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GTRI becomes Veriwave Gold Certified Partner for leveraging WaveDeploy solution

Global Technology Resources, Inc., a Colorado-based I.T. integration consulting group, has announced a formal agreement with one of its strategic partners, VeriWave Inc., making GTRI one of only a handful of Gold Certified Partners in the country. By being a Gold Certified Partner, this gives GTRI the ability to advance its healthcare professional services offerings to the next level.

21 Sep 2010

Siemens publishes GS1 Global Trade Item Numbers in GHX Health ConneXion data pool

In an effort to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the healthcare supply chain, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (Siemens) has published product data including GS1 Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) for its entire U.S. product line into the GHX Health ConneXion(SM) data pool.

21 Sep 2010

U.N. launches largest humanitarian appeal to aid Pakistan flood relief

The U.N. on Friday launched an appeal for $2 billion in flood relief for Pakistan, Bloomberg reports. The request is the "largest appeal for humanitarian relief ever made by the world body," the news service writes (Varner, 9/17).

21 Sep 2010

HHS efforts to enroll more kids clash with struggling state budgets

The Department of Health and Human Services' efforts to enroll more eligible children in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program "are being hurt by the financial reality of state budgets," American Medical News reports.

21 Sep 2010

Opinions: MDGs

"The overarching and noble goal [of this week's Millennium Development Goal (MDG) summit in New York] is reducing global poverty. But the most compelling and achievable objectives - huge reductions in maternal and child mortality worldwide - will be severely undermined if the Obama administration either directly or covertly integrates abortion into the final outcome document," Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

21 Sep 2010

Nurses union breaks from the Australian Labor party

The Queensland Nurses Union’s (QNU) association with the Labor party will not be renewed when it expires next year. Acting Premier Paul Lucas however feels it is not politically damaging. “I'm obviously disappointed that they're not renewing their affiliation but we deal with all sorts of unions whether they're affiliated or not,” he said. The decision however could cost the ALP $50,000 a year. QNU on the other hand feels that this break would give them more political flexibility.

20 Sep 2010

NQF endorses 8 outcome measures for pulmonary, cardiovascular conditions and care provided in ICU

To improve healthcare quality and give patients and providers more information about the results of care, the National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed eight outcome measures for pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions and care provided in the intensive care unit (ICU). This is the first in a set of patient outcome measures NQF is reviewing.

20 Sep 2010

Medicare receives increased scrutiny regarding fraud, payment issues

USA Today: "Proposed regulations being unveiled today seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping payments when credible fraud allegations are made, documents show. The rules would give federal health officials key powers to identify fraud early and reduce the estimated $55 billion in improper payments made each year in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, said Peter Budetti, director of the new anti-fraud office at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services" (Young, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

GOP plan to change or repeal health law could bring new complications

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agness Carey reports: Republicans, buoyed by recent polls suggesting that their party could win the House and pick up seats in the Senate in November, are vowing to repeal or make major revisions in the health overhaul law that Democrats squeezed through Congress last spring.

20 Sep 2010

Head-circumference charts for infants and toddlers may be inaccurate

The most common charts used by pediatricians to measure head growth in infants and toddlers may be inaccurate, potentially leading to delayed diagnoses, unnecessary tests, and parental worry, according to new research from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

20 Sep 2010

Examining the first wave of health overhaul changes coming this week

Houston Chronicle: Wider access and protections for health care consumers kick in on Thursday as a set of health law provisions take effect. "Most of this month's changes apply directly to the 12 million Texans covered by private health insurance plans, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Insurers may no longer charge co-payments, deductibles or co-insurance for preventive services.

20 Sep 2010

Medical errors continue to pose major risk to patients

Albany Times Union reports on continuing medical errors. "Health care reform consumed the nation for the last 12 months but, despite all the talk, the country took only baby steps toward reducing medical errors that injure and kill millions of hospital patients.

20 Sep 2010

Hospital chief tries to lead wellness push by example

USA Today reports on Margaret Sabin, CEO of Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, who is leading, by example, the employer wellness movement to make employees healthier. "Something of a renegade in her line of work, she believes hospitals — all in the medical community, in fact — are applying too little attention and resources to prevention. 'We can project exactly what will happen to an individual living an unhealthy lifestyle,' she says.

20 Sep 2010

Today's OpEds: Detailing what is and is not working with health reform

Many reformers undoubtedly believe that passage of the health overhaul law laid the issue to rest. But policy's wheels continue to turn, and the process is anything but over. … From where we sit, with the withering campaign that must be in the works, the odds of the new law remaining intact, with teeth, are questionable. For reforms to succeed, then, steady vigilant hands, focused on the nation's larger interest, will be critical (Brian Klepper and David Kibbe, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

Gov. Paterson vetoes more rent relief for HIV/AIDS patients

Gov. David A. Paterson, D-N.Y., has vetoed a bill to provide increased rent relief for more than 11,000 New Yorkers with HIV and AIDS.

20 Sep 2010

AMI announces EMscribe 10 CAC software to support ICD-10 diagnostic coding system

Artificial Medical Intelligence today announced EMscribe® 10 Computer Assisted Coding (CAC) software to support the new ICD-10 diagnostic coding system required by the Department of Health and Human Services for all healthcare organizations to implement by October 2013.

20 Sep 2010

KHN column: Keeping an eye on the health care prize

In this Kaiser Health News column, Brian Klepper and David Kibbe write: "Many reformers undoubtedly believe that passage of the health overhaul law laid the issue to rest. But policy's wheels continue to turn, and the process is anything but over" (9/20).

20 Sep 2010

Nit Health enters partnership with New Jersey Health Information Technology Extension Center

Nit Health, a privately held New Jersey/New York based, healthcare IT consulting firm with a demonstrated track record of providing critical IT support for clinical and financial applications to the healthcare industry, today announced a partnership with New Jersey Health Information Technology Extension Center (NJ-HITEC).

20 Sep 2010

As doctors rely on technology, physical exams often neglected

NPR examined "the dying art of the physical exam" in its Monday morning health segment. Because of technology, "many doctors are abbreviating the time-honored physical exam - or even skipping it altogether. ... And it appears the trend is likely to get worse. ... At Stanford Medical School, professor Abraham Verghese is leading the charge to restore the physical exam to what he considers its rightful place, and bring doctors' skills up to snuff.

20 Sep 2010

Maimonides Medical Center implements InterSystems Ensemble rapid integration and development platform

InterSystems Corporation, the global leader in software for connected healthcare, today announced that Maimonides Medical Center has implemented the InterSystems Ensemble® rapid integration and development platform throughout the enterprise.

20 Sep 2010