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Health industry funding more Republicans than Dems, anti-reform political activity ramps up

Politico: "A new portrait of the health industry landscape has begun to take shape, with some of those major players shifting their dollars from the very Democrats who passed the law they seemingly endorsed at the White House. The insurance industry, for instance, has consistently donated more to Republicans than to Democrats ever since August 2009."

4 Oct 2010

Massachusetts eHealth Institute names e-MDs as EHR vendor and IOO

e-MDs, an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) solutions, announced they have been named a selected EHR vendor and Implementation Optimization Organization (IOO) by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI). The Institute will serve as a Regional Extension Center (REC) in Massachusetts, working to facilitate the adoption of EHR technology by the state's providers. As a selected vendor, e-MDs will help ensure effective implementation and provider achievement of Meaningful Use.

4 Oct 2010

IBM employee-wellness program shows some success for kids

Reuters: "In 2008, IBM launched an Internet-based 'children's rebate program' that let employees and their families choose from a selection of goals revolving around healthy eating, group physical activity, reduced 'screen time' and positive parental role-modeling. A $150 check was offered as incentive to complete the 12-week program. … More than 22,000 employees signed on to participate, representing about half of all employees with children covered by IBM's health plan." About 12,000 completed the program and received the rebate.

4 Oct 2010

KHN column: Medical loss ratio rule should encourage health care fraud fighting

4 Oct 2010

Navigant announces acquisition of EthosPartners

Navigant announced today that it has acquired EthosPartners Healthcare Management Group, Inc., a national healthcare consulting group specializing in physician and hospital alignment, physician practice operations management, and physician revenue cycle management. Combining EthosPartners' physician expertise with Navigant's existing healthcare practice capabilities significantly enhances and broadens the solutions that Navigant offers to its clients.

4 Oct 2010

Excessive profits made by cigarette manufacturers need to be capped

An independent regulatory agency is needed to cap the excessive profits made by cigarette manufacturers, say researchers from the University of Bath.

4 Oct 2010

NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.6 SP1 achieves ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today that NextGen® Ambulatory EHR version 5.6 SP1 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on September 30, 2010 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

4 Oct 2010

Increase in unemployment rate linked to child maltreatment

The stresses of poverty have long been associated with child abuse and neglect. In a study presented Sunday, Oct. 3, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco, researchers directly linked an increased unemployment rate to child maltreatment one year later.

4 Oct 2010

MedCath sells two hospitals

MedCath Corporation announced today the completion of sales involving its interests in two hospitals, Arizona Heart Hospital and Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota.

4 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 4, 2010

In this Kaiser Health News column, Louis Saccoccio, executive director of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, makes a case for including health plans' investments in fraud-fighting activities in the medical loss ratio definition. "While the federal government is investing heavily in anti-fraud efforts, private insurers should be given the incentive to do the same. Only through a cooperative and concentrated effort to root out health care fraud can we effectively protect Americans' quality of health care" (Kaiser Health News).

4 Oct 2010

Nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority

After a major review of scientific information, six leading tobacco research and policy experts have concluded that a nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority because of its potential to profoundly reduce the death and disease from tobacco use. Their findings were published today in the journal Tobacco Control.

4 Oct 2010

Alexander Technique training program improves endurance and posture during surgery

A century-old posture improvement technique developed by Shakespearian actor F.M. Alexander to correct his chronic laryngitis appears to enhance the posture and proficiency of surgeons who perform minimally invasive procedures.

4 Oct 2010

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital commences live donor liver transplant program

The Division of Transplantation in the Department of Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) has started a live donor liver transplant program. Live donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a procedure in which a living person donates a portion of his or her liver to another person. Combined, the two operations typically take about 12 hours. Since the program began in summer 2010, three patients and their donors have successfully undergone the procedure.

4 Oct 2010

JASH journal added to MEDLINE collection

Elsevier announces that the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension (JASH) has been selected for inclusion in MEDLINE. MEDLINE is the premier bibliographic database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), containing over 15 million journal article citations, with a concentration on biomedicine.

4 Oct 2010

Mandatory ECG screening for athletes

Should athletes have to undergo mandatory electrocardiographic screening (also known as ECG or heart trace) before competing? Doctors debate the issue in this week's BMJ.

4 Oct 2010

OHSU CROET issues public alert on Brazilian Blowout hair straightening product

Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) is responding to concerns raised by Portland-area hair salons about a product used for hair straightening. CROET has issued two public alerts describing its findings on the possible negative health impacts of this product.

4 Oct 2010

Californian Hispanics at lower risk of developing melanoma, but develop the disease at younger age

Scientists at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC), Stanford University, and the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine have found that while Hispanics have much lower risks of developing melanoma than non-Hispanic whites in California, they develop the disease at younger ages, develop thicker tumors, which are more difficult to treat, and experience a higher percentage of cases among people living in poorer neighborhoods.

4 Oct 2010

UofL School of Nursing awarded $792,000 grant to develop nursing informatics education

The University of Louisville School of Nursing has earned a $792,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration to develop nursing informatics education for UofL's undergraduate and graduate nursing students as well as practicing nurses from University of Louisville Hospital.

4 Oct 2010

Merck to appeal Massachusetts federal court jury verdict

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it will vigorously appeal a Massachusetts federal court jury verdict concerning allegations that a former subsidiary of Schering-Plough Corporation, Warrick Pharmaceuticals, caused the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to overpay local pharmacists for prescriptions of albuterol. Merck and Schering-Plough merged in November 2009. Warrick ceased operations prior to the merger, in 2008.

4 Oct 2010

Characteristics that help dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates

Characteristics such as patient engagement, physician communication, and staff coordination may help to explain why some dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates than others, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

4 Oct 2010

Healthcare News

Health industry funding more Republicans than Dems, anti-reform political activity ramps up

Massachusetts eHealth Institute names e-MDs as EHR vendor and IOO

IBM employee-wellness program shows some success for kids

KHN column: Medical loss ratio rule should encourage health care fraud fighting

Navigant announces acquisition of EthosPartners

Excessive profits made by cigarette manufacturers need to be capped

NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.6 SP1 achieves ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification

Increase in unemployment rate linked to child maltreatment

MedCath sells two hospitals

First Edition: October 4, 2010

Nicotine reduction strategy should be an urgent research priority

Alexander Technique training program improves endurance and posture during surgery

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital commences live donor liver transplant program

JASH journal added to MEDLINE collection

Mandatory ECG screening for athletes

OHSU CROET issues public alert on Brazilian Blowout hair straightening product

Californian Hispanics at lower risk of developing melanoma, but develop the disease at younger age

UofL School of Nursing awarded $792,000 grant to develop nursing informatics education

Merck to appeal Massachusetts federal court jury verdict

Characteristics that help dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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