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What steps should be taken when medicine can't save a life?

Writing for The New Yorker, Atul Gawande explores the central medical issues involved in treating patients with terminal conditions. He asks the question: "[I]f you were the one who had metastatic cancer—or, for that matter, a similarly advanced case of emphysema or congestive heart failure—what would you want your doctors to do? The issue has become pressing, in recent years, for reasons of expense.

28 Jul 2010

Redspin offers additional HIPAA security assessment service for healthcare industry segment

Redspin, a leading provider of information security assessment services today announced an additional HIPAA security assessment service offering for the healthcare industry segment. The service offering directly addresses requirements of the HIPAA security rule and HITECH act through a risk-based approach that identifies gaps and IT environment and HIPAA security rule requirements.

28 Jul 2010

Rite Aid agrees to pay $1 million to settle potential violations of HIPAA Privacy Rule

Rite Aid Corporation and its 40 affiliated entities (RAC) have agreed to pay $1 million to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today. In a coordinated action, RAC also signed a consent order with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle potential violations of the FTC Act.

28 Jul 2010

Medicare to bundle payments for end-stage renal care, reward quality

Medicare payment for end-stage renal disease care may soon be tied to performance and quality measures if a new proposed rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is finalized. "If the rule is finalized, ESRD providers that do not meet set standards" - two measures for anemia management and one for hemodialysis quality - "could have their Medicare payments lowered by up to 2 percent starting January 2012, the CMS said" (McKinney, 7/26).

28 Jul 2010

Insurers test at-home technology, monitoring devices to help cut heart failure hospitalizations

Technology that aims to keep congestive heart failure patients out of the hospital is gaining traction. The idea is for heart patients to take readings like their weight, blood pressure and other key metrics using wireless and other technologies; the data are then transmitted to a case manager or medical care giver.

28 Jul 2010

At summit, AU leaders discuss funding challenges for maternal, child health

African leaders focused on the theme of the 15th African Union (AU) Summit on Sunday: maternal and infant mortality on the continent, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports (7/26).

28 Jul 2010

BMJ News reports on Russia's $15.1B health care overhaul

Russia will undergo a $15.1 billion overhaul of its health care sector, including changes to its medical insurance system as well as health care delivery across the country, according to BMJ News. It is "the biggest reform of its troubled healthcare sector - described by Vladimir Putin, the prime minster, as 'deplorable.'" Russian MPs approved the legislation calling for the change in a preliminary vote in in July.

28 Jul 2010

ITelagen to host, support and manage EHR for Allergy and Asthma Associates

ITelagen, a leading provider of electronic health record (EHR) hosting and management announced that it was selected by Allergy and Asthma Associates of Northern California, San Jose, CA to host, support and manage EHR for their medical practice. The solution includes hosting of patient data in ITelagen's SAS-70 Type II certified datacenter and unlimited IT support for staff members.

28 Jul 2010

AirStrip Remote Patient Monitoring solution receives FDA marketing clearance

AirStrip Technologies, a pioneer in mobile medical software applications, today announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to market the AirStrip Remote Patient Monitoring solution (RPM), including AirStrip RPM CRITICAL CARE and AirStrip RPM CARDIOLOGY.

28 Jul 2010

Dengue fever emerges as major health threat in Gulf coast cities

Several cases of dengue fever, a potentially fatal viral disease transmitted by the bite of urban dwelling Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, have recently been reported in the continental United States. Prevalent in Central America and the Caribbean, dengue fever's most common symptoms include fever, chills, headache, and body aches lasting several days. The disease's more threatening form, dengue hemorrhagic fever, can cause internal bleeding, loss of blood pressure, and death. Over the past five years, outbreaks of both forms of the disease have been reported in Texas and Florida.

28 Jul 2010

State governments expect tax collections to grow but still face budget gaps

The Wall Street Journal: "State governments expect tax collections to grow for the first time in two years as tax increases and a recovering economy lead to higher collections. But states are still likely to face at least two more years of financial troubles and about half will see gaps in this year's budgets if Congress doesn't extend special Medicaid payments that were part of the 2009 stimulus act, according to a report expected to be released Tuesday by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

28 Jul 2010

Abortion, other issues continue to stoke the politics surrounding health reform

Politico reports that "the issues of health care and abortion" are making the campaign tough for some Democrats. Among the vulnerable Democrats are Reps. Kathleen Dahlkemper, D-Pa.; Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio; and Indiana Reps. Joe Donnelly and Brad Ellsworth, who is running for Senate. "'We are going to do everything we can to point out that Democrats who said they were pro-life caved on the big one,' said Marilyn Musgrave, a former Colorado congresswoman.

28 Jul 2010

Seniors understand very little about health overhaul law, poll finds

The Hill: "The majority of the nation's seniors have little understanding of what the Democrats' newly enacted healthcare law actually does, according to poll results released Monday. The survey, sponsored by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), an advocate for seniors, found that only 17 percent of respondents could answer even half of the 12 questions about key provisions in the law selected by the NCOA.

28 Jul 2010

Maryland sees savings in federal health law, for a while at least

Maryland could spend $829 million less than expected on health care between next year and 2020 because of the federal health overhaul law, according to an analysis by a state-convened committee, The Associated Press/Washington Post reports. "The savings, however, last only until the end of the decade, when the federal law shifts a greater share of financial responsibility for Medicaid expansion to the states." The analysis was produced by the state's Health Care Reform Coordinating Council, a panel created by Gov. Martin O'Malley in March (Witte, 7/26).

28 Jul 2010

Industry still making sense of federal e-health regs

Health care industry players are still sorting out the latest regulations on an up-to-$36 billion federal program to encourage doctors and hospitals to use electronic medical records.

28 Jul 2010

Advocacy group critiques patient debt load in Indiana

A new survey has sparked an Indiana patient advocacy group to say hospitals in the state should earn their nonprofit status by providing more low-cost charity care, The Indianapolis Star reports. "Armed with a survey that showed close to half of hospital patients going into debt to pay their bills, the Consumer Action Coalition Education Fund and Indiana Legal Services said hospitals are doing too little to inform people about alternative payment plans." Medical debt is a large problem in the city, said the study's author and the education fund director.

28 Jul 2010

Report: Generic drugs offer savings for Medicaid

A new report suggests that expanding use of generic drugs could offer significant savings for Medicaid.

28 Jul 2010

WWHI participates in joint meeting to explore barriers to wireless communications, health care solutions

The West Wireless Health Institute today announced its participation in the first joint meeting hosted by the Federal Communications Commission and Food & Drug Administration to explore the potential barriers that may slow the convergence of wireless communications and health care solutions.

27 Jul 2010

Millennium Laboratories urges for increase in physician reimbursement for POC urine drug screening

Millennium Laboratories, Inc., a national, research-based medication monitoring company specifically focused on clinicians who treat chronic pain, strongly advocated for an increase in physician reimbursement for point-of-care urine drug screening at the Annual Clinical Laboratory Public Meeting of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 22, 2010.

27 Jul 2010

Free health, vision and dental screenings for children, adults at Family First Health in York

The Highmark Partners for a Healthy Community will offer free health, vision and dental screenings from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7 at Family First Health in York. The event is open to children and adults who are uninsured or have minimal coverage.

27 Jul 2010