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e-MDs selected for IFMC's HITREC Preferred Vendor List

e-MDs, an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) solutions, announced they have been chosen for the IFMC's Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (HITREC) Preferred Vendor List. The list represents the best products designed to help smaller practices and clinics achieve meaningful use of EHRs.

19 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: Public opinion and health reform; Hospitals and cost cuts; Medicare fraud 'gusher'

Less than four months after Congress approved historic health care reform legislation, the Obama administration has been making good progress in bringing some early benefits to fruition and issuing rules to guide the reform process. Despite all of the critics' hype and scare tactics, some polls suggest that the public perception of reform is slowly improving (7/18).

19 Jul 2010

KHN column: When bad news about health reform isn't bad

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: "The weekend's newspapers included a pair of headlines about health care reform. And they were probably not the kind that reform advocates like to see" (7/19).

19 Jul 2010

Microarrays acquired from Vanderbilt University

Microarrays, Inc. (MI), an innovator of array-based technologies for biological research, detection and diagnostics, today announced that the company's management team and a group of independent investors have purchased MI from Vanderbilt University. The new company structure will allow MI to more quickly and nimbly respond to client's rapidly expanding needs, especially within the diagnostic and health care arenas.

19 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 19, 2010

Today's headlines include the latest news regarding the politics of implementing health reform as well as developments from the international AIDS conference now underway in Vienna.

19 Jul 2010

Sen. Roberts lashes out at recess appointment of Berwick

"Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts is taking aim at President Barack Obama for making a recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick as the new head of the federal agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid," CNN reported.

19 Jul 2010

Businesses, states seek solutions to rising health insurance costs

News outlets, including The New York Times, reported on health insurance in light of the new law: "the country's biggest insurers are promoting affordable plans with reduced premiums that require participants to use a narrower selection of doctors or hospitals.

19 Jul 2010

SuiteMed applauds HHS final rules on "meaningful use" of EHR

SuiteMed, LLC applauds the long-awaited final rules from the US Health and Human Services Department on "Meaningful Use" of an Electronic Health Record.

17 Jul 2010

Montana hospitals to get increased Medicare payments; Federal funding for New Orleans health clinics is expiring

"Come this fall, several of Montana's hospitals will start benefitting financially from an obscure provision in the federal health reform bill that ups Medicare payments in 'frontier states.' It's worth up to $4.5 million a year for some of Montana's largest hospitals, which for years have been getting paid less for Medicare-covered patients than hospitals in urban areas. Hospitals in Billings, Missoula and Kalispell are the big beneficiaries. While the money may not seem like much in Montana's multibillion-dollar health industry, it's certainly helpful, hospital executives say — and it's part of the bill's overall effort to improve what many believe is an imperfect system of paying for health care" (Dennison, 7/15).

17 Jul 2010

GOP wants to know if Supreme Court nominee Kagan would recuse herself from health reform case

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee want more information on if Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan would recuse herself from considering a health reform case because of her involvement with the Obama administration.

17 Jul 2010

Medicaid directors worried over expansion, Indiana's says federal government is not giving enough guidance

The new health law calls for dramatic increase in Medicaid programs, the joint federal-state health coverage for low-income residents. Some state Medicaid directors say they are worried about how that expansion will work and some are complaining that they are not getting enough guidance from federal officials.

17 Jul 2010

DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force charges 94 people for $251 million in false claims

Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS.

17 Jul 2010

New Hampshire launches accountable care pilot ahead of schedule

Five separate groups of New Hampshire hospitals and other health care providers are forming "accountable care organizations" as part of a pilot program intended to keep patients healthy and costs down, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The program "attempts to tackle what many consider to be a big problem in the current system: having accountability spread across hospitals, doctors' offices, insurance carriers and employers with no one group responsible for the overall management of care."

17 Jul 2010

InformedDNA named finalist for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards

Informed Medical Decisions, Inc. (InformedDNA) has been selected as one of 30 finalists for the Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards. URAC, the nation's leading accreditation organization, will honor the finalists during their 11th Annual Quality Summit, October 5-7, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

17 Jul 2010

NCOA adds ILS as partner to sponsor Private Label version of online screening service for senior benefits

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) today announced the addition of Independent Living Systems (ILS) as the newest partner to sponsor a Private Label version of BenefitsCheckUp, NCOA's online screening service for senior benefits. The Private Label version of BenefitsCheckUp will allow ILS to enhance the care management services the company currently provides to its clients, many of whom are frail and underprivileged individuals who require chronic care or other special needs.

17 Jul 2010

Christiana Care ranked among top 50 of America's best hospitals in 2 specialties

In its annual Best Hospitals edition, US News & World Report places Christiana Care among the top 50 listings in 2 specialties – Gastroenterology and Urology.

17 Jul 2010

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks first: U.S. News & World Report survey

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks as one of the top five American hospitals -- and the best hospital in the western United States for the 21st consecutive year -- according to a U.S. News & World Report survey that reviewed patient-outcomes data, reputation among physicians and other care-

17 Jul 2010

Hospitals fight for primary care docs as bad nurses allowed to continue work

Orlando Sentinel: For primary care specialties, residency programs fight to capture the attention of potential residents who are in high demand.

17 Jul 2010

CDC director gives health system failing grade on prevention

Memphis Commercial Appeal: "The American health care system gets an 'F' when it comes to acting on a handful of prevention methods that have the potential to save the most lives. That failing grade came from Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a Wednesday speech to members of the National Association of County and City Health Officials gathered here for their annual conference at Cook Convention Center."

17 Jul 2010

No abortion coverage in high risk pools, HHS says

"Elective abortion services will not be covered in state high-risk pools set up to provide coverage for sick people who can't get insurance, according to Obama administration officials," CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Jul 2010

Health Care News and Research

e-MDs selected for IFMC's HITREC Preferred Vendor List

Today's OpEds: Public opinion and health reform; Hospitals and cost cuts; Medicare fraud 'gusher'

KHN column: When bad news about health reform isn't bad

Microarrays acquired from Vanderbilt University

First Edition: July 19, 2010

Sen. Roberts lashes out at recess appointment of Berwick

Businesses, states seek solutions to rising health insurance costs

SuiteMed applauds HHS final rules on "meaningful use" of EHR

Montana hospitals to get increased Medicare payments; Federal funding for New Orleans health clinics is expiring

GOP wants to know if Supreme Court nominee Kagan would recuse herself from health reform case

Medicaid directors worried over expansion, Indiana's says federal government is not giving enough guidance

DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force charges 94 people for $251 million in false claims

New Hampshire launches accountable care pilot ahead of schedule

InformedDNA named finalist for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards

NCOA adds ILS as partner to sponsor Private Label version of online screening service for senior benefits

Christiana Care ranked among top 50 of America's best hospitals in 2 specialties

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks first: U.S. News & World Report survey

Hospitals fight for primary care docs as bad nurses allowed to continue work

CDC director gives health system failing grade on prevention

No abortion coverage in high risk pools, HHS says

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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