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Wasteful medical spending clogs health care industry

CNN: "Consider this: For every dollar the nation spends on health care, 50 cents is wasted. According to a 2008 report by Pricewaterhouse Cooper's Health Research Institute, wasteful spending accounts for $1.2 trillion of the $2.2 trillion spent on health care in the United States." CNN says the waste includes "costs associated with inefficient insurance claims processing, defensive medicine, preventable hospital readmissions, medical errors, and unnecessary emergency room visits."

4 Mar 2010

Stimulus spurs health IT adoption, but rush may hurt programs' quality

Within the next two years, 58 percent of small physician practices surveyed by Accenture and Harris Interactive will have begun using electronic medical records, Computerworld/BusinessWeek reports. Only 15 percent of those doctors' practices are now using the technology, and the shift is likely driven by federal subsidies to help physicians buy the technology, as well as future penalties for those who do not. Both the subsidies and penalties are a result of last year's economic stimulus package (Mearian, 3/2).

4 Mar 2010

Foodborne illness raises U.S healthcare costs

Acute foodborne illnesses cost the United States an estimated $152 billion per year in healthcare, workplace and other economic losses, according to a report published today by the Produce Safety Project (PSP).

4 Mar 2010

Obama to include GOP ideas in health proposal today

With President Barack Obama's release today of his latest health reform plan, he hopes to propel the dialogue forward as he also signals willingness to incorporate GOP ideas into his proposal.

4 Mar 2010

Obama presses forward in health overhaul efforts

The Wall Street Journal: "President Barack Obama made a final push for comprehensive health-care legislation, calling on lawmakers to schedule a vote in the next few weeks." Obama urged Congress to "press ahead with a comprehensive bill," which will involve using reconciliation. "But he didn't use the term reconciliation, instead calling for a simple 'up or down vote.'" He appealed to public frustration with insurance companies and emphasized that he had included GOP ideas into his plan (Meckler, 3/3).

4 Mar 2010

Research explores the importance of patient's outlook on health behavior and health status

Research published in the March edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology explored the importance of a patient's outlook as it relates to health behavior and health status. Researchers focused on lung cancer patients and discovered that those who exhibited an optimistic disposition experienced more favorable outcomes than those with a pessimistic disposition.

4 Mar 2010

Daschle: Incremental health reforms won't work

Kaiser Health News editors and reporters talked Monday with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle about health reform's current dynamics, strategies, key issues and chances of passage.

4 Mar 2010

Kaiser Permanente awards $500,000 grant to Community Health Alliance of Pasadena

Kaiser Permanente announced today that it is awarding a half million dollar grant to the Community Health Alliance of Pasadena to help fund the expansion of primary health care services at the Pasadena Community Care Center for residents of the San Gabriel Valley.

4 Mar 2010

NAEC elects Mayo Clinic as top epilepsy treatment center

Mayo Clinic has been designated a comprehensive epilepsy treatment center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). Only the top epilepsy programs - those that can provide the most complex and advanced care - are selected for this designation, according to the association.

3 Mar 2010

Eyeing reconciliation for health reform, GOP launches preemptive strike on Senate parliamentarian

News outlets profile Senate parliamentarian Alan Frumin, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and the "everyday Americans" invited to a White House forum on health care last year.

3 Mar 2010

House expanding inquiry of health insurance rate hikes

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which held a hearing last week on a California insurer's rate increases, is expanding its investigation.

3 Mar 2010

Democrats seem to gain momentum on health reform, but face many obstacles

As Democratic leaders pursue a go-it-alone strategy on health care, the real test will be whether their caucus can pull together and be effective, according to a Politico analysis.

3 Mar 2010

Shortage of donated blood in the U.S.: Research looks for ways to improve life-saving supply

There is typically a shortage of donated blood in the United States, and research at Case Western Reserve University is looking for ways of improving the life-saving supply.

3 Mar 2010

SAGE publishes new book on counselling suicidal clients

Counselling Suicidal Clients by Andrew Reeves, from University of Liverpool Counselling Service, is a new title for counselling practitioners published today by SAGE.

3 Mar 2010

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems wins MS-HUG 2010 Innovation Awards for Interoperability/HIE

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced it has been recognized as a winner of the Microsoft® Healthcare Users Group (MS-HUG) 2010 Innovation Awards in the category of Interoperability/HIE.

3 Mar 2010

Major sports arenas in Europe have no adequate equipment, procedures to save spectators who suffer heart attacks

Too many major sports arenas in Europe do not have adequate equipment and procedures in place to save the lives of spectators who suffer heart attacks while watching a sporting event, according to new research published online today (Wednesday 3 March) in the European Heart Journal.

3 Mar 2010

PCMA releases statement on GAO report that examines specialty-tier prescription drugs in Medicare Part D

“Meaningful biogenerics legislation should be the first stop for policymakers tasked with financing health reform. PCMA and a broad coalition of consumers, employers, labor unions, and others support bipartisan legislation that would create a regulatory pathway for the Food and Drug Administration to approve generic versions of biologic products.”

3 Mar 2010

South Carolina kidney patients to meet lawmakers and urge passage of S. 1128 legislation

On Wednesday, March 3, kidney patients from across South Carolina will join the National Kidney Foundation Serving the Carolinas, South Carolina Region and Dialysis Patient Citizens in holding a briefing at the State Capitol Rotunda, followed by a series of meetings with lawmakers and staff, urging the passage of key legislation this year that would help approximately 500 South Carolina kidney failure patients and thousands of disabled South Carolinians who are struggling to access health insurance for the life-saving medical care they need.

3 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 3, 2010

This morning's news is all about President Obama's outreach yesterday to the GOP and his speech today detailing new elements of his health reform plan. Will this step resuscitate the Dem's overhaul efforts?

3 Mar 2010

UPMC develops its first EHR application for BlackBerry smartphones

In an effort to put critical patient information in the hands of physicians at the bedside, UPMC announced today that it has developed its first electronic health record (EHR) application for BlackBerry® smartphones. The pilot project gives physicians access to such information as a patient’s allergies, current medications and recently completed lab tests.

3 Mar 2010

Healthcare News

Wasteful medical spending clogs health care industry

Stimulus spurs health IT adoption, but rush may hurt programs' quality

Foodborne illness raises U.S healthcare costs

Obama to include GOP ideas in health proposal today

Obama presses forward in health overhaul efforts

Research explores the importance of patient's outlook on health behavior and health status

Daschle: Incremental health reforms won't work

Kaiser Permanente awards $500,000 grant to Community Health Alliance of Pasadena

NAEC elects Mayo Clinic as top epilepsy treatment center

Eyeing reconciliation for health reform, GOP launches preemptive strike on Senate parliamentarian

House expanding inquiry of health insurance rate hikes

Democrats seem to gain momentum on health reform, but face many obstacles

Shortage of donated blood in the U.S.: Research looks for ways to improve life-saving supply

SAGE publishes new book on counselling suicidal clients

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems wins MS-HUG 2010 Innovation Awards for Interoperability/HIE

Major sports arenas in Europe have no adequate equipment, procedures to save spectators who suffer heart attacks

PCMA releases statement on GAO report that examines specialty-tier prescription drugs in Medicare Part D

South Carolina kidney patients to meet lawmakers and urge passage of S. 1128 legislation

First Edition: March 3, 2010

UPMC develops its first EHR application for BlackBerry smartphones

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

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