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Research to investigate and improve patient adherence to prescription drug therapies

CVS Caremark is sponsoring research to investigate patient adherence to prescription drug therapies and identify ways to increase adherence. Working with researchers from Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital, the company expects knowledge gained from the research will help health professionals better understand patient behavior and lead to developing programs that health care providers and pharmacies can use to improve medication adherence and ultimately help improve patient care and medical outcomes by avoiding costly hospital treatment.

15 Oct 2009

Premier's corporate headquarters relocated in North Carolina

The Premier Inc. healthcare alliance today announced that it has relocated its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, N.C. Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

15 Oct 2009

Snowe's vote prompts speculation about broader bipartisan support

Democrats earned a single, coveted Republican vote for health reform legislation - from Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, - in the Senate Finance Committee, bringing them closer to the goal of bipartisan support, the Boston Globe reports

15 Oct 2009

New tips to defend against medical identity theft

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Attorney General Tony West will highlight the Obama Administration’s work to fight Medicare Fraud and release new tips and information to help seniors and Medicare beneficiaries deter, detect and defend against Medical identity theft.

15 Oct 2009

SCAN Health Plan Arizona hosts special community forums to discuss healthcare options for seniors

Healthcare options for seniors, including changes to Medicare, will be among the topics discussed at special community forums open to all Medicare-eligible individuals in Maricopa County.

15 Oct 2009

Policymakers urged to preserve access to advanced imaging in final health care reform legislation

Survivors and patients with cancers and heart disease, along with patient advocate organizations and physicians, today urged policymakers to enhance early diagnosis of deadly diseases by preserving access to advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, in final health care reform legislation.

15 Oct 2009

Senate Finance Committee passes health bill, but with plenty of grumbling

The Senate Finance Committee yesterday became the fifth and final committee in Congress to pass a health care overhaul bill. The committee voted 14-9 in favor of the bill with Sen. Olympia Snowe, of Maine, joining all of the panel's Democrats to cast the sole Republican "yea" vote.

15 Oct 2009

Forum Extended Care Services earns accreditation for quality operational practices

Forum Extended Care Services, the largest independent long-term care and hospice pharmacy in Illinois, has achieved the Award of Accreditation from the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation, based in Waterloo, Iowa.

15 Oct 2009

Senator Snowe's continued fight to ensure stable Medicare funding for seniors praised

The long term care sector's ongoing concern with deep Medicare cuts, in conjunction with the state Medicaid funding crisis fueled by the recession, was reflected in Senator Snowe's comments on the Senate Finance Committee health care reform package. We thank her for focusing much-needed attention on the unique challenges our sector faces in the continued provision of quality care to the vulnerable patients we serve in Maine and across the nation.

15 Oct 2009

Reform primers from both sides of the pond

The BBC offers a trans-Atlantic primer on American health reform: "Unlike other developed countries, the US does not have a universal system of healthcare coverage," the report explains. Though Obama made health reform his "top priority," members of Congress are "finding it difficult to agree on a bill."

15 Oct 2009

CalRHIO's statewide HIE system implemented in Orange County

The first site in CalRHIO's statewide health information exchange (HIE) system is live in Orange County at Coastal Communities Hospital. As a result of collaboration between CalRHIO and the local HIE effort, the Orange County Partnership Regional Health Information Organization (OCPRHIO), 23 hospital emergency departments over the next five months will have secure electronic access to critical medical information.

15 Oct 2009

AbbeyMoor Medical's The Spanner temporary prostatic stent insertion procedure receives Category I CPT code

AbbeyMoor Medical Inc. announced today they have been granted a Category I CPT code by the American Medical Association (AMA) for The Spanner(TM) temporary prostatic stent insertion procedure. This important action, effective in January 2010, upgrades The Spanner from a Category III emerging technology procedure code to a Category I procedure code for established procedures.

15 Oct 2009

Senate Finance bill protects some Medicare advantage patients

An amendment to the Senate Finance Committee bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would allow most Medicare Advantage patients in southern Florida to keep their current benefits.

15 Oct 2009

Dynamic Response Group to start national media campaign for its diabetic supply products to the Hispanic market

Dynamic Response Group, Inc. announced today on October 19, 2009 it will start the national media campaign to roll-out its Medico Express diabetic supply products to the Hispanic market.

15 Oct 2009

AAPA welcomes Senate Finance Committee's vote to approve the America's Healthy Future Act

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), representing 75,000 clinically practicing physician assistants (PAs) in the United States, applauds the Senate Finance Committee's vote to approve the America's Healthy Future Act. AAPA is committed to seeking health care reform legislation that provides the American people with access to quality, affordable, cost-effective health care.

15 Oct 2009

Interest groups campaign against proposed health taxes

"Insurance companies, unions, medical device makers and others in the health care industry are furiously lobbying lawmakers to shift burdens onto someone else — anyone else — before they find themselves saddled with billions of dollars in taxes under new health care legislation," The Associated Press reports.

15 Oct 2009

After key vote, Senate still has long way to go on health care reform

The Associated Press breaks down the different health care reform packages in Congress and takes a look at where the bills — five in all — stand after the Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to send their bill out of committee.

15 Oct 2009

Status report on the health care reform proposals in Congress

14 Oct 2009

ACS to develop and maintain the Kentucky Health Information Exchange

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc., today announced that it has been awarded a contract that will help improve the quality of healthcare in Kentucky by providing physicians with a more complete picture of a patient’s medical history.

14 Oct 2009

Renal artery stenosis does not necessitate surgical procedures

Some invasive procedures that are becoming increasingly common as a first line of treatment for patients diagnosed with narrowed arteries in and around the kidneys may not be necessary, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

14 Oct 2009

Medicare News and Research

Research to investigate and improve patient adherence to prescription drug therapies

Premier's corporate headquarters relocated in North Carolina

Snowe's vote prompts speculation about broader bipartisan support

New tips to defend against medical identity theft

SCAN Health Plan Arizona hosts special community forums to discuss healthcare options for seniors

Policymakers urged to preserve access to advanced imaging in final health care reform legislation

Senate Finance Committee passes health bill, but with plenty of grumbling

Forum Extended Care Services earns accreditation for quality operational practices

Senator Snowe's continued fight to ensure stable Medicare funding for seniors praised

Reform primers from both sides of the pond

CalRHIO's statewide HIE system implemented in Orange County

AbbeyMoor Medical's The Spanner temporary prostatic stent insertion procedure receives Category I CPT code

Senate Finance bill protects some Medicare advantage patients

Dynamic Response Group to start national media campaign for its diabetic supply products to the Hispanic market

AAPA welcomes Senate Finance Committee's vote to approve the America's Healthy Future Act

Interest groups campaign against proposed health taxes

After key vote, Senate still has long way to go on health care reform

Status report on the health care reform proposals in Congress

ACS to develop and maintain the Kentucky Health Information Exchange

Renal artery stenosis does not necessitate surgical procedures

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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