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Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Health Affairs: Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers And Retail Clinics - Researchers analyzed samples of patient records and found "13.7 percent of all emergency department visits could take place at a retail clinic" - 7.9 percent when hours are restricted - and "an additional 13.4 percent of emergency department visits could take place at a urgent care center—8.9 percent when hours are restricted.

10 Sep 2010

Employers gravitate toward wellness programs

Wellness programs are hot right now, The Wichita Eagle reports. "Employers are increasingly taking a broader look at the health of their companies and viewing a wellness program as an important business strategy.

10 Sep 2010

Clinica of Virginia offers medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for $1.00

In an effort to promote wellness and help those who are struggling to make ends meet, Clinica of Virginia, LLC. is providing quality medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for only $1.00. The national economic downturn, combined with national bureaucracy, has created a shortage of physicians and clinics who accept Medicare and Medicaid. Chronic, multiple medical conditions plague those Americans who can financially afford it the least, and physicians' offices who accept Medicare or Medicaid are now far and few between. Clinica accepts both.

10 Sep 2010

Sebelius warns insurers not to blame rate hikes on health overhaul

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday said insurers who blame their rate increases on the new health overhaul could be excluded from health insurance exchanges and the 30 million new customers they promise, The Associated Press reports. "'There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,' … Sebelius said in a letter to the insurance lobby.

10 Sep 2010

Doctor works to measure outcomes of provider care

Forbes profiles "the most powerful doctor you never heard of," a Yale cardiologist who does "outcomes research" in which he measures "how well doctors are doing in the real world, outside of controlled trials--what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong and what they are forgetting to do entirely."

10 Sep 2010

Appeals Court ruled that Feds can temporarily fund stem cell research

The Washington Post: "An appeals court ruled Thursday that the federal government can resume funding human embryonic stem cell research while the court reviews a judge's order that had temporarily prohibited such funding. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a request from the Justice Department to lift a temporary injunction issued Aug. 23 blocking the funding on the grounds that it violated a law barring funding any research that involves the destruction of human embryos.

10 Sep 2010

'Behind the counter' shop displays of cigarettes encourage smoking among youth

Young people believe 'behind the counter' shop displays of cigarettes encourage smoking and are considered "cool, fun and attractive" according to new research published in Health Promotion Practice.

10 Sep 2010

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the commonwealth is among the 103 Pennsylvania employers accepted into a federal program to help offset the rising health care costs for retirees.

10 Sep 2010

Legal and moral reasons prevent most Oregon hospices from participation in 'Death with Dignity Act'

A survey in the latest issue of the Hastings Center Report found that most hospices in Oregon, the first state to legalize physician-assistance in dying, either do not participate in or have limited participation in requests for such assistance. Both legal and moral reasons are identified.

10 Sep 2010

Illinois HFS selects Centene subsidiary for managed care services

Centene Corporation announced today its new subsidiary, IlliniCare Health Plan, was selected by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) as one of one of two vendors to provide managed care services to approximately 40,000 Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities in six Chicago area counties.

10 Sep 2010

New national assessment tool for nursing home residents

A fundamental shift will take place in skilled nursing homes beginning in October following the work of a California-based researcher and a team of investigators that has developed a new national assessment tool for nursing home residents.

10 Sep 2010

NACHC Conference to discuss primary care foundation in America under Affordable Care Act

Former Health and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt will address a national conference of Community, Migrant and Homeless Health Center representatives scheduled to convene this week. The 2010 Community Health Institute (CHI) and EXPO, hosted by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), will take place in Dallas, TX, September 10-14th.

10 Sep 2010

Death and disability toll due to C. diff bacteria needs to be addressed

Almost 12,000 people died in alcohol-related vehicle crashes in 2008. About 15,000 Americans died of AIDS-related illness the same year. Both of these preventable causes of death have been the subject of massive, expensive and high-profile interventions by federal and state authorities. CRE encourages expenditures for these programs but the public health community should be even more concerned for greater society-wide risks.

10 Sep 2010

Ortho Biotech unblinded abiraterone acetate Phase 3 study for prostate cancer patients

Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, a unit of Cougar Biotechnology, Inc., today announced that it has unblinded the Phase 3 study of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone for the treatment of patients with metastatic advanced prostate cancer (also referred to as castration-resistant prostate cancer) whose disease has progressed following treatment with one or two chemotherapy regimens at least one of which contained docetaxel.

10 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 10, 2010

In this morning's news, the Obama administration takes a hard line against insurers -- warning them not to blame the new health law for their rate hikes.

10 Sep 2010

Cancer Research UK launches world's first urban running lane on London's Southbank

Dawdling pedestrians test the patience of over a quarter of outdoor runners (27 per cent) according to a poll of 1,000 runners by Cancer Research UK, to launch its Run10k series. The results have been highlighted as the charity launches the world's first urban running lane on London's Southbank with the help of celebrity runner Nell McAndrew.

10 Sep 2010

Researchers present study results of psychosocial trauma experienced at 2006 Dawson College shooting

A research team from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Fernand-Seguin Research Centre of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital presented today the results of its three-year study, a world first, into the 2006 Dawson College shooting to the Government of Quebec's Ministry of Public Security.

10 Sep 2010

Distrust in healthcare system deters blood donation among African Americans

Disparities in healthcare between races exist in the United States. A new study published in the journal Transfusion explores why African Americans donate blood at lower rates than whites. The findings reveal that there is a significant distrust in the healthcare system among the African American community, and African Americans who distrust hospitals are less likely to donate.

10 Sep 2010

Scottish government proposes minimum price to tackle alcohol misuse

The Scottish government has confirmed that it proposes to introduce a minimum price of 45p per unit of alcohol, in order to tackle alcohol misuse and prevent related illnesses.

10 Sep 2010

Sebelius calls upon AHIP to stop misinformation, false blame on premium increases on patient protections

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national association of health insurers, calling on their members to stop using scare tactics and misinformation to falsely blame premium increases for 2011 on the patient protections in the Affordable Care Act.

10 Sep 2010

Healthcare News

Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Employers gravitate toward wellness programs

Clinica of Virginia offers medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for $1.00

Sebelius warns insurers not to blame rate hikes on health overhaul

Doctor works to measure outcomes of provider care

Appeals Court ruled that Feds can temporarily fund stem cell research

'Behind the counter' shop displays of cigarettes encourage smoking among youth

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

Legal and moral reasons prevent most Oregon hospices from participation in 'Death with Dignity Act'

Illinois HFS selects Centene subsidiary for managed care services

New national assessment tool for nursing home residents

NACHC Conference to discuss primary care foundation in America under Affordable Care Act

Death and disability toll due to C. diff bacteria needs to be addressed

Ortho Biotech unblinded abiraterone acetate Phase 3 study for prostate cancer patients

First Edition: September 10, 2010

Cancer Research UK launches world's first urban running lane on London's Southbank

Researchers present study results of psychosocial trauma experienced at 2006 Dawson College shooting

Distrust in healthcare system deters blood donation among African Americans

Scottish government proposes minimum price to tackle alcohol misuse

Sebelius calls upon AHIP to stop misinformation, false blame on premium increases on patient protections

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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