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OHA, GCE and HQO develop Quality and Patient Safety Governance Toolkit

Effective governance is increasingly recognized as one of the most impactful ways to improve quality and patient care in our hospitals, and a new online toolkit is helping hospital Board Members exercise their role in achieving better patient experiences.

14 Jun 2011

IRIN examines factors influencing health worker migration and how countries working toward solutions

In this article, "IRIN took a look at some of the push and pull factors behind health worker migration, and what countries are doing to address them."

14 Jun 2011

Sociologist studies why families in China choose to abort girls

Why are female foetuses aborted in China? Boys are considered a greater asset for farming, but why has the number of families in the cities who want a boy at any cost doubled? Sociologist Lisa Eklund from Lund University in Sweden has studied why families in China choose to abort girls.

14 Jun 2011

Texas employers can learn about signs, symptoms of drug impairment at SHSU inaugural program

Texas employers can learn about the signs and symptoms of drug impairment among workers at an inaugural program being held at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) June 14. The free, six-hour program will be available to all Texas employers after Sept. 1, 2011.

14 Jun 2011

New poll finds little support for privatizing Medicare

A new poll finds little support for privatizing Medicare, even though most people agree the government-sponsored health insurance program for older Americans needs major changes if it is to survive.

14 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Private vs. public Medicare; N.J. Medicaid tough choices; IPAB's cost controls

Every once in a while a politician comes up with an idea that's so bad, so wrongheaded, that you're almost grateful. For really bad ideas can help illustrate the extent to which policy discourse has gone off the rails. And so it was with Senator Joseph Lieberman's proposal, released last week, to raise the age for Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67.

14 Jun 2011

Exposure to cigarettes fosters tween smoking: New study

Exposure to secondhand smoke can create symptoms of nicotine dependence in non-smoking preteens, according to a new study from Concordia University and the University of Montreal.

14 Jun 2011

Roundup: States controlled by GOP pass sweeping changes; state budgets still very lean from recession; La. Gov. wrestling with legislature over spending

Republicans controlled all the levers of government in a staggering number of states this year — and it showed. Holding a lock on the governorship and both houses of the legislature in 20 states, GOP conservatives advanced an agenda that may change the face of state government for decades. They honored pledges not to raise taxes by enacting huge spending cuts to balance budgets in Florida and Texas.

14 Jun 2011

Hospital trends mark changes in employment, admission patterns

Meanwhile, in Oregon, hospital profit margins were down in 2010, according to the state Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.

13 Jun 2011

HHS offers Medicaid guidance for same-sex couples

Late last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services clarified that same-sex couples are entitled to the same protections that exist for heterosexual couples when one member enters a nursing home.

13 Jun 2011

Policy issues related to dual-eligible patients, cancer medication coverage attract headlines

The Associated Press reports that seniors are facing Medicare cost barriers which sometimes lead them to not fill cancer drug prescriptions. Also, CQ HealthBeat reports that a special team within the Department of Health and Human Services is working on finding ways to save money and improve care for patients on both Medicare and Medicaid.

13 Jun 2011

Turning the tables: Brits fear American health system

Two years ago, Britons were outraged when U.S. politicians like Sarah Palin, in the debate over health care reform, turned this country's National Health Service into a public whipping boy, denouncing it as "evil," "Orwellian" and generally the enemy of everything good and true.

13 Jun 2011

Parties continue to clash over ways to curb Medicare spending

Amidst a pitched political debate over the federal deficit, all sides agree that health care spending must be addressed. Still, Medicare continues to cause considerable political differences. At the same time, a new CBS poll finds that Americans have "mixed feelings" about what should happen to the health insurance program for senior citizens.

13 Jun 2011

New tool to rapidly assess risk of aggressive, violent behavior by children and adolescents

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed a tool to rapidly assess the risk of aggressive and violent behavior by children and adolescents hospitalized on psychiatric units. Ultimately, they hope to use the questionnaire to improve treatment and prevention of aggressive behavior in schools and in the community.

13 Jun 2011

Some Democrats may not hold steady against Medicaid cuts

There may be more to read from what wasn't included in Sen. Jay Rockefeller's letter to the White House on Thursday than what was in it.

13 Jun 2011

Panetta: Finding savings in military health care programs on to-do list

President Obama's nominee to lead the Pentagon has made it clear military personnel programs, once considered sacrosanct, will be scrutinized as the administration looks for spending cuts.

13 Jun 2011

Announcement of Congressional Wellness Caucus slated for today

Meanwhile, The Hill reports on what motivated some first-term members of Congress to run for the House of Representatives even though they had never held office before.

13 Jun 2011

Mayo Clinic will not participate in ACO program

The Mayo Clinic says it will not be part of a critical piece of national health care reform under the government's proposed rules. The prestigious Rochester clinic is raising questions about accountable care organizations, or ACOs, which are supposed to be updated — and better — versions of health maintenance organizations.

13 Jun 2011

HHS: Enrollment in high-risk pools tops 20,000

Figures released Friday reflect the number of participants in the health overhaul's high-risk pools as of April. Meanwhile, Modern Healthcare reports that Kansas has widened it's high-risk pool to allow child-only plans.

13 Jun 2011

IHPM, Ciming announce formal collaboration in the field of Enterprise Health Management

Ciming Health Checkup Group and Institute for Health and Productivity Management (IHPM) are pleased to announce their formal collaboration in the field of Enterprise Health Management, for the purpose of bringing health and productivity solutions to employers in China.

13 Jun 2011