Health and Human Services News and Research

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Two-day workshop on sickle cell trait

Scientists from across the nation will gather June 3-4 to discuss what is known about sickle cell trait and the potential health implications related to this genetic blood condition. "Framing the Research Agenda for Sickle Cell Trait" will examine the ethical, legal, social, and public health impacts of the blood condition.

3 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Today's headlines reflect news regarding health reform and the budget deficit as well as a new ad campaign by the AMA to press Senators to approve a freeze on scheduled Medicare payment cuts.

3 Jun 2010

Tips on how to make right capital purchases with scarce technology dollars re-released

Faced with rising technology costs and numerous clinical department demands, hospital leaders nationwide are being forced to make tough choices with scarce capital technology dollars. The capital budgeting process can get political—and even downright ugly.

3 Jun 2010

Regulators miss deadline on medical loss ratios: Other implementation developments continue to emerge

Insurance regulators have missed an early deadline to set specific rules meant to ensure that insurers devote 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars to medical care, the so-called "medical loss ratio."

3 Jun 2010

California examines 'never events' at hospitals; La. seeks funding for primary care clinics; Texas trims children's health program

San Francisco Chronicle: "Drill bits, screws, sponges, clamps, needles, catheters, electrodes. These are some of the things accidentally left inside patients after surgery at California hospitals.

3 Jun 2010

Biomoda, Obio sign MOU to establish CLIA-certified clinical laboratory in Ohio

Cancer diagnostics company Biomoda, Inc. and Obio, a corporation formed to pursue public and private funding for cancer research in Ohio, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a CLIA-certified Biomoda clinical laboratory in Ohio to support ongoing research and development on Biomoda's porphyrin-based assay for the detection of early-stage cancer.

2 Jun 2010

Azithromycin as effective as penicillin for early-stage syphilis: Study

In a clinical trial involving HIV-negative volunteers with early-stage syphilis, researchers have found that antibiotic pills (azithromycin) are as effective as penicillin injections in curing early-stage syphilis. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Jun 2010

Race matching among donors and recipients has no effect on survival rates: Study

Transplant surgeons at Johns Hopkins who have reviewed the medical records of more than 20,000 heart transplant patients say that it is not simply racial differences, but rather flaws in the health care system, along with type of insurance and education levels, in addition to biological factors, that are likely the causes of disproportionately worse outcomes after heart transplantation in African Americans.

1 Jun 2010

Researchers identify pattern of gene expression in kidney transplant recipients who don't need anti-rejection drugs

Researchers have identified a distinct pattern of gene expression in the largest reported group of kidney transplant recipients who have not rejected the transplant kidneys even though they stopped taking anti-rejection drugs. This finding may help identify other transplant recipients who could safely reduce or end use of immunosuppressive therapy. In 2008, more than 80,000 people in the United States were living with a kidney transplant.

31 May 2010

HHS awards $15M to create new center for health information and privacy at University of Illinois

Slowly but steadily the U.S. health care community is moving into the digital age: shifting their medical records from paper to electronic information systems. This movement raises serious concerns about security and privacy of patients' medical information. In an attempt to put these concerns to rest, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $15 million to create a new center for health information and privacy.

29 May 2010

Ingen CEO discusses new IngenCare product in interview

Ingen Technologies, Inc.is an established medical device manufacturer with an emerging new medical product line targeting the rapidly growing $8 billion global respiratory market. The company recently announced that the pre-recorded interview from Wednesday with CEO, Scott Sand, will be aired again on The Money Channel's American Scene Radio with host Steve Crowley today at 11:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time.

29 May 2010

OMG, HL7 announce featured sessions for third annual SOA in Healthcare conference

OMG, and Health Level Seven International, along with Open Health Tools and the BPM/SOA Community of Practice, today announced featured sessions for the third annual "SOA in Healthcare: Improving Health through Technology: The role of SOA on the path to meaningful use," conference.

29 May 2010

SAMHSA study reveals daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments increase

A new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments are 11 percent higher during the Memorial Day weekend than they are on an average day. The latest Drug Abuse Warning Network report estimates that on an average day, there are 519 hospital emergency department visits involving underage alcohol use.

29 May 2010

Sebelius: Employers should quickly offer coverage to workers' children up to age 26

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Thursday urged employers to extend health insurance to children of their employees up to age 26 before a provision in the new law requiring them to do so takes effect later this year, The New York Times reports. Many insurers have already made the change, but many employers have demurred.

29 May 2010

MU awarded $6.8M to help patients benefit from use of health information technology

Considered one the great advances of modern medicine, electronic health records can provide a patient's entire medical history and a wealth of other information at the click of a button. They also have the potential to save countless lives and billions of dollars. Now, the University of Missouri has a two-year, $6.8 million cooperative agreement to help patients throughout the state benefit from increased use of this health information technology.

29 May 2010

Republicans criticize CMS brochure on Medicare improvements

As the secretary of health and human services explains it, the government has an obligation to spread the word about the new health-care law. To that end, the department spent millions of dollars printing a glossy brochure and mailing it this week to 40 million Medicare beneficiaries detailing what Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called 'the facts.'

29 May 2010

Health law implementation deadlines missed, GOP offers repeal bill

Politico reports that the Obama administration has missed a health reform law deadline to set up a task force on breast cancer and another on health care in Alaska.

29 May 2010

Medicare 'doughnut hole' rebate checks are in mail, Obama adminstration announces

Senior citizens who hit the so-called doughnut hole in Medicare's drug benefit will begin getting $250 rebate checks in two weeks, the Obama administration announced Thursday — providing one of the first tangible benefits of the recently enacted healthcare law. The rebates, designed in part to bolster support for the controversial law, are the first steps in a decade-long phase-out of the unpopular gap in Medicare Part D drug coverage.

29 May 2010

Sebelius urges employers to quickly cover young adults

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports on a press conference yesterday in which Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius detailed how federal officials are working to get "self-insured employers — who provide health coverage for millions of Americans — to keep young adults up to age 26 on their parents' plans before the new law requires them to do so" (Carey, 5/28).

29 May 2010

First Edition: May 28, 2010

Today's health policy headlines focus on efforts by federal officials to get more insurance plans to move early on coverage for young adults as well as congressional Democrats' struggle to pass legislation to extend the COBRA benefit subsidy and to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare payments to physicians.

28 May 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

Two-day workshop on sickle cell trait

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Tips on how to make right capital purchases with scarce technology dollars re-released

Regulators miss deadline on medical loss ratios: Other implementation developments continue to emerge

California examines 'never events' at hospitals; La. seeks funding for primary care clinics; Texas trims children's health program

Biomoda, Obio sign MOU to establish CLIA-certified clinical laboratory in Ohio

Azithromycin as effective as penicillin for early-stage syphilis: Study

Race matching among donors and recipients has no effect on survival rates: Study

Researchers identify pattern of gene expression in kidney transplant recipients who don't need anti-rejection drugs

HHS awards $15M to create new center for health information and privacy at University of Illinois

Ingen CEO discusses new IngenCare product in interview

OMG, HL7 announce featured sessions for third annual SOA in Healthcare conference

SAMHSA study reveals daily underage drinking-related visits to hospital emergency departments increase

Sebelius: Employers should quickly offer coverage to workers' children up to age 26

MU awarded $6.8M to help patients benefit from use of health information technology

Republicans criticize CMS brochure on Medicare improvements

Health law implementation deadlines missed, GOP offers repeal bill

Medicare 'doughnut hole' rebate checks are in mail, Obama adminstration announces

Sebelius urges employers to quickly cover young adults

First Edition: May 28, 2010

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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