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State Round Up: Colorado's medical marijuana dispensaries; Insurance discounts for wellness; Florida's pain clinic oversight legislation

Hundreds of new medical marijuana dispensaries have cropped up in Denver, Boulder and other Colorado cities, causing the state to stop accepting walk-up applications from people seeking cards that allow them to buy the plant, CNBC/USA Today reports. Would-be medical-marijuana consumers will now have to mail in their applications. "The changes are necessary due to the explosive growth in the number of medical marijuana applications," said a state health official.

21 Apr 2010

Regence takes action to prevent gap in health care coverage

Regence, the largest insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain Region, announced today that it is taking action to prevent a gap in coverage that could leave many young members uninsured.

21 Apr 2010

Nutrition experts call for sodium reduction strategies

Responding to the health threat posed by Americans' over-consumption of sodium, experts in the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) called today for sodium reduction strategies that are strong and effective-and that maximize the enjoyment people derive from food.

21 Apr 2010

Proteus Biomedical's wireless personal health device receives FDA marketing clearance

Proteus Biomedical Inc., a pioneer in intelligent medicine, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to market its wireless personal health device, the Raisin Personal Monitor.

21 Apr 2010

Feinstein bill would close 'enormous hole' in health reform but must be amended to cut industry influence: Consumer Watchdog

A health reform fix-it bill by Senator Dianne Feinstein that was debated in a Senate committee this morning aims at closing what Feinstein called an "enormous loophole" in the new federal law, allowing insurers to jack up rates on insurance policies that Americans will soon be required to buy.

21 Apr 2010

CIHR experts available to discuss current health research related to motherhood

In light of Mother's Day (May 9), experts from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are available to discuss current health research related to motherhood.

21 Apr 2010

Inpatient mortality rates not the best way to judge hospital care

Inpatient mortality rates, used by organizations to issue "report cards" on the quality of individual U.S. hospitals, are a poor gauge of how well hospitals actually perform and should be abandoned in favor of measures that more accurately assess patient harms and the care being provided, argue patient safety experts in a paper out today.

21 Apr 2010

Some health insurers move to cover kids up to age 26 even earlier than law requires

Insurers will move even more quickly than required to keep young adults on their parents insurance plan, USA Today reports. "UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and WellPoint said they will put into effect some provisions of the new health care law ahead of schedule to let adult children stay on parents' plans until age 26." The reason for moving earlier than the Sept. 23 deadline? "[T]he companies said they are changing rules now to prevent young adults from falling into a coverage gap" (Young, 4/20).

21 Apr 2010

InfoLogix launches HealthTrax mobility solution for University Health System

InfoLogix, Inc., a leading technology provider of enterprise mobility solutions for the healthcare and commercial industries, announced today it has successfully launched a customized HealthTrax mobility solution for University Health System's 604-bed acute care hospital and 20 ambulatory clinics in San Antonio, Texas.

21 Apr 2010

U. S. senators propose retinal scanning may serve as an identity proof

The configuration of retinal blood vessels is unique to each individual and cannot be altered, said Dr. Brian Proctor, an ophthalmologist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Il.

21 Apr 2010

Florida House approves expanding Medicaid managed care; Kansas weighs proposal to raise nursing home fees

Calling the current system 'broken' and warning of long-term financial problems, the state House today approved a proposal that would gradually shift almost all Medicaid recipients into managed-care plans. The votes on two bills set the stage for the House and Senate to try to reach agreement on a Medicaid overhaul before the annual legislative session ends April 30.

21 Apr 2010

Caliber Point announces partnership with MedLink for EHR records

Caliber Point Business Solutions Ltd., a leading BPO service provider and a subsidiary of Hexaware Technologies, today announced their partnership with MedLink, a healthcare IT Company, which provides a complete Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and practice management platform named TotalOffice. This partnership provides a 'One Stop' solution for physician practices who otherwise have to work with multiple vendors across platforms to integrate their clinical data and billing information systems.

21 Apr 2010

Baptist Hospital extends discount for Lap-Band procedure for self-pay patients

To allow more patients the opportunity of affordable weight loss surgery, the Metabolic Surgery Center at Baptist Hospital has extended its discount for Lap-Band surgery for self-pay patients. The cost of the Lap-Band procedure has been reduced by 25 percent - from $16,100 to $12,000 - for self-pay patients only.

