based on cost or quality," The Wall Street Journal reports.

21 Jul 2010

TeleHealth Services announces dates, keynote speakers for TIGRCon10

TeleHealth Services, the nation's leading provider of healthcare grade televisions and on-demand interactive patient education solutions, announced today the dates and keynote speakers for TIGRCon10, the company's annual patient education user conference. The conference, which will be focused on learning to deliver an optimal patient recovery process and improve clinical workflow, will enable hospital leadership and staff members to share best practices, discuss the role of technology in shaping the patient experience, gain new ideas and perspectives through a power user panel, and network with colleagues in the industry.

20 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 20, 2010

Today's headlines reflect more analysis and debate regarding continuing health reform implementation efforts.

20 Jul 2010

Nontargeted opt-out screening associated with newly identified HIV-infected patients: Study

The use of routine HIV screening in a hospital emergency department, which patients had the option to decline, was associated with only a modest increase in the number of patients with newly diagnosed HIV infection, compared to physician-directed diagnostic rapid HIV testing, according to a study in the July 21 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

20 Jul 2010

UnitedHealth Group second-quarter consolidated revenues increase 7% to $23.3 billion

UnitedHealth Group today reported second quarter results, including better-than-projected growth in Health Benefits and Health Services. Key performance metrics and costs were in line with or better than Company expectations.

20 Jul 2010

Tradeline's 4th Annual Academic Medical & Health Science Centers Conference to be held on Nov 15-16th

Planning and operational management teams from medical schools, university affiliated hospitals, and academic health science centers across the country will meet at Tradeline's 4th Annual Academic Medical & Health Science Centers Conference November 15-16th at the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale, Arizona, to chart out strategies for the changing health care model. A special pre-conference tour of the new Phoenix Biomedical Campus, including a unique demonstration of telemedicine, will be conducted on November 14th.

20 Jul 2010

More than half of parents interested in using at-home personal genetic testing for their children: Poll

The latest results from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health show more than half of parents are interested in having their children checked for disease risks using at-home personal genetic testing kits.

20 Jul 2010

Obesity, chronic pain linked to family history, mood disorders: Study

Though it is well known obese individuals have a high incidence of persistent pain problems, a new study in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, reports that comorbid obesity and pain also are linked to family history and mood disorders.

20 Jul 2010

AIDS 2010 studies, releases: Treating HIV-positive patients with ARVs drove down number of new HIV infections, study finds

"Treating HIV patients with cocktails of AIDS drugs helps to stop them spreading the infection further and more than halved the number of new HIV diagnoses in a study in Canada, scientists said on Sunday," Reuters reports.

20 Jul 2010

Low radiation CT scans now at Saint Francis Hospital

Patients requiring a CT scan at Saint Francis Hospital will now be exposed to up to 40 percent less radiation than traditional CT scans. The hospital has acquired state-of-the-art GE™ scanning equipment featuring Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction (ASiR) that uses an advanced image reconstruction technique that makes it possible to dramatically reduce radiation dose without compromising image quality.

20 Jul 2010

Advocat enters into lease agreement for skilled nursing facility in Milton, West Virginia

Advocat Inc. today announced that it has entered into a lease agreement with a real estate developer pursuant to which the developer will construct, furnish, and equip a 90 bed skilled nursing facility in Milton, West Virginia which the Company will then lease. This facility will utilize a Certificate of Need the Company obtained in the acquisition of a nursing center in Milton, West Virginia in June 2009.

20 Jul 2010

Kagan would consider health law recusal on a case-by-case basis

The Associated Press: "Responding to a final GOP challenge, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said Monday that she would weigh recusing herself from matters related to the new health care law on a case-by-case basis." The issue was raised as part of questions from Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans regarding "her involvement as solicitor general in defending the health law."

20 Jul 2010

Hospital jobs hurt in some places, expand in others, as recession pinches

Although some hospitals are feeling the pinch of the recession on their budgets, 400 low-income and unemployed residents are receiving job-training and placement at local hospitals to tap into the need for workers. "The Youth Policy Institute, a local nonprofit managing the program, opened its doors to applicants in March and has already enrolled about 400 trainees.

20 Jul 2010

Benefits of drug L-methionine for neurogenic bladder disorders unclear

It is unclear whether patients with neurogenic bladder disorders benefit from the drug L-methionine. The only study currently available provides neither proof of benefit nor proof of harm. This is the result of a report published by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) on 12 July 2010.

20 Jul 2010

Abortion fight again heats up over high-risk pools, other health reform news

Anti-abortion activists have "scored a victory" after a decision last week by the Obama administration to not allow the new high-risk pools in America to cover most abortions, The Associated Press reports.

20 Jul 2010

A look into HIV related issues

According to a report from US health officials, the poorer neighborhoods of America's cities harbour at least 1 in 50 heterosexual adults infected with HIV. These figures are more than elsewhere in the country. According to the research team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), being poor and getting HIV are linked and this was regardless of race or ethnicity.

19 Jul 2010

Applying a supermarket strategy to patient-specific marketing

Some hospitals are using a "customer management system" to "market to patients and physicians the same way supermarkets do -- by sending information they think a customer needs or wants based on their history," American Medical News reports. "The use of CRM software by the health industry is aided by the increasing automation of data ranging from physician referrals to electronic medical records.

19 Jul 2010

Mental health care suffers as recession hurts state's bottom lines

Mental health budgets are suffering as a lingering recession affects state bottom lines in America, Stateline reports. "States have taken the lead role in publicly funded care for the mentally ill, and paid the majority of the expenses. Even through recessions, the states have steadily increased their mental health budgets every year to meet increasing demand.

19 Jul 2010

New health care leaders named

News outlets report on new leadership appointments at key health care groups.

19 Jul 2010

International Health News: German hospitals worry over end of compulsory military service; Britain tops study on end-of-life care

The Wall Street Journal: German hospitals are worried that the end of compulsory military service could hurt their workforce as most young German men end up fulfilling their duties there and in other public-service venues. "Increasingly … conscription's main impact has little to do with military training at all.

19 Jul 2010