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States mull Medicaid cuts, dropout possibilities

"Huge budget shortfalls are prompting a handful of states to begin discussing a once-unthinkable scenario: dropping out of the Medicaid insurance program for the poor," The Wall Street Journal reports. Officials in several states, including Washington, Texas, and South Carolina, have publicly pitched the idea.

22 Nov 2010

Research roundup: Health IT and malpractice; Wide variation in hospital rates; Income and insurance offerings

New England Journal of Medicine: Medical Malpractice Liability In The Age Of Electronic Health Records - "Providers can expect a varied and shifting landscape of medical liability risks and benefits as the adoption of [electronic health records] EHRs unfolds," write the authors who explore the ways EHRs may bring about long-term changes in standard of care and affect the course of malpractice litigation.

22 Nov 2010

Political cartoon: 'Waivers'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh look at health policy developments with 'Waivers' by Lisa Benson.

22 Nov 2010

KHN column: The Roadmap lives

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, James Capretta writes: "Last year, Rep. Paul Ryan's 'Roadmap' -- his far-reaching plan to restore long-term budget balance through tax and entitlement reform -- was the subject of relentless attacks by those favoring a larger government role in American life. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called Ryan the 'Flimflam Man' in a widely cited opinion piece in which he tried to dismiss the Roadmap as not a credible solution to the nation's budget problems.

22 Nov 2010

Cerner products achieve CCHIT Complete EHR certification

Cerner Corporation announced today that PowerChart®, FirstNet®, ProFile®, HealthSentry®, Cerner Healthe, Cerner® Health Record, IQHealth® and P2Sentinel™ 2007.19.12 and P2Sentinel™ v4.2.1 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on Oct.28, 2010 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology - Authorized Testing Certification Bodies, in accordance with the applicable Hospital certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

22 Nov 2010

Medworxx Bed Optimization System goes live across St. Michael's Hospital

Medworxx Inc., provider of healthcare solutions for patient flow, compliance and education, announced today that St. Michael's Hospital is now live on the Medworxx Bed Optimization System (BOS). Medworxx BOS is now live across St. Michael's Hospital, helping to manage 460 beds.

22 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 22, 2010

Today's headlines offer a range of health policy stories, including more reports on deficit reduction issues, the continuing politics swirling around the health law repeal effort and employers' soaring health care costs.

22 Nov 2010

CDS introduces new genre to online learning content

The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based curriculum for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and managed in partnership by Elsevier/MC Strategies and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, has introduced its latest offering in the form of a new genre of its online learning content.

22 Nov 2010

WHO's guidance to governments on ways to finance health care

Governments worldwide are struggling to pay for health care. As populations get older, as more people suffer chronic diseases, and as new and more expensive treatments appear, health costs soar.

22 Nov 2010

SIS perioperative modular EHR achieves ONC-ATCB meaningful use certification

Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, announced today that SIS Version 5 has been certified to meet 2011/2012 Stage 1 meaningful use measures as a modular Electronic Health Record (EHR). Certification was conducted by the Drummond Group, an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB).

22 Nov 2010

Perspectives on World Health Report 2010

With the financial crisis still hanging over many countries, this year's World Health Report from the World Health Organization, "Health Systems Financing: The Path to Universal Coverage" is timely and relevant to the question of how to ensure that all people have access to health care services, without suffering financial hardship. This is the conclusion of a Perspective article on the 2010 World Health Report from Sara Bennett (Johns Hopkins University, USA) and colleagues, published in PLoS Medicine to coincide with the release of the Report.

22 Nov 2010

2011 RAC Summit prepares physicians for new audit landscape

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama this past March greatly expands the audit operations for Medicare and Medicaid programs. At the hub of these efforts are the Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), which are fully operational for the Medicare program, and will expand to include services reimbursed by state Medicaid programs in April of 2011.

22 Nov 2010

Military surgeons provide guidance on handling emergency blast injuries

Hospitals all over the world need to be aware of how to treat emergency blast injuries and military surgeons can provide valuable knowledge and advice to their civilian counterparts based on their experience of battlefield injuries. That is the driving force behind two papers published online by BJS, the British Journal of Surgery.

22 Nov 2010

SESCAM selects WeatherBug weather monitoring solution for emergency services operations

WeatherBug®, the leading provider of consumer and professional weather products and services and operator of the largest weather observing and lightning network, announced its selection by SESCAM (Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha), a regional healthcare organization in central Spain that serves more than two million living throughout the region of Castilla-La Mancha.

22 Nov 2010

Epilepsy Foundation Northwest adds Alaska to territory

The Epilepsy Foundation Northwest (EFNW) announced the addition of Alaska to its affiliate, making it the largest territory in the nation for the Epilepsy Foundation organization. Programs and services provided by EFNW for people living with epilepsy and their families will now officially include Alaska.

22 Nov 2010

Parties to WHO FCTC strengthen tobacco-control efforts worldwide

Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) unanimously adopted a number of decisions this week strengthening tobacco-control efforts worldwide.

22 Nov 2010

Rush to merge doctors and hospitals is raising consumers' concerns

When Congress passed the health care law, it envisioned doctors and hospitals joining forces, coordinating care and holding down costs, with the prospect of earning government bonuses for controlling costs.

22 Nov 2010

Mass. and Minn. officials struggle with controlling health costs, guaranteeing quality

News outlets report that Massachusetts' health reform hasn't adequately addressed the soaring cost of health care, according to the state's Attorney General.

21 Nov 2010

NSW nurses to strike on Wednesday

NSW nurses are bent upon going on strike despite requests from Deputy Premiera and Minister for Health Carmel Tebbutt for them to re-enter negotiations. The strike is set to go ahead against the orders of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

21 Nov 2010

Growing emergency room ‘access block’ problem in Australian hospitals

Shockingly the number of Australians who die waiting for a hospital bed is on par with road deaths said a senior Canberra emergency department doctor. According to Australian National University medical school’s road trauma chairman, Associate Professor Drew Richardson, 30 per cent of emergency wards’ work now involves caring for patients whose initial treatment has ended but still await a bed. He suggested a seven-day-a-week surgical roster to avoid the build-ups of patients that overcrowd wards.

21 Nov 2010