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Health overhaul politics churn as regulators move forward

Los Angeles Times: "Congress is shattering its longstanding reputation for being a gridlocked, lethargic, 'do-nothing' institution, instead compiling a record of landmark policy changes in healthcare, financial industry regulation, economic policy and more. But at the same time, Congress is suffering sky-high levels of public disapproval, signaling a big problem for Democrats as they head into the closing months of the midterm election campaign" (Hook, 6/2).

4 Jun 2010

Drug makers push for more time to pay half-off discount on drugs

Drug makers want 60 days instead of 15 to pay a half-off discount for branded drugs in a Medicare Part D coverage gap, Inside Health Policy reports. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also intends to ask drug makers to pay disputed amounts ahead of a decision about whether the company must pay the discount.

4 Jun 2010

Today's OpEds: New Republic and National Review on health law; Conservative bloggers blast CBO numbers

The shouting war over health reform's effect on the budget got a little louder today when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, pushed back at conservative bloggers who are saying federal officials were disingenuous about the real costs of the law (Kate Steadman, 6/2).

4 Jun 2010

AMA launches ad campaign to push Senators on 'doc fix'

CNN Money: The American Medical Association is launching an ad campaign to push lawmakers to stop a scheduled 21 percent cut to Medicare doctors' pay. "The House voted May 28 to delay the cuts for 19 months, but the Senate did not take action before the Memorial Day recess. The AMA's TV, radio and print ads slam senators for failing to pass the 'doc fix' before taking their week-long break.

4 Jun 2010

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

Over 90 percent of psychiatric patients who received treatment in community hospitals were cared for in hospital-based psychiatric specialty units, according to a study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and published today in Psychiatric Services.

3 Jun 2010

OMHS invites community to participate in 5K Walk-Run events

Owensboro Medical Health System will officially break ground for its 447-bed replacement hospital June 5th with a 5K Walk-Run, activities for families and a ceremony that includes participation from OMHS Board of Directors, employees, physicians, several community groups and elected officials, including US Rep. Brett Guthrie.

3 Jun 2010

Old practice may discourage organ donation among minority individuals

A new Mayo Clinic study, published in the June 2010 issue of Gastroenterology, disputes a long-held hypothesis that a donor's race has an impact on the success of liver transplants.

3 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Today's headlines reflect news regarding health reform and the budget deficit as well as a new ad campaign by the AMA to press Senators to approve a freeze on scheduled Medicare payment cuts.

3 Jun 2010

Delaying cholecystectomy in elderly patients can increase cost and mortality

New research findings published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons indicate that delaying cholecystectomy, the surgical removal of the gallbladder, in elderly patients with sudden inflammation of the organ often results in increased costs, morbidity and mortality.

3 Jun 2010

Combined alcohol dependency treatments reduce social costs of health care: Study

Combining medications and behavioral interventions for treating alcohol-dependent patients reduces social costs of health care, arrests and motor vehicle accidents, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.

3 Jun 2010

Study suggests inexperienced medical staff make fatal medication errors

Are new medical residents a threat to patients? According to Dr. David Phillips and Gwendolyn Barker from the University of California, San Diego in the US, fatal medication errors peak in July in teaching hospitals in particular, which coincides with the yearly influx of new medical residents who are given increased responsibility for patient care.

3 Jun 2010

Five critical access hospitals to implement NextGen EHR solution

NextGen Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) and leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced that five critical access hospitals have signed on to implement NextGen® Inpatient Clinicals:

3 Jun 2010

National initiative to share wealth of new community health data to improve health of Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Institute of Medicine President Harvey Fineberg today launched a national initiative to share a wealth of new community health data that will drive innovation and lead to the creation of new applications and tools to improve the health of Americans.

3 Jun 2010

NCHS report: Declines in teen sex, improvements in contraceptive use remain unchanged

Declines in teen sex and improvements in contraceptive use among sexually experienced teens remained essentially unchanged between 2002 and 2006-08, according to data released today by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The new report provides national estimates of sexual activity and contraceptive use among teens aged 15-19 and is based on the latest round of the National Survey of Family Growth.

3 Jun 2010

Health on The Hill: June 1, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with NPR's Julie Rovner and KFF's Jackie Judd about the latest health policy developments.

3 Jun 2010

Grassroots awareness and education programs increase minority organ and tissue donations: Study

Minority organ donations have more than doubled since the institution of grassroots awareness and education programs, according to a new retrospective study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. In 2010, the percentage of minority donors is expected to reach 35 percent, up from approximately 15 percent in 1990.

3 Jun 2010

Rate of in-hospital mortality decreases and hospital readmission increases for heart failure patients: JAMA

An analysis of Medicare data from 1993 through 2006 for older patients hospitalized for heart failure indicates that along with a decrease in hospital length of stay, the rate of in-hospital and 30-day mortality has decreased, while the rate of hospital readmission and discharge to skilled nursing facilities has increased, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA.

3 Jun 2010

Tips on how to make right capital purchases with scarce technology dollars re-released

Faced with rising technology costs and numerous clinical department demands, hospital leaders nationwide are being forced to make tough choices with scarce capital technology dollars. The capital budgeting process can get political—and even downright ugly.

3 Jun 2010

Study: Shortened hospital stays may bring increased risks of return

"To save costs, hospitals for years have been discharging patients after shorter stays. But at the same time more people are having to return to hospital for additional care within a month of their initial treatment, according to a major new study of Medicare heart-failure patients."

3 Jun 2010

Medtronic spent $1.07 million in first-quarter lobbying

Medical device giant Medtronic spent $1.07 million in the first quarter of the year to lobby Congress, including on health issues such as a provision of the new overhaul law that will extract up to $3 billion a year in fees from device makers, The Associated Press/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

3 Jun 2010

Healthcare News

Health overhaul politics churn as regulators move forward

Drug makers push for more time to pay half-off discount on drugs

Today's OpEds: New Republic and National Review on health law; Conservative bloggers blast CBO numbers

AMA launches ad campaign to push Senators on 'doc fix'

Over 90% of psychiatric patients treated in community hospitals are cared for in specialty units: Study

OMHS invites community to participate in 5K Walk-Run events

Old practice may discourage organ donation among minority individuals

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Delaying cholecystectomy in elderly patients can increase cost and mortality

Combined alcohol dependency treatments reduce social costs of health care: Study

Study suggests inexperienced medical staff make fatal medication errors

Five critical access hospitals to implement NextGen EHR solution

National initiative to share wealth of new community health data to improve health of Americans

NCHS report: Declines in teen sex, improvements in contraceptive use remain unchanged

Health on The Hill: June 1, 2010

Grassroots awareness and education programs increase minority organ and tissue donations: Study

Rate of in-hospital mortality decreases and hospital readmission increases for heart failure patients: JAMA

Tips on how to make right capital purchases with scarce technology dollars re-released

Study: Shortened hospital stays may bring increased risks of return

Medtronic spent $1.07 million in first-quarter lobbying

Flow chemistry, AI, and NMR: A next-gen approach to scalable API production

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

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