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More companies push employee wellness programs

General Mills has a corporate culture that consistently encourages workers to stay active and healthy. It's part of the consumer-products company's long-established wellness program, which General Mills says has helped it keep increases in health-care costs in the single digits, way below the national average

2 Nov 2010

AMA head predicts "catastrophe" if physician Medicare pay isn't fixed

Kaiser Health News staff writers Andrew Villegas and Mary Agnes Carey, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, talked with the AMA president about action surrounding Medicare payment issues: "While most people are focused on the midterm elections Tuesday, the American Medical Association is gearing up for the lame-duck congressional session scheduled to start Nov. 15.

2 Nov 2010

Kenya first of four countries to launch UNICEF, partners initiative aimed at PMTCT of HIV

On Friday, UNICEF and the Kenyan government announced a partnership aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV by providing HIV-positive mothers with packs of medicines they can easily administer to themselves or their babies at home, IRIN/PlusNews reports.

2 Nov 2010

Zynx Health's clinical support solution receives US patent

Zynx Health, the market leader in providing evidence-based and experience-based clinical decision support solutions, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued United States Patent 7,822,626 covering their extensive suite of tools that facilitate and enhance the capability within a healthcare institution to establish and maintain an evidence-based best practice approach to providing patient care.

2 Nov 2010

WHO Director-General in Pakistan to monitor flood relief, polio vaccinations

The WHO will continue to support efforts to boost polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said recently during talks with Pakistani health officials, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

2 Nov 2010

Insurers want out of low-income segment of Medicare Part D market

UPI: "Health insurance companies have raised their premiums to price themselves out of the low-income segment of the Part D market," according to a study from the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. According to the study, "Part D reimbursements to insurers covering low-income patients are substantially lower than the actual costs incurred," which create an "'incentive for plans to avoid or shed low-income patients,'" the study's lead author said.

2 Nov 2010

House takeover would give GOP ways to attack health law

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Marilyn Werber Serafini reports on the possible changes in the congressional power structure: "If Rep. Joe Barton becomes chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee next year, the Texas Republican vows to make life miserable for Democratic defenders of the health care overhaul law" (Serafini, 10/31).

2 Nov 2010

White House Health Advisor Emanuel visits U.S. government-funded health programs during 3-nation African trip

The global fight against malaria could cut prevalence rates of malaria to one in 20 fevers by 2017, Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget Ezekiel Emanuel said in an interview in Dakar, Senegal, Bloomberg reports.

2 Nov 2010

ISHIB releases new recommendations to manage hypertension in African Americans

Through the publication of its Consensus Statement on the Management of High Blood Pressure in Blacks in this week's issue of Hypertension, ISHIB today released new recommendations recognizing that high blood pressure among African Americans is a severe health problem. The consensus statement suggests that treatment should start sooner and be more aggressive among African Americans.

2 Nov 2010

Media outlets look ahead to Obama's trip to India

Several media outlets looked ahead to President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to India later this week, as part of his Asia-Pacific tour.

2 Nov 2010

MedCath completes sale of Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership

MedCath Corporation and its physician partners announced today the completion of the sale of substantially all the assets of Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership, L.P. The transaction, which was announced in February and was subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory requirements, was completed today.

2 Nov 2010

PharmaTrust signs agreement with Sagamok community to provide MedCentre

PharmaTrust has signed the first agreement of its kind to provide a MedCentre to a First Nation community in northern Ontario. In a signing ceremony on October 29th the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation community finalized an agreement with PharmaTrust for the deployment of a MedCentre, which will give the community the option of convenient 24/7 access to pharmacy services.

2 Nov 2010

3 states to vote on health insurance mandate

Kaiser Health News staff writer Aimee Miles reports: "Voters in Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma will have the chance Tuesday to repudiate the new health care law's keystone provision, one that requires almost everyone to have health insurance or face a tax penalty beginning in 2014" (Miles, 10/30).

2 Nov 2010

Races make final health overhaul messages clear as Election Day nears

Candidates push their final messages for Tuesday's elections, while the congressional debate over the health care overhaul still reverberates.

2 Nov 2010

Thomson Reuters launches Pharmacy Xpert dashboard to manage medication therapy

Thomson Reuters, a global provider of information for healthcare professionals, today announced the launch of Thomson Reuters Pharmacy Xpert the first-of-its-kind clinical intelligence dashboard that helps hospital pharmacists better manage medication therapy to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and manage risk.

2 Nov 2010

Health law, elections trigger questions about Medicare payment issues

While most people are focused on the midterm elections Tuesday, the American Medical Association is gearing up for the lame-duck congressional session scheduled to start Nov. 15.

2 Nov 2010

AHRQ: Hospital admissions for adverse drug reactions have doubled

News outlets report on the hospital industry, including admission rates, mergers and quality improvement programs.

1 Nov 2010

Open enrollment brings higher premiums for 2011

As open enrollment for many employer-sponsored health plans approaches, workers are faced with higher premiums in 2011, yet again, MSNBC reports. "The increase is typical of what workers have seen in [the] last three years — around 10 percent. But what's different this year is some employers aren't just blaming the usual suspects for rising premiums — unhealthy workers, over-paid doctors and hospitals, and a bad economy. Now insurance experts and employers are also blaming health care reform.

1 Nov 2010

Insurance costs continue to surge

The cost of health insurance continues to surge, and the effect of the new health law is still unclear, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

1 Nov 2010

Planning Accountable Care Organizations

American Medical News: "The National Committee for Quality Assurance is seeking input from the public on draft accountable care organization standards," which "were drafted by the organization's Accountable Care Organization Task Force comprising representatives from large integrated health care systems, academia and the insurance industry. … Establishing ACOs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries is a key part of health system reform legislation" (11/1).

1 Nov 2010