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Mass. bill would lift gift ban; Workers rally in Md., Minn.

"A two-year-old state ban on gifts in the medical and pharmaceutical industries would be repealed under an economic development bill that the House budget committee began polling its members on yesterday. The ban, which prohibits drug firms from giving gifts and meals to health care professionals, has cut back on local business profits, a summary of the bill states. When it passed as part of a broader health care bill in 2008, supporters called it a way of curbing pharmaceutical companies' influence" (O'Sullivan, 6/25).

28 Jun 2010

Lantus and Apidra injections improve glycemic control, reduce hospital complications: Study

Sanofi-aventis announced today that results from the RAndomized Study of Basal Bolus Insulin Therapy in the Inpatient Management of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Undergoing General Surgery (RABBIT-2 Surgery) found that treatment with a basal-bolus regimen that included Lantus (insulin glargine [rDNA origin] injection) once-daily and Apidra (insulin glulisine [rDNA origin] injection) before meals improved glycemic control and reduced hospital complications, compared to "sliding scale" insulin in general surgery patients with type 2 diabetes.

28 Jun 2010

Hospital for Special Surgery announces receipt of $5M commitment from CA Technologies

Hospital for Special Surgery announced the receipt of a $5 million commitment from CA Technologies, an IT management software and solutions company, at its 27th Annual Tribute Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria on June 21, 2010.

28 Jun 2010

G8 leaders to discuss economic policy, developing world, maternal and child health, Haitian rebuilding

Ahead of the G8 summit, which begins Friday in Canada, "leaders engaged in a series of dueling letters and interviews that exposed their conflicts" in how to foster global economic recovery, the Associated Press reports.

28 Jun 2010

Authorities unsure of Queensland health staff pay woes

The payment woes of Queensland health staff continue and there is no clear indication from authorities as to when problems will stop. Since March this year tens of thousands of health care staff are being over, under or unpaid after the introduction of a new computerized pay system. After repeated assurances there are still people who are facing problems with their pay.

28 Jun 2010

Mass. Legislature denies requests to trim municipal health benefits; N.Y. ordered to transfer people with mental Illness out of institutional group homes

"The state's public employee unions won a major victory this week when the Legislature abandoned efforts to allow cities and towns to trim generous health care benefits enjoyed by thousands of municipal employees, retirees, and elected officials. The decision by lawmakers not to address the issue in next year's budget means the Legislature will almost certainly not act on it this year, setting the stage for mayors and other municipal officials to take their case directly to voters in a ballot initiative for 2012" (Murphy, 6/25).

28 Jun 2010

Kansas doctor and wife found guilty of prescribing painkillers, causing deaths

"A federal jury Thursday found a Kansas doctor and his wife guilty of conspiring to profit from illegally prescribing painkillers to dozens of patients who later died, in a case highlighting medical treatment of chronic pain sufferers and prescription drug abuse."

28 Jun 2010

Insurer sees coming health insurer 'oligopoly,' doctors band together on system changes

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that health insurer WellPoint's investor-relations chief said Thursday that health insurers are "moving towards an oligopoly" accelerated by the new law. "New regulations on administrative spending and premium increases will push some independent insurers out of business or into deals with bigger rivals, said Michael Kleinman, vice president for investor relations, at a Wells Fargo & Co. conference in Boston.

28 Jun 2010

High-risk health insurance pools opening soon

News outlets examine how states are coping with covering hard-to-insure people, confusion about insuring young adults and a COBRA subsidy extension.

28 Jun 2010

Chronic disease expert: U.S. health care system needs to treat 'whole person'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy interviews Kate Lorig, director of the Patient Education Research Center at Stanford University, about the toll of chronic diseases.

28 Jun 2010

Pennsylvania reports drop in hospital infections, other patient care issues include CT scans

The Pennsylvania Department of Health found that 12.5 percent fewer patients contracted infections in the state's hospitals in 2009 than a year earlier, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But the reports shows that there were 25,914 infections in 2009. "'Though the report seems to show we're making progress, 25,914 is still a very large number and shows we still have our work cut out for us in bringing that number down,' Stephen Ostroff, the state's acting physician general, said Thursday.

