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First Edition: August 13, 2010

Today's headlines explore a variety of health policy issues, ranging from consumer protections regarding benefit rights to the cost of electronic medical records.

13 Aug 2010

Magnet hospitals don't provide better working conditions for nurses than non-magnet hospitals: Study

Magnet hospitals, while widely recognized for better patient safety and outcomes, don't provide better working conditions for nurses than non-magnet hospitals, according to a new study by the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

13 Aug 2010

General Dynamics awarded $80.3M contract to support HHS Early Retiree Reinsurance Program

General Dynamics Information Technology's ViPS, part of its Health IT Solutions business sector, has been awarded a contract to support the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP). The total potential contract value is $80.3 million over four years if all options are exercised.

13 Aug 2010

Sinai Hospital announces driver evaluation and rehabilitation training program for elderly drivers

Remember that feeling of finally getting your drivers' license? That feeling of freedom and independence is also connected to reaching many of our day-to-day activities. Yet a disability, illness or aging can affect our ability to be a safe driver by impairing our decision-making skills and our ability to control a vehicle. Being a child of an elderly parent also may mean it's time to talk about driving.

13 Aug 2010

Insurers' actions mirror credit card companies' interest rate increases ahead of new consumer rights

Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Media and Democracy today asked the Obama administration to investigate how the major for-profit health insurance companies are reducing their proportion of spending on health care in advance of health reform, even as premiums spike upward. In a letter to Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius, the groups compared insurers' actions to those of credit card companies, which spiked annual interest rates last year in advance of new federal regulations that would curb corporate abuses.

13 Aug 2010

University of Alberta and Health Canada announce study on Residential Indoor Air Quality

Researchers at the University of Alberta are trying to help clear the air about the levels of air pollutants in people's homes.

13 Aug 2010

National organization releases “Lessons from the Frontlines” report on H1N1

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), and the National Specialty Society of Community Medicine (NSSCM) today released Lessons from the Frontlines, a collaborative report on H1N1 describing the physician experience on the frontlines of the pandemic.

13 Aug 2010

Research reveals self-care improves healing experience

New research conducted by Experience In Motion LLC (EIM), Minneapolis, reveals that when healthcare organizations, their staff and practitioners engage in self-care as an organizational strategy, it not only improves the healing experience for themselves and patients, but it also improves business measures.

13 Aug 2010

MedAssurant enters agreement with NCQA to develop new measures of healthcare quality

MedAssurant Inc., a leading provider of data-driven healthcare solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the organization that maintains the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS ®)—the most widely used performance measurement tool in healthcare and a core component of the Medicare Star Rating system—to support the development of new measures of healthcare quality that NCQA is developing under a contract it has with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

13 Aug 2010

Floods: U.N. issues $459.7M appeal for Pakistan, China concerned about disease outbreaks after mudslides

The U.N. appealed for $459.7 million on Wednesday "to aid flood victims in Pakistan as the magnitude of the disaster widened, with about one-fifth of the country submerged and the annual monsoon season still potent," the New York Times reports (MacFarquhar, 8/11).

13 Aug 2010

Companies reorganizing under Chapter 11 battle with former employees over lifetime health benefits

The Wall Street Journal: "Linda Roberts thought she would enjoy lifetime health benefits after a dozen years lifting radiators and iron in a factory for Visteon Corp. But the car-parts maker won bankruptcy-court approval to terminate those retiree benefits, just months after Ms. Roberts, 62 years old, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and leukemia.

13 Aug 2010

European Association of Urology to publish first case series on RALP

In European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology, a new section will be published as of the September issue: Case Series of the month. This series is dedicated to publishing promising studies which have so far only preliminary results. The Case Series reports on no more than 10 patients and includes illustrative images. A Continuing Medical Education question with multiple choice answers is also included to enable readers to earn CME points.

13 Aug 2010

Kibow to support KDAE week for educating policymakers about kidney disease

Kibow Biotech would like to show its support for Kidney Disease Awareness and Education (KDAE) Week 2010, organized by American Nephrology Nurses' Association (ANNA). Kidney Disease Awareness and Education Week is a week dedicated to educating policymakers and their staff members about the needs of patients suffering from or at risk for end stage renal disease (ESRD).

