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First Edition: July 9, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a look at HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' challenges and a delay in implementing insurance penalties on smokers.

9 Jul 2013

Research findings provide pediatric dentists, parents with new information on dental sedation

Research led by Priyanshi Ritwik, DDS, MS, LSUHSC Associate Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports important findings about side effects and how long they linger after discharge of common oral drugs used to sedate some children during dental procedures.

9 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Health care's hidden consensus; Examining the fee-for-service payment system; Alternative medicine's allure

The politicians' consensus is that health care reform shouldn't alter or disrupt the way the majority of Americans get their insurance today. ... The policy consensus, though, is that the status quo is actually the problem, and that it deserves to be threatened, undermined and replaced as expeditiously as possible. Wonks of the left and right disagree on what that replacement should look like. But they're united in regarding employer-provided coverage as an unsustainable relic (Ross Douthat, 7/6).

9 Jul 2013

Marketplace falls behind schedule in Conn.; How dental plans for kids will be sold in Calif.

With the Oct. 1 deadline for launching markeplaces approaching, states struggle with health law implementation issues.

9 Jul 2013

Medical Center Hospital to provide patient access services through Convergent's PatientQuest program

Medical Center Hospital, a 402-bed regional medical center in Odessa Texas, has selected Convergent Revenue Cycle Management, Inc. to provide patient access services through Convergent's PatientQuest program.

9 Jul 2013

Exploring abortion's 'gray' areas; the importance of personal experiences with choice; North Carolina's 'sham' law

We have some models of what happens, even in very liberal societies, when public views prevail on abortion. Across most of Western Europe, abortion is legal during the first trimester but heavily restricted later in pregnancy - after the 14th week in France, Germany and Spain. These limits are not a violation of liberal principles but a recognition that the inherent violence of late-term abortion is at odds with liberal principles (Michael Gerson, 7/4).

9 Jul 2013

Delay of employer mandate: 'Astonishing decision;' 'No bearing' on much of health law; Implementation turning into 'fiasco for the ages'

Commentators both for and against the health overhaul offered assessments of the administration's move, and the politics that surround it.

9 Jul 2013

Conservative group plans $1 million ad campaign to oppose health law

The effort will counter advocates' campaigns to get people to sign up for online insurance marketplaces. In other health law news, a Clinton administration veteran is joining the Obama health team.

9 Jul 2013

Codex Alimentarius Commission approves new standards to protect consumers' health

The UN food standards body Codex Alimentarius has agreed on new standards to protect the health of consumers worldwide. These include standards on fruit, vegetables, fish and fishery products and animal feed.

9 Jul 2013

Research suggests that publication of death rates unlikely to detect poorly performing surgeons

New research published in The Lancet suggests that the publication of death rates for individual surgeons in England, launched for the first of a new group of 10 specialties last week, is unlikely to correctly identify poorly performing surgeons in some specialties, because low numbers of key operations lead to unreliable results.

9 Jul 2013

State highlights: Ore. nonprofit hospitals see increased revenue, but lower charity care; Calif. shift means lost autism treatment

A new state report shows the average Oregon hospital more than doubled its margin, or profit, between 2009 and 2011, even as its provision of charity care went down. The findings trace the hospital sector rebound from recessionary lows in 2008, and how expanded Medicaid enrollment in Oregon has helped boost hospitals' bottom line even as many continue to expand to some assessors' dismay (Budnick, 7/5).

9 Jul 2013

HHS awards contract to British company to run Obamacare exchanges; challenges for health law implementation persist

The New York Times: British Company Is Awarded Contract To Administer Health Rollout Racing to meet an October deadline, Obama administration officials said Thursday that they had awarded a contract worth as much as $1.2 billion to a British company to help them sift applications for health insurance and tax credits under the new health care law.

9 Jul 2013

COHRED Colloquium 2013 report: Investment in global health research must grow

COHRED holds semi-annual Colloquia to bring together a range of stakeholders - from researchers and policymakers to industry representatives and NGOS - to have a free and frank discussion about salient global health issues.

9 Jul 2013

Atomo Diagnostics, BBI Solutions sign agreement for global rollout out of AtomoRapid test

Medical technology developer Atomo Diagnostics and market leading diagnostic company BBI Solutions have entered into an agreement to commercialise Atomo’s award winning, integrated rapid blood test platform, AtomoRapid.

9 Jul 2013

Key metabolites in blood could provide clues to long-term overall health and ageing

Scientists have found that key metabolites in blood - chemical 'fingerprints' left behind as a result of early molecular changes before birth or in infancy - could provide clues to a person's long-term overall health and rate of ageing in later life.

9 Jul 2013

Providers search for new tests, smartphone apps to diagnose and treat mental illness

Health care providers are trying to find tests and create new smartphone and tablet apps to better diagnose and treat mental illness.

9 Jul 2013

US state Medicaid agency invests in Kofax solution to improve medical claims processing efficiency

Kofax plc, a leading provider of smart process applications for the business critical First Mile of customer interactions, today announced that a US state Medicaid agency invested more than $350,000 in a Kofax solution to improve its medical claims processing efficiency in order to accommodate an increase in claim volume as a result of the Affordable Healthcare Act.

9 Jul 2013

For a year, consumers will be on the honor system for health law subsidies

With the delay in the employer mandate, the administration announced Friday that it would scale back verification rules on enrollees' income and health status.

9 Jul 2013

PHT announces availability of LogPad App System for clinical trial patients

PHT Corporation announced the general availability of the LogPad App™ System that collects compliant patient data using Apple and Android smartphones. The LogPad App gives sponsors and CROs the flexibility to deploy Phase II, III, and IV clinical studies plus post market and observational research to massive patient populations.

9 Jul 2013

Study reveals that low-income patients use hospital care more often than primary care

Patients with low socioeconomic status use emergency and hospital care more often than primary care because they believe hospital care is more affordable and convenient, and of better quality than care provided by primary care physicians, according to the results of a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

9 Jul 2013

Healthcare News

First Edition: July 9, 2013

Research findings provide pediatric dentists, parents with new information on dental sedation

Viewpoints: Health care's hidden consensus; Examining the fee-for-service payment system; Alternative medicine's allure

Marketplace falls behind schedule in Conn.; How dental plans for kids will be sold in Calif.

Medical Center Hospital to provide patient access services through Convergent's PatientQuest program

Exploring abortion's 'gray' areas; the importance of personal experiences with choice; North Carolina's 'sham' law

Delay of employer mandate: 'Astonishing decision;' 'No bearing' on much of health law; Implementation turning into 'fiasco for the ages'

Conservative group plans $1 million ad campaign to oppose health law

Codex Alimentarius Commission approves new standards to protect consumers' health

Research suggests that publication of death rates unlikely to detect poorly performing surgeons

State highlights: Ore. nonprofit hospitals see increased revenue, but lower charity care; Calif. shift means lost autism treatment

HHS awards contract to British company to run Obamacare exchanges; challenges for health law implementation persist

COHRED Colloquium 2013 report: Investment in global health research must grow

Atomo Diagnostics, BBI Solutions sign agreement for global rollout out of AtomoRapid test

Key metabolites in blood could provide clues to long-term overall health and ageing

Providers search for new tests, smartphone apps to diagnose and treat mental illness

US state Medicaid agency invests in Kofax solution to improve medical claims processing efficiency

For a year, consumers will be on the honor system for health law subsidies

PHT announces availability of LogPad App System for clinical trial patients

Study reveals that low-income patients use hospital care more often than primary care

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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