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WIREC Director testifies on the implementation of HITECH Act

Peggy Evans, PhD, CPHIT, Director of the Washington & Idaho Regional Extension Center testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee of Health, Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in Washington, DC. Dr. Evans joined David Blumenthal, MD, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and several others on two panels of witnesses.

29 Jul 2010

New training programs help ease serious staffing crisis in hospital laboratory

Imagine needing a critical test at your local hospital, but having to wait days to be tested because there was no laboratory professional available to run the tests. This scene seems unimaginable, but with the federal government estimating that nearly 140,000 new medical lab professionals are needed by 2012 and only 50,000 are expected to be trained on time, this scenario is a reality in some parts of the country. Some states, like California, are taking aggressive action to reverse this trend.

29 Jul 2010

Partnership for Safe Medicines to convene counterfeit drug conference

The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), a group of nonprofit organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting consumers from counterfeit drugs, today announced that it will convene leaders from academia, government and industry in an inaugural conference to be held October 8th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

29 Jul 2010

The Children's Hospital constructs new LEED-certified patient tower

The Children's Hospital has begun the construction of a 10-story, 350,000-square-foot addition. The $230 million expansion of a new patient tower initially will have 124 beds, with two floors of shelled space for additional future beds, bringing the total number of patient beds at Children's to around 500 upon full completion. The expansion also is expected to bring approximately 500 new jobs to the hospital's workforce. Children's anticipates admitting patients in the LEED-certified tower beginning in late 2012.

29 Jul 2010

Researchers to evaluate effect of RTC program on patient outcomes

Researchers at the Health Quality Council and the University of Saskatchewan will be the first to rigorously evaluate a quality improvement program designed to help nurses and other care providers reduce the time they spend on administrative tasks or retrieving medical supplies, so that they can spend more time with their patients.

29 Jul 2010

PCMA issues statement on a provision in the U.S. Senate's small business legislation

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association President and CEO Mark Merritt issued the following statement today on a provision in the U.S. Senate's small business legislation that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to work with outside companies to target fraud, waste, and abuse in states across the country.

29 Jul 2010

Reliance on assistive devices can affect everyday life in multiple ways: Study

Obese older adults are more likely to use walkers, canes and other mobility devices at a younger age, and may run the risk of using them incorrectly, according to new research from Purdue University.

29 Jul 2010

Oxford Life Insurance releases new Medicare Supplement product portfolio

Oxford Life Insurance Company today announced the release of its new Medicare Supplement product portfolio. The Phoenix-based life insurance company has plans to market Plans A, C or F, and N in more than 35 states.

29 Jul 2010

Texas raises organ donor registry; D.C. not ready for medical marijuana sales; L.A. health department facing major service cuts

"Though Texas has the nation's lowest percentage of registered organ and tissue donors, several recent initiatives have more than doubled the state's donor rolls this year. The number enrolled in the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry has ballooned since Jan. 1, when state law required Department of Public Safety clerks to ask all driver's license and ID card applicants whether they would like to register as organ donors. Since then, nearly 70,000 donors a month have joined the pool" (George, 7/27).

29 Jul 2010

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

African leaders participating in the 15th African Union Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

29 Jul 2010

WellCare Health Plans awarded URAC accreditation

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Full Health Plan Accreditation for its HealthEase of Florida and WellCare of Florida subsidiaries by URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. URAC's Health Plan Accreditation standards include key quality benchmarks for network management, provider credentialing, utilization management, quality management and improvement and consumer protection.

29 Jul 2010

MedTera, HealthPrize Technologies partner to help patients self-manage their diseases

MedTera, an integrated marketing solutions company dedicated to improving education, promotion and communications in the healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, today announced its formal partnership with HealthPrize Technologies, a web-based software company that motivates people to fill and stay on prescription medications.

29 Jul 2010

Mayo leaps into social media marketing

The Mayo Clinic is opening a school of social media for health providers, the (Minneapolis-St. Paul) Star Tribune reports. The new "Center for Social Media… [will] train other health care organizations to use Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to connect patients and doctors.

29 Jul 2010

Expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento opened in Folsom, California

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced the opening of the newly constructed and expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento in Folsom, California, and the expansion of its Peoplefirst HomeCare and Hospice business in Boston, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado.

29 Jul 2010

IBM, UPMC partner to provide redesigned SmartRoom solution with service-oriented architecture

IBM and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) are teaming up to bring "smarter" hospital rooms to patients nationwide. Created by UPMC three years ago to bring the right patient information to the bedside when it's needed, the high-tech "smart room" now features new capabilities, namely a system for automatically organizing and prioritizing the work of nurses and other caregivers. Under a new agreement, IBM will be the exclusive sales channel for the SmartRoom solution and will help to implement the technology for customers.

29 Jul 2010

State Senate passes legislation to protect, return wandering elders with Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Association announced that passage of legislation today by the State Senate to establish a Silver Alert program will help hundreds of thousands in Massachusetts. The legislation, passed unanimously last week in the House, calls for program similar to Amber Alert with distinct differences. Silver Alert will be activated when an adult with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia wanders.

29 Jul 2010

Sanofi-aventis U.S joins Dispensary of Hope's Continued Access Program

The Dispensary of Hope is pleased to announce that sanofi-aventis U.S., the U.S. affiliate of sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has become the latest pharmaceutical company to participate in the Dispensary's Continued Access Program, which provides uninsured patients with access to medicines that they otherwise couldn't afford.

29 Jul 2010

Use of nanomaterials in construction poses potential environmental and health risks

Nanomaterials are poised for widespread use in the construction industry, where they can offer significant advantages for a variety of applications ranging from making more durable concrete to self-cleaning windows. But widespread use in building materials comes with potential environmental and health risks when those materials are thrown away. Those are the conclusions of a new study published by Rice University engineering researchers this month in ACS Nano.

29 Jul 2010

Senate Subcommittee approves HHS funding bill, other health care bills readied

CongressDaily: The Senate Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee approved a draft funding bill Tuesday for HHS, "moving a bill that would provide $170 billion in discretionary spending to related federal agencies, nearly $1 billion under the president's request." The bill gives $732 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services, $306 million more than the administration requested. "The House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee gave the health agency a similar boost in funding."

29 Jul 2010

Genetic interaction with diet causes variations in metabolic traits

Ever notice some people seem to eat anything they want and never gain a pound, while others seem to gain weight just by looking at fattening foods. You may be seeing things correctly after all. According to research published in the July 2010 issue of Genetics, this may have a biological cause. Using fruit flies, researchers have found that genes interacting with diet, rather than diet alone, are the main cause of variation in metabolic traits, such as body weight. This helps explain why some diets work better for some people than others, and suggests that future diets should be tailored to an individual's genes rather than to physical appearance.

29 Jul 2010