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First Edition: November 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration will push back 2015 Obamacare enrollment by a month, starting Nov. 15, 2014, instead of Oct. 15, 2014.

22 Nov 2013

Health law opinions: Obama asks you to talk ACA at Thanksgiving; Rove says Dems views on success are 'delusional'

Here's a hypothetical scenario: You're the president. You've just botched the roll out of what should have been your signature accomplishment, a major reform of the health insurance system. The public's hopping mad because you said anyone who liked his insurance plan would be able to keep it, but that wasn't true. So what do you do now? What the actual president did was suggest we all discuss health insurance with their families this holiday season (Andrew Rosenthal, 11/20).

22 Nov 2013

Vaccination campaign launched to prevent outbreaks of measles and polio in Philippines

WHO and the Philippine Department of Health have launched a vaccination campaign to prevent outbreaks of measles and polio among survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

22 Nov 2013

New NPS Direct article reveals that vaccinations fight against antibiotic resistance

During Antibiotic Awareness Week (18-24 November) NPS MedicineWise is urging health professionals to use vaccinations as one important way to limit Australia’s use of antibiotics.

22 Nov 2013

High court's 'alarming' move on abortion; tragic attack in Virginia points to needs in mental health services; a better way to reduce hospital readmissions

In an alarming 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court turned away an emergency application to block a new Texas law that is impeding access to safe and legal abortion care in the state. The ruling leaves in place an order by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that allowed the law go into effect while it considers an appeal (11/20).

22 Nov 2013

Teenage cannabis use increases in developing countries

It's common to associate cannabis use with affluent youth in wealthy societies. But the relationship between societal and family affluence and cannabis use appears to be changing.

22 Nov 2013

HealthCare.gov: It's getting better all the time -- but system flaws, failures persist

Some states and insurers are contemplating alternatives if the website isn't ready by a critical December deadline. Meanwhile, just as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was talking up the website in Florida, it crashed before her eyes.

22 Nov 2013

Research report focuses on the impact of real-time cost information within a primary care

Health care costs continue to go up, and physicians control more than 80 percent of those costs. Could providing physicians with real-time information about the cost of what they order help to restrain excessive testing? This is the question addressed in an article- in the Journal of General Internal Medicine-, published by Springer. The research project was led by Daniel Horn of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Division of General Medicine in the US, and is among the first to focus on the impact that the passive display of real-time laboratory costs can have within a primary care, non-academic setting.

22 Nov 2013

State highlights: N.Y. hospitals scramble to sign uninsured up for care; N.C. lawmakers debate Medicaid; Ore. data questions immigrant 'burden' on Medicaid

Many of [New York City's] financially strapped hospitals are scrambling to sign up people for health coverage through New York state's exchange or through Medicaid as they brace for federal cuts to providers of so-called charity care for the uninsured. At Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, the staff is posting insurance information on social-networking websites and giving presentations at churches and mosques. At Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, officials have met with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to ensure small businesses know their insurance options. Some hospitals are recruiting patients for coverage plans in emergency-room lobbies (Dawsey, 11/20).

22 Nov 2013

Oregon health law insurance exchange never worked, officials questioned on problems

Oregon residents are facing a state health exchange application deadline in two weeks to get coverage at the beginning of 2014, even as the online aspect of the marketplace still doesn't work -- and never did. In the meantime, Oregon lawmakers question officials on the exchanges problems and when they knew about them.

22 Nov 2013

New Medicaid 'doughnut hole' creating some pressure on states, federal officials

Health law advocates are concerned about low-income residents who are left out of health overhaul in states that are not expanding Medicaid. Meanwhile, in other states, the new enrollment in the joint federal-state program is strong.

22 Nov 2013

Patients to have online access to their prescription data for improved safety

As part of its mission to accelerate the adoption of health information exchange throughout California, the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement's California Health eQuality program awarded $400,000 to L.A. Care, the nation's largest publicly operated health plan, to develop Blue Button functionality.

22 Nov 2013

Study finds that anticipation of pain worse than pain itself

Faced with inevitable pain, most people would choose to get it out of the way as soon as possible, according to a new study.

22 Nov 2013

Electronic health records may be used to measure patient-centeredness of primary care practices

Although electronic health records (EHR) are primarily used to store patient clinical data, the non-clinical data they collect may be used to measure patient-centeredness of primary care practices, finds a new study in Health Services Research. In addition, two of the process of care measures collected via EHRs, volume of between clinician e-messages and frequency of in-person patient visits, were associated with better patient health outcomes.

22 Nov 2013

Board of Visitors approves resolution to create Faculty of Health Sciences

At its quarterly meeting this week, Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors approved a resolution to create a Faculty of Health Sciences.

22 Nov 2013

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

In the beginning, Chris Hempel noticed the clumsiness. Her girls tripped over toys on the floor. Their grandfather said he couldn't teach them to pedal their tricycles. … The Hempels learned of people who called themselves citizen-scientists. Many shared research papers and their day-to-day experience. Some talked of their willingness to try any promising drug. Others sought a role as equal partners with researchers. Scientists, while sympathetic, generally believe their work should be left to experts. Families are encouraged to raise money if they want to help, but the traditional view is that amateurs can't shape research or find cures. The Hempels found a maddening gap between the search for scientific knowledge and the search for treatments (Amy Docker Marcus, 11/2013).

22 Nov 2013

Healthcare News

First Edition: November 22, 2013

Health law opinions: Obama asks you to talk ACA at Thanksgiving; Rove says Dems views on success are 'delusional'

Vaccination campaign launched to prevent outbreaks of measles and polio in Philippines

New NPS Direct article reveals that vaccinations fight against antibiotic resistance

High court's 'alarming' move on abortion; tragic attack in Virginia points to needs in mental health services; a better way to reduce hospital readmissions

Teenage cannabis use increases in developing countries

HealthCare.gov: It's getting better all the time -- but system flaws, failures persist

Research report focuses on the impact of real-time cost information within a primary care

State highlights: N.Y. hospitals scramble to sign uninsured up for care; N.C. lawmakers debate Medicaid; Ore. data questions immigrant 'burden' on Medicaid

Oregon health law insurance exchange never worked, officials questioned on problems

New Medicaid 'doughnut hole' creating some pressure on states, federal officials

Patients to have online access to their prescription data for improved safety

Study finds that anticipation of pain worse than pain itself

Electronic health records may be used to measure patient-centeredness of primary care practices

Board of Visitors approves resolution to create Faculty of Health Sciences

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

Narrow choices for doctors and hospitals could keep costs down but add to consumer concerns

Reason for decline in stroke deaths still remains unclear

Investigation into Medicare payment decision spotlights issues of insider trader and 'political intelligence'

GOP formulates new attack strategy to swell opposition to health law

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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