Healthcare News

RSS

CHIS releases latest data on health and well-being of state's residents

The California Health Interview Survey, the nation's largest state health survey and a primary source of information on California's diverse population, released its latest data today on more than 100 topics affecting the health and well-being of the state's residents.

17 Feb 2011

CMS selects BWH to participate in Medicare Imaging Demonstration project

Brigham and Women's Hospital was selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as one of five conveners of a demonstration project that promotes appropriate utilization of advanced imaging services, CMS announced February 2, 2011.

17 Feb 2011

HHS to announce health exchange 'early innovator' grants to 7 states

The grants, which are to be used to set up the framework for the health law's state insurance exchanges, will reportedly go to Kansas, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wisconsin and a consortium led by Massachusetts.

17 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times on high-risk pools; GOP on Medicaid 'flexibility;' health workers' rights

As part of the new health care reform, the federal government and 27 state governments are establishing temporary high-risk pools to offer coverage for people with pre-existing conditions until the law takes full effect in 2014.

17 Feb 2011

ASN opposes proposed $1.6 billion reduction to NIH budget

Proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget for 2011 will limit the nation's ability to advance patient care and public health.

17 Feb 2011

Roundup: Calif. kids' care; high Mass. health workers' costs; Iowa nursing home inspectors

The push is on to enroll thousands of children who previously could not get health coverage or whose parents paid much higher premiums because of their children's pre-existing medical conditions. Under new federal rules that took effect last fall, children with chronic health conditions cannot be denied coverage.

17 Feb 2011

Poll: 73% of New Jersey people think investment on global health research is important to state's economy

Despite the unpredictable economy, nearly three-quarters of New Jersey residents think spending money on research to improve health globally is important to jobs and incomes in the state, according to a new statewide poll commissioned by Research!America.

17 Feb 2011

Senate finance leaders push for permanent Medicare 'doc fix'

Both Committee Chair Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are pushing for an overhaul of Medicare's physician payment formula. Meanwhile, Baucus is not "ready to commit" to hold confirmation hearings for the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who has been re-nominated.

17 Feb 2011

Study: 35% of imaging costs ordered for defensive purposes

Nearly 35 percent of all the imaging costs ordered for 2,068 orthopaedic patient encounters in Pennsylvania were ordered for defensive purposes, according to a new study presented today at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

17 Feb 2011

World Bank highlights significant food price rises

"Rising food prices pushed tens of millions of people into extreme poverty last year and are reaching 'dangerous levels' in some countries, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Tuesday as he released new data showing that the cost of grain and other staples is near a historic high," the Washington Post reports (Schneider, 2/15).

17 Feb 2011

Medicaid should stop paying more than Medicare for pharmacy benefits

To help reduce state Medicaid spending, the New York State Health Department yesterday proposed that the program's prescription drug benefits be managed more like those in Medicare and commercial plans. The Department's "Proposal to Redesign Medicaid" says this move would save state taxpayers $350 million though 2015.

17 Feb 2011

Study finds poor security practices in clinical trial file sharing methods

Patients who participate in clinical trials expect that their personal information will remain confidential, but a recent study led by Dr. Khaled El-Emam, Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the CHEO Research Institute, found that the security practices used to transfer and share sensitive files were inadequate.

17 Feb 2011

STMicroelectronics to produce iChip microprocessor for LifeNexus Personal Health Card

STMicroelectronics, a world leader in semiconductor solutions, and LifeNexus, the developer of the iChip™ and Personal Health Card, today announced that STMicroelectronics will produce the iChip microprocessor for the LifeNexus Personal Health Card.

17 Feb 2011

AHRQ lists SVS as Patient Safety Organization

The Society for Vascular Surgery is now listed as a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, on behalf of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

17 Feb 2011

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Among the strategies being used are efforts to change rules, revise definitions, tighten anti-fraud efforts and cut services.

17 Feb 2011

USAID Administrator discusses global health programs at NIH event

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on Tuesday delivered a speech at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he reaffirmed President Barack Obama's commitment to the 6-year $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI) and discussed the USAID's role in bolstering U.S. global health programs, CIDRAP News reports. During his speech, Shah emphasized the administration's focus on structuring global health programs to be more cost efficient.

17 Feb 2011

Over and under treatment of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients leads to patient safety issues

The publication of the systematic review of intensive insulin therapy in hospitalized patients and the American College of Physicians (ACP) clinical guidelines for inpatient glucose control in the February 15th issue of Annals of Internal Medicine has again raised the issue of optimal management of hyperglycemia in the hospital.

17 Feb 2011

Can Obama, GOP find consensus on Medicare, Medicaid spending?

As criticism continues regarding President Barack Obama's budget plan, he acknowledged in a Tuesday speech that more needs to be done to resolve the nation's long-term budget problems and he signaled an interest in working toward a compromise with Republicans. Some GOP Senators responded by challenging Obama to begin such negotiations "swiftly."

17 Feb 2011

WH statement says Obama would veto FY11 budget that 'undermines critical priorities or national security'

The Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Tuesday warning that President Barack Obama would "veto the continuing resolution funding bill now being debated in the House if it contains drastic cuts to national security, but it remains unclear if large cuts in diplomacy and foreign aid programs would be enough to force White House action," Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports.

17 Feb 2011

HHS unveils new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of immunization activities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled a new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of all aspects of federal vaccine and immunization activities. Its goal is to ensure that all Americans can access the preventive benefits of vaccines.

17 Feb 2011