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State of the Union address includes brief, but clear, defense of health law

President Barack Obama made clear that he is willing to tinker around the edges of the sweeping reform, but not return to the days before the measure became law. Media outlets analyzed the specifics of his comments and offered a big picture view of the impact of the entire speech, including fact-checking some of his related policy ideas and budget recommendations.

27 Jan 2011

Mount Sinai's Cardiac Catheterization Lab wins New York State's highest 'two-star' safety rating

Mount Sinai's Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory has been awarded New York State's highest "two-star" safety rating in every category of case the state tracks for percutaneous coronary intervention, according to new data released this month that examine patient discharges from 2006 - 2008.

27 Jan 2011

New Center for Precision Joint Replacement opens at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center

Salt Lake Regional Medical Center today announced the grand opening of the hospital's Center for Precision Joint Replacement, which specializes in the practice of complex knee, hip and shoulder joint replacements in Utah.

27 Jan 2011

Lancet series examines health issues facing populations in Southeast Asia

"Southeast Asia's 600 million people are facing a raft of new health challenges as the disaster-prone region undergoes some of the world's fastest social change," according to a series of papers and commentary pieces, published Tuesday in the Lancet, Agence France-Presse reports (O'Brien, 1/25).

27 Jan 2011

Canadian PM, Tanzanian President open meeting to develop framework for $40b maternal and child health initiative

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete were in Geneva on Wednesday to open a meeting aimed at "developing a framework" to monitor the implementation of a $40 billion U.N. maternal and child health initiative, according to CBC News. Harper and Kikwete are co-chairs of a commission that is charged with ensuring accountability for the pledges.

27 Jan 2011

Study finds incentives for physicians don't improve patient care

Paying doctors financial rewards to meet targets for improving the care of patients made no discernible difference to the health or treatment of people with high blood pressure, a study has found.

27 Jan 2011

The Wall Street Journal takes legal action to open Medicare database

The publisher of The Wall Street Journal filed suit Tuesday to overturn a decades-long court order barring public access to a confidential Medicare database it says is essential to rooting out fraud and abuse in the government health-care program.

27 Jan 2011

Stakeholders, GOP lawmakers focus efforts against Medicare spending panel

News outlets report on how the health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board is the focus of negative attention from numerous vantage points.

27 Jan 2011

ASPS, FDA collaborate to establish national breast implant registry

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is establishing a national registry for breast implants in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The registry is being developed in response to reports of a rare lymphoma--Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL)—in a very small number of women with breast implants.

27 Jan 2011

MRSA screening in ICU patients can save costs for hospitals

Screening patients in the intensive care unit for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus roduces cost savings for the whole hospital, according to a study that used a statistical simulation model published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

27 Jan 2011

FAQ: Selling health insurance across state lines

"A day after voting to repeal the federal health law, a group of more than 60 House Republicans introduced a bill reviving an idea long popular with conservatives: allowing consumers to buy health insurance across state lines so that residents of a state with expensive health plans could find cheaper options"

27 Jan 2011

Parents who share caregiving for preschool children may experience more conflict

Parents who share caregiving for their preschool children may experience more conflict than those in which the mother is the primary caregiver, according to a new study.

27 Jan 2011

New study: 'Difficult' patient-clinician encounters have negative impact on health outcomes

'Difficult' patient-clinician encounters have a negative impact on patients' health outcomes in the short-term, according to a new study by Sheri Hinchey from the Tripler Army Medical Centre in Honolulu and Jeffrey Jackson from the Zablocki VA Medical Centre in Milwaukee.

27 Jan 2011

It may not be the end for employer-sponsored insurance

A new study finds the effects of health care reform to be minimal on employer-sponsored insurance, despite criticism that changes to how insurance premiums are calculated will force employers to stop offering coverage.

27 Jan 2011

Highly-caffeinated energy drinks with no alcohol may pose threat to individuals

Highly-caffeinated energy drinks - even those containing no alcohol - may pose a significant threat to individuals and public health, say researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

27 Jan 2011

WSJ: Biotech generics battle heats up

A battle is heating up over the meaning of a single word in the health overhaul that could mean billions of dollars to the makers of biotechnology drugs (Mundy, 1/26).

27 Jan 2011

Six key points to tackle substance abuse, addiction problems among nurses

As many as ten to 20 per cent of nurses and nursing students may have substance abuse and addiction problems, but the key to tackling this difficult issue - and protecting public safety - is support and treatment, not punishment. That is the key message in a paper in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

27 Jan 2011

Impulse Monitoring signs agreement with MidMichigan Health

Impulse Monitoring, a leading provider of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring services to hospitals, today announced that it has signed an agreement with MidMichigan Health, Midland, MI.

26 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Trying to regulate insurance premium rates, fighting Medicare fraud

Big, powerful industries facing tougher government oversight — the health insurance industry, say — know that the legislative battle in Congress or state capitals is just the first skirmish. The more important fight is over the regulations that implement legislative policies (Michael Hiltzik, 1/25).

26 Jan 2011

Medica Health Plans grants $6.5 million to Research Institute

The Medica Research Institute has received a contribution from Medica Health Plans in the amount of $6.5 million. This contribution will be used by the Research Institute to further its mission.

26 Jan 2011