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States mull Medicaid grants

Republicans talk a lot about how Medicaid block grants could help governors bring down their costs, but they don't talk as much about what, exactly, the states would do with them. It's not that they have no answers. Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi has said he'd like to provide home-based care for children with special medical needs, rather than resort to more expensive hospital care, but federal rules get in the way.

8 Apr 2011

HCP closes acquisition of HCR ManorCare facilities for $6.1 billion

HCP announced that it closed the acquisition of 334 post-acute, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities of HCR ManorCare for a total consideration of $6.1 billion in cash. In connection with the closing, HCP entered into a long-term triple-net master lease under which HCR ManorCare will continue to operate the facilities.

8 Apr 2011

Vascular Disease Foundation invites applicants for ambassador program

If you or someone you love have been affected by vascular disease and have a willingness to help others, the Vascular Disease Foundation (VDF) is calling for applications to join its ambassador program to help promote vascular disease awareness.

8 Apr 2011

Current 'metrics' don't paint clear picture of health care quality

With a push to make hospitals and doctors more accountable for health care quality, more attention must be paid to the accuracy and reliability of measures used to evaluate caregivers, says a prominent Johns Hopkins patient safety expert.

8 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 8, 2011

Today's headlines include stories tracking the partisan negotiations surrounding a current-year spending bill. Currently at an impasse, the differences between the GOP and Democrats as well as the White House surrounds more than just the total dollar figure attached to spending cuts. It also involves controversial "policy riders." Meanwhile, without resolution, a government shutdown is just hours away.

8 Apr 2011

Doctor files whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against Catholic Charities of Washington

Dr. Charles C. Briggs filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit today in D.C. Superior Court against Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in connection with the organization's failure to rectify serious medical violations committed against patients at its clinics in Washington, D.C. and Langley Park, MD.

8 Apr 2011

VHS Group sponsors 2011 International Health Risk Management Forum

Sponsored by Valurise Health Solutions International, and guided/supported by the Chinese workers' mutual Insurance Association All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the China Insurance Association and the International Disease Management Alliance, the 2011 International Health Risk Management Forum, Opportunity and Challenge of Health Risk Management in the Transition Period in China is going to be held on 20th April, 2011 in the National Convention Centre in Beijing, China.

8 Apr 2011

Delivery of quality health care rather than sustainability is key issue for Canada's election

Delivering quality health care rather than health care sustainability is a key issue for Canada's federal election, and Canadians need a vision from federal leaders to radically transform our health care system, states an editorial in Canadian Medical Association Journal.

8 Apr 2011

MedAZ' EHR Plus achieves ONC-ATCB certification

EHR Plus, the electronic medical record component of MedAZ Complete, has received ONC-ATCB certification for its ambulatory and inpatient versions. Certification means that the product qualifies for Meaningful Use implementation, enabling the eligible hospital or medical professional to receive incentives provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

8 Apr 2011

Marking World Health Day, WHO warns misuse of antibiotics undermining global fight against infectious diseases

U.N. officials on Thursday marked World Health Day with a warning that "the misuse and irrational use of antibiotics has undermined the global fight against tuberculosis and malaria, warning of a possible return to the days before the drugs were developed," and called for urgent action to control the spread of drug resistance, Reuters reports.

8 Apr 2011

Small businesses can benefit from high-quality employee wellness programs

A new study published today supports the premise that high-quality employee wellness programs in small businesses improve employee health and well-being, which drives improvements in organizational outcomes such as absenteeism, healthcare costs and disability claims.

8 Apr 2011

German government, Gates Foundation sign agreement to provide funding for GAVI Alliance

The German government on Wednesday said it would provide an extra 14 million euros or about $19.9 million "for child immunization in the developing world as part of an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," the Associated Press reports (4/6).

8 Apr 2011

Canadian political parties called upon to focus on health system during election campaign

The Health Action Lobby today called on all political parties to focus on the health system during the federal election campaign. HEAL is a coalition of 35 national health organizations that represents a broad cross-section of health providers, health regions, institutions & facilities.

8 Apr 2011

Experimental Biology 2011 to be held April 9-13 in Washington, D.C.

The meeting Experimental Biology 2011 (EB 2011) begins April 9 and runs through April 13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

8 Apr 2011

Two new studies on Veterans Affairs health care system

As recently as the 1990s, the Veterans Affairs health care system had a subpar reputation for quality, but two new studies of standard quality metrics, both led by Amal Trivedi, assistant professor of community health at Brown University and a physician at the Providence VA Medical Center, show that the system that cares for more than 5 million patients has improved markedly in the last decade.

8 Apr 2011

Diversity MBA Magazine ranks Kaiser Permanente as No. 1 consortium

For the third consecutive year, Kaiser Permanente ranks No. 1 on Diversity MBA Magazine's "50 Out Front for Diversity Leadership: Best Places for Diverse Managers to Work."

8 Apr 2011

John Wiley hosts Psychology Roundtable

On Thursday, March 31, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. hosted a Wiley Psychology Roundtable focused on developmental psychology, entitled Putting Research into Practice. The invitation-only forum, held at the 2011 Society for Research and Child Development Biennial Meeting in Montreal, was a dynamic discussion about the needs and methods of making research in developmental psychology more accessible.

8 Apr 2011

Adult survivors of childhood CNS tumors have persistent, unmet health care needs

Patients treated in childhood for tumours of the central nervous system have persistent and unmet health care needs even in adulthood, according to a comprehensive study from Karolinska Institutet which investigated an entire cohort of patients in Sweden.

8 Apr 2011

Health Coalition on Liability and Access testifies before House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee

The Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA) testified today before the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a hearing titled, "The Cost of the Medical Liability System Proposals for Reform, including H.R. 5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011."

8 Apr 2011

NEJM: Perspectives from Aaron, Reinhardt, Iglehart, Annas, Chambers and others

This week's New England Journal of Medicine features perspectives from prominent authors on Medicare and Medicaid. NEJM granted KHN permission to excerpt substantial portions of these columns.

8 Apr 2011