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Healthcare costs rise for people insured through an employer

Reuters: "Healthcare costs for people insured through an employer rose 6.3 percent for the year ended June 30, according to a new Thomson Reuters index released on Thursday. It found spending for hospital care rose especially fast -- 8.2 percent, compared to a 5.5 percent rise for physician services and a 3.4 percent increase in drug costs.

15 Nov 2010

State roundup: Calif. speeds ahead on health reform; Nebraska abortion provider expanding clinics; Ky. hospital merger

California has moved quickly to implement key provisions of the federal health care overhaul law, including a health benefits exchange, but the exchange and California's plans could be vulnerable as House Republicans threaten to starve the federal health program of funding.

15 Nov 2010

States and providers threaten to drop Medicaid; shortage of providers threatens Medicaid managed-care networks

After Republicans in the Texas legislature floated a radical cost-saving proposal to opt out of Medicaid last week, experts are trying to determine how serious they are, and whether other states are likely to follow suit, Kaiser Health News reports.

15 Nov 2010

Governors line up against the health overhaul

In Wisconsin, Republican Governor-elect Scott Walker asked [Democratic] Gov. Jim Doyle Thursday to freeze his administration's push on high-profile issues ranging from the implementation of the federal health care law to a costly upgrade of a state power plant until Walker takes office on Jan. 3.

15 Nov 2010

Republicans take hard line, look for Democrat health law repeal allies

Republicans aren't softening their tough criticism of the health law even as they seek Democratic allies to join them in their bid to repeal the overhaul.

15 Nov 2010

Baucus to offer bill to amend business provision in health law

A leading Senate Democrat vowed Friday to introduce legislation killing a part of the new healthcare reform law that imposes new tax-filing requirements on small businesses.

15 Nov 2010

Pneumonia Report Card shows prevention, treatment tools not widely adopted in countries where disease kills most children

In advance of World Pneumonia Day, the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) on Thursday released a report card showing that pneumonia prevention and intervention targets are not being met in the 15 countries where three-quarters of deaths in children under age 5 from the disease occur each year, IRIN reports.

14 Nov 2010

U.N. agencies, Rotary International launch mass polio immunization campaign in Central Africa

The WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International on Thursday announced they will kick off a "mass polio immunization campaign in three Central African nations" on Friday "in response to a polio outbreak suspected in more than 100 deaths and deemed 'unusual' because it targets adults more than children," the Associated Press reports.

14 Nov 2010

UAS Laboratories acquires outstanding shares of APN Labs

On November 11, 2010, UAS Laboratories, Inc. acquired all outstanding shares of APN Labs, Inc. to become the sole owner. APN Labs, Inc. of Wausau, Wisconsin, USA, has been a leading contract manufacturer of nutraceuticals for the past 10 years. APN Labs has its own condition-specific probiotic blends as well as other ingredients.

14 Nov 2010

Lawsuits scaring Australian doctors away: Study

The latest study shows that Australian doctors are now so afraid of being sued by patients that one third are considering giving up medicine. The study looked at nearly 3,000 specialists, general practitioners and trainees. Alarmingly 32% are considering reducing their work hours and 40 per cent are considering early retirement.

14 Nov 2010

Pennsylvania health giant reports $93 million profit as outpatient demand surges

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Health giant UPMC will add 815 new full-time jobs through next June, officials announced yesterday after posting a strong first-quarter income. More than half of the jobs -- or about 430 -- will be throughout UPMC's network of 20 hospitals. They include physicians, nurses, food service workers, housekeepers and administrators, said Rob DeMichiei, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

12 Nov 2010

Research roundup: Doctors' industry ties; Patient safety and residents' hours; Designing a medical home

Archives of Internal Medicine: Physician Professionalism And Changes in Physician-Industry Relationships From 2004 to 2009 -"During the last 6 years a number of efforts have aimed to reduce, and in some cases eliminate, certain types of physician-industry relationships (PIRs)," including policies "that forbid physicians from accepting samples and receiving food and beverages in offices, limiting company representatives' access to physicians' offices and clinical areas, and banning faculty participation in speaker bureaus and other forms of promotional activity," write the authors.

12 Nov 2010

States' woes spur Medicaid drop-out talk

This story, a collaboration between Kaiser Health News' Marilyn Werber Serafini, the Kaiser Family Foundation's Robin Toner Distinguished Fellow, and the Texas Tribune's Emily Ramshaw, reports on Medicaid developments: "A week after newly emboldened Republicans in the Texas Legislature floated a radical cost-saving proposal — opting out of the federal Medicaid program — health care experts, economists and think tanks are trying to determine just how serious they are, and if it would even be possible" (Ramshaw and Serafini, 11/12).

12 Nov 2010

Changes to flexible spending accounts raise concerns

NPR reports on the upcoming change to flexible spending accounts, when "you'll no longer be able to set aside pretax dollars in that account to use for medicines bought without a doctor's prescription," and looks at the "loophole" that may allow consumers to use FSA dollars on over-the-counter medication if they obtain a prescription for it.

12 Nov 2010

EMS World Magazine announces winners of 2010 Top Innovation Awards

EMS World Magazine, the leading monthly publication for the emergency medical services market, has announced the winners of the 2010 Top Innovation Awards, which recognize the industry's most innovative products of the year. The winners were chosen by industry expert and EMS World Magazine Editorial Advisory Board Member Mike Smith, BS, MICP. The awards will be presented at the Texas EMS State Conference in Austin, TX, November 21-24.

12 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 12, 2010

Today's headlines include examinations of Medicaid and state budget issues as well as the next round of the congressional health overhaul fight.

12 Nov 2010

Progressive report recommends new practices to manage errors in HIT systems

An original and progressive report on health information technology (HIT) vendors, their customers and patients, published online today, makes ground-breaking recommendations for new practices that target the reduction or elimination of tensions that currently mar relationships between many HIT vendors and their customers, specifically with regard to indemnity and error management of HIT systems.

12 Nov 2010

Plant-based respiratory allergies on the rise due to climate change

Bad news for 35 million allergy sufferers - ragweed, fungal spores and poison ivy are thriving due to rising carbon dioxide levels. At the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16, allergists and scientists discussed the effects of rising CO2 levels and a changing climate on plant biology and public health.

12 Nov 2010

LUHS executive named Joan L. Shaver Illinois Outstanding Nurse Leader

Paula Hindle, MSN, MBA, RN, has been named the Joan L. Shaver Illinois Outstanding Nurse Leader. Hindle is the vice president of health-care services and the chief nurse executive at Loyola University Health System (LUHS). She will receive this award at the 13th Annual Power of Nursing Leadership Event on Friday, Nov. 19, at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago.

12 Nov 2010

MEDecision publishes e-book to support PCMH implementations

MEDecision, Inc., a leading provider of collaborative healthcare management solutions, on November 4 published an e-book, The Patient-Centered Medical Home: The Cornerstone of Healthcare Transformation.

12 Nov 2010