13 Aug 2010

NAC to deliver education program on asthma management for youth

As children with asthma head back to school this fall, the National Asthma Campaign Foundation (NAC) is partnering with Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC) to deliver Fight Asthma Now (FAN), an asthma education program that teaches youth to control and manage their asthma.

13 Aug 2010

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

The Boston Globe: "With a few computer keystrokes, Massachusetts physicians will soon be able to identify patients who travel from clinic to clinic in pursuit of potent prescription drugs that feed lethal addictions. State health regulators yesterday unanimously approved the new detection system designed to stop 'doctor shopping' by addicted patients who try to dupe doctors into prescribing narcotics. The practice, specialists said, has fueled a surge in drug-related deaths in Massachusetts" (Smith, 8/12).

13 Aug 2010

The Australian examines development of low-cost water purifiers by Indian companies

The Australian reports on how four large businesses in India are developing low-cost water purifiers for some of the country's "poorest of the poor."

13 Aug 2010

Education and screening of pregnant women recommended for prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Featured in the August edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada is a new consensus clinical practice guideline which recommends that screening for alcohol consumption be done periodically for all pregnant women and women of child-bearing age.

13 Aug 2010

Prices drop for PBMs; Pharmacy lobby opposes survey regarding Medicaid prices

Prices are falling for major pharmacy benefit managers, such as Medco and CVS Caremark, as the firms compete for clients, but the falling rates "don't appear to be sliding into a frenzy of unreasonable pricing," The Wall Street Journal reports. "In the current 'selling season,' when PBMs look to sign customers for the following year, discounts on new contracts have deepened by one or two percentage points, on average, from a year ago.

13 Aug 2010

Visiting Nurse Service of New York to acquire 'Lombardi' Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the nation's largest not-for-profit home health care organization, announced today that it has successfully bid for, and is set to acquire, the Long Term Home Health Care Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center. The transaction was filed at a closed, one-time bid auction on August 10, 2010. The purchase price of $30,150,000 is pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Attorney General's Office.

13 Aug 2010

GOP Rep. Ryan potential 'foil' for Obama; Candidates consider reform's role in races

The New York Times: Rep. Paul Ryan, "as you may have heard, is the Republican star of the moment. A 40-year-old from southeastern Wisconsin serving his sixth term in the House, Mr. Ryan has been getting a lot of attention for his 'Roadmap for America's Future,' an unusually austere proposal to vanquish the federal debt by, among other things, partly dismantling Social Security and Medicare as they currently exist."

13 Aug 2010

Healthcare News

First Edition: August 13, 2010

Magnet hospitals don't provide better working conditions for nurses than non-magnet hospitals: Study

General Dynamics awarded $80.3M contract to support HHS Early Retiree Reinsurance Program

Sinai Hospital announces driver evaluation and rehabilitation training program for elderly drivers

Insurers' actions mirror credit card companies' interest rate increases ahead of new consumer rights

University of Alberta and Health Canada announce study on Residential Indoor Air Quality

National organization releases “Lessons from the Frontlines” report on H1N1

Research reveals self-care improves healing experience

MedAssurant enters agreement with NCQA to develop new measures of healthcare quality

Floods: U.N. issues $459.7M appeal for Pakistan, China concerned about disease outbreaks after mudslides

Companies reorganizing under Chapter 11 battle with former employees over lifetime health benefits

European Association of Urology to publish first case series on RALP

Kibow to support KDAE week for educating policymakers about kidney disease

NAC to deliver education program on asthma management for youth

Mass. docs will soon track patients who abuse prescription drugs; Wis. Catholic Church employees now eligible for birth control

The Australian examines development of low-cost water purifiers by Indian companies

Education and screening of pregnant women recommended for prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Prices drop for PBMs; Pharmacy lobby opposes survey regarding Medicaid prices

Visiting Nurse Service of New York to acquire 'Lombardi' Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center

GOP Rep. Ryan potential 'foil' for Obama; Candidates consider reform's role in races

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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