Healthcare News

RSS

Increase in delaying retirement likely to gain speed: RAND study

An unprecedented upturn in the number of older Americans who delay retirement is likely to continue and even accelerate over the next two decades, a trend that should help ease the financial challenges facing both Social Security and Medicare, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

9 Apr 2010

Stimulating care homes can help people living with dementia

New research by Kingston University has revealed how design can improve the quality of life for people with dementia. The University hopes the new study will form a blueprint for future building, lay-out and management of care homes.

9 Apr 2010

Interprovincial migration rates for health care workers decline: CIHI study

From 2001 to 2006, Canada's health care providers were less likely to move from one province or territory to another, with migration rates decreasing to their lowest levels in two decades for some occupational groups. According to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, this decline was particularly apparent for physicians.

9 Apr 2010

My Metabolic Makeover: Individualized nutrition program to promote overall health

Dr. Nicole Gullo is a New York City-based metabolism expert and board-certified chiropractic physician offering consumers the ultimate stimulus package: Good health.

9 Apr 2010

Nurses for Medicare expresses disappointment against implementation of user fees for medical visits

Nurses for Medicare expressed its disappointment at the Quebec government's decision to implement user fees for medical visits. In addition to a new health tax that does not vary according to income, the recent Quebec budget calls for patients to pay a $25 fee for each visit.

9 Apr 2010

Six EDs across New York begin using Rochester RHIO

Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange (HIE) solutions and services and Rochester RHIO, the regional health information organization connecting medical providers across nine counties in New York, today announced that six emergency departments are using Rochester RHIO to view critical patient information from data providers across the region. Emergency departments (ED) include Clifton Springs, F.F. Thompson, Lakeside Memorial, Rochester General, United Memorial Medical Center, and Wyoming Community Hospitals.

9 Apr 2010

Wolters Kluwer Health agrees to provide access to Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, has announced an agreement to provide access to Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference as part of premium subscriptions to its flagship drug reference, Facts & Comparisons® eAnswers.

9 Apr 2010

English language test for foreign doctors in EU “a matter of extreme urgency”

The European commission is working on changing the existing EU laws that allow the free movement of labour especially regarding health care personnel since the regulators have raised the issue of patient safety. The issue here is mandatory English language tests for all foreign doctors working in the UK.

9 Apr 2010

Ten loopholes and problem areas in new federal health reform law

Consumer Watchdog called on President Obama and Congress in a letter sent today to fix ten problem areas in the new federal health reform law that, if not addressed, will be exploited by health insurers and drug companies looking to charge more for less health care.

9 Apr 2010

AmericanEHR Partners Program introduced to help medical practitioners compare EHR systems

A collaboration developing a new Web site to help medical practitioners compare electronic health records systems was announced today by its founding partners, the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies.

9 Apr 2010

St. Vincent's closure sparks concerns, other N.Y. hospitals make plans to accommodate patients

The planned closure of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City raises concerns as other hospitals plan to accommodate its patients.

9 Apr 2010

Opinions: Preparing for next flu outbreak; Elections in Zimbabwe; U.S. response to Haiti

Now that concerns about swine flu have eased, "[o]ur fear is that the public and officials will get blase about the next flu outbreak," according to a New York Times editorial. "Efforts to rush vaccine into production did not go well. This dry run should lead health officials to push the vaccine makers even harder to adopt new technologies that can turn out vaccine more quickly.

9 Apr 2010

Wave of tax changes comes with health law

The new health law will make a variety of changes to the tax code, including higher levies on the wealthy and millions of dollars in lost deductions for some corporations.

9 Apr 2010

Dangerous agitations: Nicotine replacement therapy needs to be tested in ICU setting

Nicotine withdrawal can cause dangerous agitation in intensive care patients. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care found that, compared to non-smokers, agitated smokers were more likely to accidentally remove tubes and catheters, require supplemental sedative, analgesic or anti-psychotic medications, or need physical restraints.

9 Apr 2010

State Roundup: Mass. insurer standoff eases, Wis. preps for federal overhaul

The Boston Globe: "Seeking to tone down their dispute with state regulators, two Massachusetts health insurers yesterday said they will, as ordered, resume making new policies available for individuals and small businesses — using last year's base rates, not the requested double-digit increases rejected by the state last week" (Weisman, 4/8).

9 Apr 2010

Savings from computerized medical records are hard to measure

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "When it comes to health policy, few ideas find as much bipartisan support as the notion that widespread adoption of health information technology could improve medical care and save money.

9 Apr 2010

Those who understand insurance coverage more cost-conscious, study says

The Associated Press/The Boston Herald: "Workers who better understand their health insurance plans — from their share of premiums to co-payments for doctor office and emergency room visits — are more likely to make more cost-efficient decisions, a new study finds. The study, which surveyed about 1,500 government workers in Massachusetts," was published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

9 Apr 2010

Roughly 100,000 people are dropped from Tennessee's Medicaid program

Kaiser Health News: "About 100,000 people -- mostly elderly or disabled residents -- have been dropped [from Tennessee's Medicaid program] since January 2009, including approximately 37,000 who had relied on the state program for all their health care needs. Coverage for 8,000 children was also reassessed, but a TennCare spokeswoman said the number of children ultimately cut from the program could not be verified.

9 Apr 2010

Much debate over Brumby health plan

Victorian Premier John Brumby on Thursday proposed an alternative plan to the Prime Minister’s idea of gaining 30% of the GST revenues and give funding control to local hospital networks. According to the alternative 31-page health manifesto put forth by Brumby States should retain control of their hospitals. The Commonwealth proposed to cover the entire bill for primary health care and pick up 60 per cent of the tab for public hospitals. It will retain one-third of GST revenue to help pay for the reforms. Mr Brumby is holding out for extra money from the Commonwealth and a 50-50 funding model for public hospitals.

9 Apr 2010

New CMS web site shines light on Medicare spending

A new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site is making more claims data available to the public, Modern Healthcare reports. The so-called "CMS Dashboard" reveals Medicare spending for the top 25 conditions in hospitals, and allows users to compare spending by state, conditions by spending and to review the top-10-spending states for each condition. Medicare Advantage patients are not included in the data set (Evans, 4/7).

9 Apr 2010