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Sun-Times: Medicare wants pharmacists out of Plan D decision-making process

Walgreens pharmacists are no longer giving customers advice on which Medicare Part D plans best work with the customers' prescriptions by the Dec. 31 deadline, and a Medicare spokesman says that's a good thing.

16 Dec 2010

Personalities, politics emerge from decision's aftermath

Personalities and politics swirl around news about Monday's ruling in the Virginia health law challenge, with news outlets detailing how judges in different cases reached their conclusions and examining Judge Henry Hudson's ties to a GOP consulting firm. More reports also surround the related political dust-ups and posturing.

16 Dec 2010

The Baltimore Sun: Stent sellers were allowed inside lab despite hospital ban

News outlets examine how the marketing of medical devices and treatments impacts health care costs and physicians' decisions.

16 Dec 2010

Researchers discover newborn's brain respond strongly to mother's voice

A mother's voice will preferentially activate the parts of the brain responsible for language learning, say researchers from the University of Montreal and the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre.

16 Dec 2010

Today's Opinions: Reviewing judge's ruling on health law's individual mandate

The legal case against it almost certainly will make its way to the Supreme Court before the individual mandate is due to take effect in 2014. But considered in its proper context, it doesn't violate the Constitution (12/15).

15 Dec 2010

ICSA Labs can now test and certify electronics health record product solutions

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has designated ICSA Labs as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body for products and solutions for electronic health records.

15 Dec 2010

Experts study obesity in young population with physical, cognitive disabilities

While the nation's obesity epidemic is the target of many programs to combat it, few such programs embrace an often-overlooked subgroup adolescents and young adults with physical or cognitive disabilities.

15 Dec 2010

MCSA Tool for colonoscopy trainees to assess cognitive and motor skills

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, have developed a new skills assessment tool for colonoscopy trainees.

15 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 15, 2010

Today's major health policy news is full of second-day stories and analysis regarding Monday's health law decision by a federal court judge in Virginia.

15 Dec 2010

Customer satisfaction with health insurance falls 2.7%, says ACSI report

Steady or improving customer satisfaction with several types of financial services is not enough to overcome the customer satisfaction challenges of the health insurance industry, according to a report released today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The report covers customer satisfaction with banks, credit unions, health insurance, life insurance and property & casualty insurance.

15 Dec 2010

SBUMC to rename and dedicate ALS clinic as Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence

For Chris Pendergast, every Christmas he has been alive to celebrate with his family for the past 17 years has been a gift unto itself. Indeed, in 1993 the then 44-year-old elementary school teacher from Miller Place on Long Island was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - ALS - the always fatal degenerative neuromuscular disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was told that he had, at best, three to five years to live.

15 Dec 2010

Demand for clinical research professionals double

ResourcingPoint announces that demand for clinical research professional placement has doubled in the last two months. An increase in clinical activity across the industry, coupled with a strategic expansion of the ResourcingPoint database of professional staff, has enabled significant clinical outsourcing growth for the company. A variety of different companies, from emerging device to large pharma and CROs, rely on ResourcingPoint for their contracting needs.

15 Dec 2010

Research reveals pattern of declining health among Mexican-American immigrants

Mexican-Americans who are most integrated into the culture including those born in the United States, and not recent immigrants appear less healthy and more likely to require resources to manage their health conditions than more recent, less-integrated migrants, according to a new study from Rice University, Duke University and the University of Colorado Denver.

15 Dec 2010

Global Fund to draw up action plan against drug theft, invites stakeholders to participate

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday appealed to international donors to join them in an effort to fight medicine theft, SAPA/News24 reports.

15 Dec 2010

Survey reveals 40% of consumers prefer to purchase vision care services during weekends, evenings

An independent, national survey reveals 40 percent of consumers prefer to shop for and purchase vision correction services during evenings or weekends.

15 Dec 2010

Legal analysis, implementation predictions and political posturing abound in the wake of yesterday's decision

Yesterday's court decision triggered a wave of analysis, speculation, posturing and predictions about what health reform's future will hold.

15 Dec 2010

CMS increases reimbursement rate for Cylex's immune cell function assay by 267%

Cylex Incorporated® today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nearly tripled the reimbursement for ImmuKnow®, the immune cell function assay FDA-cleared for the detection of cell-mediated immune response in populations undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for organ transplant. This significant increase was granted in a time when the overall CMS clinical fee schedule experienced a comprehensive decrease in laboratory reimbursement rates.

15 Dec 2010

Federal judge in Virginia voids key provision of health law

A federal court judge in Virginia issued a decision Monday striking at a key element of the health care law — the individual mandate. This ruling marked the first time a court decision invalidated a part of the sweeping overhaul.

15 Dec 2010

Illegal online drug sellers prey upon 36 million Americans

Illegal online drug sellers have provided tens of millions of Americans prescription medication via the Internet without a valid prescription, recent research has found. These rogue sellers have preyed upon thirty-six million people, or 1 in 6 Americans, exposing them to the potential of taking counterfeit and unapproved medications.

15 Dec 2010

HUP launches Penn Hand Transplant Program

The Penn Transplant Institute, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) have collaborated to form the Penn Hand Transplant Program.

15 Dec 2010