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Health IT roundup: Provider-vendor relationships an issue, group uses racial info to customize care

Health News Florida/Kaiser Health News: "A group of Broward County doctors looking to switch to electronic medical records say the result has been a massive headache: surprise charges, inadequate training and even blocked access to patient files."

23 Jan 2010

CWLA implores Congress to proceed with healthcare reform

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the nation’s oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization, is urging Congress to proceed with health care reform and is working with its members to advocate for reform. On the eve of its Washington, DC-based National Conference, CWLA leaders are preparing their membership to take this message to Capitol Hill.

23 Jan 2010

Premier Purchasing Partners announces new agreements for energy efficiency services

Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, announced today new agreements for energy efficiency services have been awarded to American Energy Assets LLC. of Denver, a small business enterprise; Energy Automation Systems Inc. of Hendersonville, Tenn., a small business enterprise; Encelium Technologies of Teaneck, N.J.; Johnson Controls Inc. of Milwaukee; Tolin Mechanical Systems of Denver, a small business enterprise; and Trane USA Inc. of Antioch, Tenn.

23 Jan 2010

Groups call for permanent fix for doctor payment formula

National groups are calling for a permanent solution to the doctor payment formula and warning about a possible shortage in doctors and impending decline in Medicare payments. The Virginian-Pilot reports: "If Congress doesn't intervene, a funding formula will trigger a 21 percent cut in reimbursements to doctors in the Medicare and Tricare programs on March 1, a group of national organizations warned Thursday. That, the group said, will force doctors to drop out of the programs and make it tougher for elderly and military beneficiaries to get health care.

23 Jan 2010

Obama: Not going to walk away from health reform

New York Times' The Caucus blog: "Conceding his health care overhaul had 'run into a bit of a buzz saw,' President Obama vowed on Friday to keep fighting for legislation that will 'hold the insurance industry accountable and bring more stability and security to folks in our health care system'" (Stolberg, 1/22).

23 Jan 2010

States worry about Medicaid stimulus money drying up under scaled-back health bill

News outlets report on health care funding gaps in state budgets, including Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia and Wisconsin, and the possible impact of a scaled-back federal health bill.

23 Jan 2010

Sutter Health deploys surgical care team and sends medical supplies and equipment for Haiti relief efforts

A 15-member surgical care team from the Sutter Health network deployed Thursday from San Francisco International Airport to provide critical medical care to earthquake victims in Haiti. The team included general and orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, pulmonary acute care specialists and operating room nurses from Sutter Health-affiliated Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, California Pacific Medical Center and Mills-Peninsula Health Services.

23 Jan 2010

Salient Management announces partnership with New York State's OMIG to provide Medicaid oversight

Salient Management, known for its success in helping organizations achieve improved results, today announced a partnership with New York State's Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) to help eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within the Medicaid system.

23 Jan 2010

Recent releases in global health

"Picture the situation in Haiti: families living on top of sewage-contaminated rubbish dumps, with no reliable sources of food and water and virtually no access to health care. This scenario depicts the situation in Haiti before the earthquake that catapulted this impoverished and conflict-ridden country into the international headlines,"

23 Jan 2010

Poll: Most say Congress should start again on health care

"A majority of Americans say President Obama and congressional Democrats should suspend work on the health care bill that has been on the verge of passage and consider alternatives that would draw more Republican support, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds," USA Today reports.

23 Jan 2010

GOP to Dems: Slow down, start again

CQ Politics: "Fresh from his upset victory in Massachusetts, Republican Sen-elect Scott P. Brown said Thursday that he agreed with suggestions that Democrats should scrap their health care proposal and start over." Arriving at the Hill Thursday, "Brown, who will become the Senate's 41st Republican, depriving Democrats of their filibuster-proof majority — was greeted as a conquering hero by Senate Republicans" (1/21).

23 Jan 2010

Searching for consensus, Dems consider potential of paring back health reform

"Passage of a comprehensive [health] bill looked impossible after the Democrats' loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. As an alternative, lawmakers in both parties said, some pieces of the bills already passed by the House and the Senate could be pulled out and packaged together in a measure that would command broad support."

23 Jan 2010

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

An Economist editorial examines the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and the "vital" importance of planning for rebuilding the country "before the world's generosity turns to cynicism. Fortunately there is a blueprint, drawn up by Haiti's government and presented to donors last year. It calls for investment to be targeted on infrastructure, basic services and combating soil erosion to make farmers more productive and the country less vulnerable to hurricanes. The pressing question is who should do it and how."

23 Jan 2010

Workers combat hospital infections

CNN reports on efforts to combat hospital-acquired infections, which affect 1.7 million people each year and kill 99,000, while adding $28 billion to the nation's overall health care bill, according to federal research. "But there are signs of improvement. Pennsylvania, which requires the most extensive reporting of hospital-acquired infections, saw the annual rate for all infections drop 8 percent, according to the most recent figures available from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council."

22 Jan 2010

Healthcare organizations to receive Edifecs' Unified Channel vision

Edifecs, Inc., the proven leader in HIPAA 5010 and Healthcare Channel Modernization solutions, announced its "Unified Channel™" vision for healthcare organizations. The Edifecs Unified Channel™ vision is realized with three product lines – Edifecs Unified Testing™, Edifecs Unified Compliance™ and Edifecs Unified Visibility™.

22 Jan 2010

Health Policy Research: Covering young adults, Acos, wellness programs

Dependent Coverage Expansions: Estimating the Impact of Current State Policies - "With an estimated 29.3 percent of Americans age 19 to 29 lacking coverage, young adults are more likely to be uninsured than any other age group," the authors note.

22 Jan 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

We will ultimately have real health care reform in this country for a very simple reason: We have no choice and both Democrats and Republicans understand that. More importantly, the American people know it (Robert Laszewski, 1/22).

22 Jan 2010

Democrats struggle to revamp health reform strategy

Efforts to save the reform effort were teetering "on the brink of collapse Thursday as House and Senate leaders struggled to coalesce around a strategy to rescue the plan," Politico reports.

22 Jan 2010

California revives bill to create single-payer health care system

The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times: "A key legislative committee in California revived a bill Thursday to create a government-run health care system in the nation's most populous state ... The legislation had been held over from last year because of the state's ongoing budget crisis. The full Senate could vote on the bill by next week. Creating a single-payer system would cost California an estimated $210 billion in its first year. That's roughly double the size of the total state budget..." (Thompson, 1/21).

22 Jan 2010

Tips to make healthy lifestyle changes

As January comes to a close, will your New Year's resolution end with it? If you find yourself struggling to keep your resolution, you're not alone, says William Manard, M.D., Saint Louis University assistant professor of family and community medicine.

22 Jan 2010