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OpEds: Palin on the Ryan Roadmap, Seniors and primary care docs, Arizona transplant controversy

[The president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform's report] implicitly endorses the use of 'death panel'-like rationing by way of the new Independent Payments Advisory Board—making bureaucrats, not medical professionals, the ultimate arbiters of what types of treatment will (and especially will not) be reimbursed under Medicare.

10 Dec 2010

Elsevier enables text-to-speech option for all ePub book titles

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, announced today that it has enabled the text-to-speech option on all of its ePub book titles. The text-to-speech function enables an e-book to read aloud. This will facilitate access by readers who would otherwise face a range of access challenges through blindness, dyslexia, or motor difficulties.

10 Dec 2010

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

A new report, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says that for the first time in 50 years, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death.

10 Dec 2010

AARP Pennsylvania thanks House for passage of bill stopping payment cut to doctors in Medicare

AARP Pennsylvania State Director Dick Chevrefils released a statement following today's passage of the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill stops a scheduled payment cut to doctors in Medicare, ensuring seniors can continue to see their physicians for the next year.

10 Dec 2010

AMA welcomes House passage of legislation to stop Medicare physician payment cut for one year

"The AMA welcomes bipartisan House passage of legislation to stop the Medicare physician payment cut for one year. Stopping the steep 25 percent Medicare cut for one year was vital to preserve seniors' access to physician care in 2011. Many physicians made clear that this year's roller coaster ride, caused by five delays of this year's cut, forced them to make difficult practice changes like limiting the number of Medicare patients they could treat.

10 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 10, 2010

In today's health policy headlines, reports about the Obama administration lawyer charged with defending the health law as well as the latest action in this lame duck Congress.

10 Dec 2010

Official guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and management of food allergies released

A collaborative, government-led effort to guide and standardize diagnosis, treatment and management of food allergies has resulted in the release of an official set of recommendations for physicians.

10 Dec 2010

Process of activating helicopter EMS delays treatment for heart attacks beyond recommended times

Helicopter emergency medical services can be a life saver for patients needing immediate care. But, according to a University of Cincinnati study, the process of activating them often delays treatment beyond recommended times.

10 Dec 2010

Alliance of Specialty Medicine calls for new, permanent Medicare reimbursement formula

The Alliance of Specialty Medicine (Alliance) today called on Congress to permanently fix Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) after lawmakers once again passed a temporary fix, thereby postponing unprecedented reimbursement cuts to Medicare doctors until 2012.

10 Dec 2010

Access problems for psychiatric patients to Medicaid medication leads to increased hospital, emergency care

Too often, mental health patients have problems accessing or paying for their prescription drugs under Medicaid. The results — longer hospital stays and more emergency room visits — are hard on patients and costly for the entire health care system, a new study finds.

10 Dec 2010

AvMed to optimize Member Services call center operation with Panviva SupportPoint

AvMed Health Plans announced today that it has chosen Panviva SupportPoint, a world-wide leader in Business Process Guidance (BPG) systems, to optimize its Member Services call center operation and drive even higher levels of member satisfaction.

10 Dec 2010

AMGA issues comments on CMS Request for Information on ACOs

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA), a trade association representing multispecialty medical groups and other organized systems of care, today released its comments on the CMS Request for Information on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The comments were due and submitted on December 3, 2010. CMS has announced that the notice of proposed rulemaking on ACOs will be published early next year

10 Dec 2010

Incoming House Foreign Affairs Committee chair outlines views on U.S. foreign policy; House passes FY 2011 funding act

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) "moved rapidly Wednesday to put her mark on U.S. foreign policy as the incoming chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee," McClatchy reports (Clark, 12/8).

10 Dec 2010

WFP, UNAIDS work to improve nutritional support available for people living with HIV/AIDS

The World Program Program (WFP), with the support of UNAIDS, is planning to launch "a new policy to make food and nutritional support more available to people living with HIV," VOA News reports. The agency "says the aim of [the] program is to help patients stick to their treatment, while protecting their households from further vulnerability," the news service adds.

10 Dec 2010

Three-day meeting on eliminating river blindness kicks off in Nigeria

A three-day meeting of the WHO African Program for Onchocerciasis (River blindness) Control (WHO/APOC) opened in Abuja, Nigeria, on Tuesday, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports (12/8).

10 Dec 2010

Presidential commission pushes feds to 'facilitate' more health IT

A report by a presidential advisory panel urges the federal government to be more aggressive in facilitating the adoption of universal standards for sharing electronic health information and maintaining patient privacy.

10 Dec 2010

COPD becomes third leading cause of death in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a report today, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," confirming that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) became the third leading cause of death in the U.S. for 2008.

10 Dec 2010

Exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage leading to serious illness or death

Exposure to tobacco smoke - even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke - causes immediate damage to your body that can lead to serious illness or death, according to a report released today by U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin. The comprehensive scientific report - Benjamin's first Surgeon General's report and the 30th tobacco-related Surgeon General's report issued since 1964 - describes specific pathways by which tobacco smoke damages the human body and leads to disease and death.

10 Dec 2010

Insurers develop new products, brace for overhaul's impact

News outlets report that insurers and brokers are devising strategies to respond to the new health law.

10 Dec 2010

State roundup: Facing budget 'cliff'; Medicaid woes; Arizona transplant program; Another Florida health vote?

U.S. states are preparing for more budget cuts next year as tax revenue isn't likely to rebound enough to replace almost $38 billion in aid that will be gone as federal economic stimulus ends, according to a report. At least 31 states and Puerto Rico are forecasting deficits of $82.1 billion in the next fiscal year even as tax receipts are picking up, the National Conference of State Legislatures said today.

10 Dec 2010

Healthcare News

OpEds: Palin on the Ryan Roadmap, Seniors and primary care docs, Arizona transplant controversy

Elsevier enables text-to-speech option for all ePub book titles

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

AARP Pennsylvania thanks House for passage of bill stopping payment cut to doctors in Medicare

AMA welcomes House passage of legislation to stop Medicare physician payment cut for one year

First Edition: December 10, 2010

Official guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and management of food allergies released

Process of activating helicopter EMS delays treatment for heart attacks beyond recommended times

Alliance of Specialty Medicine calls for new, permanent Medicare reimbursement formula

Access problems for psychiatric patients to Medicaid medication leads to increased hospital, emergency care

AvMed to optimize Member Services call center operation with Panviva SupportPoint

AMGA issues comments on CMS Request for Information on ACOs

Incoming House Foreign Affairs Committee chair outlines views on U.S. foreign policy; House passes FY 2011 funding act

WFP, UNAIDS work to improve nutritional support available for people living with HIV/AIDS

Three-day meeting on eliminating river blindness kicks off in Nigeria

Presidential commission pushes feds to 'facilitate' more health IT

COPD becomes third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Exposure to tobacco smoke causes immediate damage leading to serious illness or death

Insurers develop new products, brace for overhaul's impact

State roundup: Facing budget 'cliff'; Medicaid woes; Arizona transplant program; Another Florida health vote?

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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