21 Apr 2010

Study: Magazine's rankings of hospitals reflect reputation, not necessarily quality

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Hospital rankings shouldn't be a popularity contest. But U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Hospitals issue is just that -- and not a reflection of the quality of care that is provided -- says a study conducted by a local physician.

21 Apr 2010

FDA files consent decree against STERIS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that a consent decree has been filed against the device manufacturer, STERIS Corp. of Mentor, Ohio. The decree stops the company from distributing unapproved and misbranded devices used to sterilize heat-sensitive instruments and medical devices. It prohibits the distribution of the STERIS System 1 Processor, or SS1, a tabletop liquid chemical system marketed to disinfect certain devices, such as endoscopes, that cannot withstand steam sterilization.

21 Apr 2010

UnitedHealth's profits rise while future gains may be impacted by reform

The Associated Press: "Insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. trumped first-quarter earnings expectations and raised its 2010 profit forecast Tuesday, but a meager stock reaction showed investors haven't forgotten about the recently concluded health care reform push. The Minnetonka, Minn., insurer said it trimmed the percentage of premium revenue it spent on medical bills for its commercial insurance to 79 percent, down from 81 percent in last year's first quarter."

21 Apr 2010

Doctors may need to work with and learn from traditional healers to improve care for Native Americans

The Associated Press reports on efforts to provide culturally appropriate care for Native Americans, by focusing on the simultaneous work of medical doctors such as Joachim Chino, a Navajo-Acoma, and traditional healers such as Navajo medicine man David Begay.

21 Apr 2010

Brumby withdraws opposition to Prime Minster’s health care plan

In the GST revenue debate that has been on for the past few days, all states and territories except WA have already agreed to give up a third of their GST revenue to the Commonwealth from which more funds will be coming in for the national hospitals funds according to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan.

21 Apr 2010

FDA provides guidance to help caregivers, patients safely use complex medical devices in home

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a new initiative to ensure that caregivers and patients safely use complex medical devices in the home.

21 Apr 2010

Federal health reform implementation stirring up state politics and policies

The Denver Post: In Colorado, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter is scheduled to sign an executive order Tuesday that "health care advocates say is key to turning the federal government's vague framework for reform into reality." The order "will create a board of health-policy advisers to guide the transition to a new health system — everything from setting up a state insurance exchange to making sure the insurance commissioner has authority to guard against companies rejecting someone for being sick."

21 Apr 2010

Healthcare News

State Round Up: Colorado's medical marijuana dispensaries; Insurance discounts for wellness; Florida's pain clinic oversight legislation

Regence takes action to prevent gap in health care coverage

Nutrition experts call for sodium reduction strategies

Proteus Biomedical's wireless personal health device receives FDA marketing clearance

Feinstein bill would close 'enormous hole' in health reform but must be amended to cut industry influence: Consumer Watchdog

CIHR experts available to discuss current health research related to motherhood

Inpatient mortality rates not the best way to judge hospital care

Some health insurers move to cover kids up to age 26 even earlier than law requires

InfoLogix launches HealthTrax mobility solution for University Health System

U. S. senators propose retinal scanning may serve as an identity proof

Florida House approves expanding Medicaid managed care; Kansas weighs proposal to raise nursing home fees

Caliber Point announces partnership with MedLink for EHR records

Baptist Hospital extends discount for Lap-Band procedure for self-pay patients

Study: Magazine's rankings of hospitals reflect reputation, not necessarily quality

FDA files consent decree against STERIS

UnitedHealth's profits rise while future gains may be impacted by reform

Doctors may need to work with and learn from traditional healers to improve care for Native Americans

Brumby withdraws opposition to Prime Minster’s health care plan

FDA provides guidance to help caregivers, patients safely use complex medical devices in home

Federal health reform implementation stirring up state politics and policies

How industrial hygiene flow calibration supports defensible exposure data

How electrical engineering ensures accurate calibration and patient safety

The importance of ketones from a clinical and medical perspective

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