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First Edition: May 24, 2013

Today's headlines include details on California's new health insurance exchange rates, whether consumers will experience "rate shock" and what these numbers say about the health law's implementation.

24 May 2013

Research report examines trends in pediatric organ donation and transplantation

Changes in the circumstances of when organs are donated to pediatric patients has resulted in a decreased number of organ transplant wait-list deaths over the past decade, according to research published online this week in the journal Pediatrics.

24 May 2013

Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University receive PCORI award to enhance health care access for underinsured

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has approved a three-year research award of more than $2 million to the Indiana University Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research and the Regenstrief Institute Inc. to study ways to improve health care access for the underinsured.

24 May 2013

Mayo experts provide tips to prevent teen suicide

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. If parents are worried their child may be having suicidal thoughts, it's no time to tiptoe around the question, according to Mayo Clinic experts who have produced two educational videos on suicide prevention for use by media outlets, schools and others.

24 May 2013

The Berman Brain & Spine Institute at LifeBridge Health is acknowledged for excellence in stroke care

The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute at LifeBridge Health has been acknowledged for the exceptional quality of its stroke care with a Target: Stroke designation and two Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Awards from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

24 May 2013

Highlights: Geography's role in elective surgeries in Calif.; Conn. Democrats eye shifting $400M in Medicaid money; HHS says Cedars-Sinai has $2.2M in billing errors

Geography plays a role in whether patients in California have elective operations such as joint replacement, weight loss surgery and gallbladder removal, according to a new study. The California HealthCare Foundation study showed wide variations in patient surgeries across the state (Gorman, 5/22).

24 May 2013

Bochum's medics use autologous cord blood to treat infantile cerebral palsy

Bochum's medics have succeeded in treating cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood. Following a cardiac arrest with severe brain damage, a 2.5 year old boy had been in a persistent vegetative state - with minimal chances of survival. Just two months after treatment with the cord blood containing stem cells, the symptoms improved significantly; over the following months, the child learned to speak simple sentences and to move.

24 May 2013

UCLA researchers find decrease in overall mortality rates for advanced heart failure

UCLA researchers examining outcomes for advanced heart-failure patients over the past two decades have found that, coinciding with the increased availability and use of new therapies, overall mortality has decreased and sudden cardiac death, caused by the rapid onset of severe abnormal heart rhythms, has declined.

24 May 2013

Caregivers experience less stress when family members with dementia attend ADS program

Family caregivers of older adults with dementia are less stressed and their moods are improved on days when dementia patients receive adult day services (ADS), according to Penn State researchers.

24 May 2013

Senate immigration bill would ease restrictions on foreign health workers; Measure advances to increase scrutiny on compounding pharmacies

On Capitol Hill, several legislative efforts are moving forward on health issues. Among them is an effort by the Massachusetts delegation to keep bonus Medicare payments for the state's hospitals, while House Republicans are looking for another way to deal with a bill to fund high-risk insurance pools.

24 May 2013

Lifestyle behaviors can lower risk of kidney failure in people with CKD

Lifestyle behaviors like working out and improving nutrition can lower the risk of kidney failure in people with chronic kidney disease, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

24 May 2013

Weekend reading: Mental illness stigma, health insurance mazes and female libido

Linneah sat at a desk at the Center for Sexual Medicine at Sheppard Pratt in the suburbs of Baltimore and filled out a questionnaire. She read briskly, making swift checks beside her selected answers, and when she was finished, she handed the pages across the desk to Martina Miller, who gave her a round of pills.

24 May 2013

States embroiled in Medicaid expansion battles are running out of time

Politico reports that this health law implementation issue remains an open question for about a dozen states. Some are on the brink of giving up for the first year but looking ahead to the next set of state legislature sessions. Meanwhile, news outlets report on related developments in Michigan, Texas, Ohio, California and Iowa.

24 May 2013

The Hill: Insurers feel pressure to support Enroll America

The Hill reports that unnamed insurance industry sources say they feel that Enroll America, the non-profit group raising funds to support outreach to the uninsured, is "just an arm of the administration." In a separate story, The Hill notes new research concluding the trend toward part-time work and reduced health benefits began before the overhaul.

24 May 2013

Viewpoints: Sen. Alexander sees reflections of Oliver North in Sebelius' quest to raise funds; vaccine scare's legacy

Major news outlets in recent days have reported that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is raising money from the private sector -- including from health care executives -- for use by a private entity that is helping to implement ObamaCare. ... Is Ms. Sebelius raising funds for a private entity and then coordinating with that entity to do something Congress has refused to authorize, or for which it has refused to appropriate funds?

24 May 2013

New report examines growth of senior hunger in US

HMS, a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp., applauded today the release of a new report the company helped support. Spotlight on Senior Hunger is based on research commissioned and underwritten by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger.

24 May 2013

Leapfrog Group honors John Muir Health's medical centers with "A" for patient safety

The Leapfrog Group, an independent coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health benefits, has honored John Muir Health's Concord and Walnut Creek medical centers with an "A" Hospital Safety Score for the second year in a row.

24 May 2013

HHS report finds uptick in doctors' use of electronic health records

Also in the news, the Pentagon is in search of a new system for veterans' health care while San Francisco is "leading the way" in new health data applications.

24 May 2013

Echo Therapeutics unveils Symphony CGM System

Echo Therapeutics, Inc., a company developing its needle-free Symphony CGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system, today announced the successful unveiling and demonstration of its Symphony CGM System during a live webcast following yesterday's annual stockholders meeting.

24 May 2013

Federal appellate court hears arguments challenging health law's birth control mandate

The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago is the first federal appellate court to hear arguments in cases challenging the mandate that took effect last August. With dozens of similar lawsuits pending, many say the issue seems likely to land before the Supreme Court. The case brought by Hobby Lobby Inc. is considered the most prominent of these efforts.

24 May 2013

Healthcare News

First Edition: May 24, 2013

Research report examines trends in pediatric organ donation and transplantation

Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University receive PCORI award to enhance health care access for underinsured

Mayo experts provide tips to prevent teen suicide

The Berman Brain & Spine Institute at LifeBridge Health is acknowledged for excellence in stroke care

Highlights: Geography's role in elective surgeries in Calif.; Conn. Democrats eye shifting $400M in Medicaid money; HHS says Cedars-Sinai has $2.2M in billing errors

Bochum's medics use autologous cord blood to treat infantile cerebral palsy

UCLA researchers find decrease in overall mortality rates for advanced heart failure

Caregivers experience less stress when family members with dementia attend ADS program

Senate immigration bill would ease restrictions on foreign health workers; Measure advances to increase scrutiny on compounding pharmacies

Lifestyle behaviors can lower risk of kidney failure in people with CKD

Weekend reading: Mental illness stigma, health insurance mazes and female libido

States embroiled in Medicaid expansion battles are running out of time

The Hill: Insurers feel pressure to support Enroll America

Viewpoints: Sen. Alexander sees reflections of Oliver North in Sebelius' quest to raise funds; vaccine scare's legacy

New report examines growth of senior hunger in US

Leapfrog Group honors John Muir Health's medical centers with "A" for patient safety

HHS report finds uptick in doctors' use of electronic health records

Echo Therapeutics unveils Symphony CGM System

Federal appellate court hears arguments challenging health law's birth control mandate

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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