25 Jun 2010

Mass. panel overturns cap on insurer's premiums; Calif. finds 'substantial' errors in planned premium increase

A Massachusetts "insurance appeals board yesterday overturned the state's cap on health premium increases for small business and individual customers covered by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care." The panel "found that rate increases Harvard Pilgrim initially sought in April are reasonable given what it must pay to hospitals and doctors. That ruling trumped the Insurance Division's earlier finding that the requested increases were excessive, a view that reflects Governor Deval Patrick's campaign to curb health costs. Insurers yesterday cheered the ruling" (Abelson and Wallack, 6/25).

25 Jun 2010

Utah to run state high-risk pool while still opposing health law

Utah Republican Gov. Gary R. Herbert has announced that the state "will join 29 other states and the District of Columbia" to run their own high-risk health insurance pools, while "[o]ther states let the federal government handle the program, concerned they would have to pay for it if they exhausted their federal funding," The Wall Street Journal reports.

25 Jun 2010

Psychotropic medications associated with adverse drug reactions in Danish children: Researchers

Between 1998 and 2007, psychotropic medications were associated with 429 adverse drug reactions in Danish children under the age of 17. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Studies have published an article in the open access journal BMC Research Notes concluding that more than half of the 429 cases were serious and several involved birth defects, such as birth deformities and severe withdrawal syndromes.

25 Jun 2010

Calif. hospitals bank on tech investments

"The Recovery Act allocated $19 billion to hospitals and physicians for the implementation of Electronic Health Records. Hospitals can receive up to several million dollars, depending on their size, and individual physicians up to $44,000, for using certified EHR technology. At Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Pravene Nath said the hospital will begin assessing the number of physicians that could qualify for the reimbursements."

25 Jun 2010

Friday opinions: Mandate to buy insurance; Medicare and 'political game'

If Americans want a private health insurance system that does not base the price of individually sold policies on that individual's health status and that does not allow an insurer to refuse to sell a policy because of an individual's health issues, then they should accept a mandate that all Americans purchase at least a minimum package of health insurance (Uwe Reinhardt, 6/25).

25 Jun 2010

Prescription Solutions introduces Clinical Vantage to improve health and well-being of members

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefit management organization and a UnitedHealth Group company, has launched Clinical Vantage, a suite of clinical programs that enables clients to create specialized solutions to meet their particular needs to improve the health and well-being of members.

25 Jun 2010

Research roundup: Docs' views of industry gifts; Chemotherapy payments; Health law and states

How Medicare's Payment Cuts For Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs Changed Patterns Of Treatment -- This study examines the impact that Medicare payment cuts for chemotherapy drugs had on treatment for Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed lung cancer, before and after implementation of the June 2005 new payment system, focusing on five chemotherapy drugs "in common use singly or jointly for lung cancer..."

25 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 25, 2010

Today's headlines reflect the latest news about the House passing a temporary ban on cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, while Senate Democrats failed to gain approval for their jobs bill, which included enhanced Medicaid aid to states.

25 Jun 2010

HHS Secretary to speak about benefits of Affordable Care Act for women

Today, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will speak to the National Partnership for Women and Families about how the Affordable Care Act will benefit women.

25 Jun 2010

Health Care News and Research

Mass. bill would lift gift ban; Workers rally in Md., Minn.

Lantus and Apidra injections improve glycemic control, reduce hospital complications: Study

Hospital for Special Surgery announces receipt of $5M commitment from CA Technologies

G8 leaders to discuss economic policy, developing world, maternal and child health, Haitian rebuilding

Authorities unsure of Queensland health staff pay woes

Mass. Legislature denies requests to trim municipal health benefits; N.Y. ordered to transfer people with mental Illness out of institutional group homes

Kansas doctor and wife found guilty of prescribing painkillers, causing deaths

Insurer sees coming health insurer 'oligopoly,' doctors band together on system changes

High-risk health insurance pools opening soon

Chronic disease expert: U.S. health care system needs to treat 'whole person'

Pennsylvania reports drop in hospital infections, other patient care issues include CT scans

Mass. panel overturns cap on insurer's premiums; Calif. finds 'substantial' errors in planned premium increase

Utah to run state high-risk pool while still opposing health law

Psychotropic medications associated with adverse drug reactions in Danish children: Researchers

Calif. hospitals bank on tech investments

Friday opinions: Mandate to buy insurance; Medicare and 'political game'

Prescription Solutions introduces Clinical Vantage to improve health and well-being of members

Research roundup: Docs' views of industry gifts; Chemotherapy payments; Health law and states

First Edition: June 25, 2010

HHS Secretary to speak about benefits of Affordable Care Act for women

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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