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Groups - including Catholic Bishops - press Democrats to finish health reform

CQ Politics: "Proponents of a comprehensive health care overhaul are pressing congressional Democrats to finish the measure ... Leaders of several interest groups said at a news conference Wednesday that the House should clear the Senate-passed health care bill for President Obama's signature" (1/27).

29 Jan 2010

Pelosi discusses plan to move ahead with reform

The Boston Globe: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "told reporters this morning that the House is working on two tracks to pursue health reform. She said she hopes to announce soon a series of smaller health care bills, such as removing the antitrust exemption for insurance companies, that could pass relatively quickly." Pelosi described the current thinking as being that both chambers "would pass a series of agreed-upon changes to the Senate bill under reconciliation, and then the House would pass the Senate bill itself."

29 Jan 2010

One in five nursing homes receive poor quality ratings, analysis finds

USA Today: "One in five of the nation's 15,700 nursing homes have consistently received poor ratings for overall quality, a USA Today analysis of new government data finds. More than a quarter-million patients live in homes given another set of low scores within the past year, according to data released today by Medicare, which first released the star ratings of the nation's nursing homes in late 2008.

29 Jan 2010

State budget news from Kansas, Massachusetts and Idaho

Kansas Health Institute reports that the recession is crippling Kansas' safety-net system. "The Kansas unemployment insurance system is virtually broke at a time when Department of Labor officials say they need about $15 million a week to pay benefits to out-of-work Kansans.

29 Jan 2010

Study shows doctors cut back their workload for fear of malpractice lawsuits

A new study shows that the number of hours physicians spend on the job each week is influenced by the fear of malpractice lawsuits.

29 Jan 2010

Obama appeals for health reform despite recent setbacks

The New York Times reports that "after spending 2009 emphasizing that a health care overhaul was his top domestic priority, Mr. Obama gave it much less prominence in his [State of the Union] address. He did not mention it until more than half an hour in — a sign of how imperiled the bill has become."

29 Jan 2010

Increased cost sharing may hurt seniors' health care

Cost sharing and increased co-pays, even if it's just a few dollars, can lead seniors to put off visits to the doctor and result in increased hospital admissions and longer hospital stays, according to a new study.

28 Jan 2010

Mcdonnell says Democratic agenda, including health care effort, is too expensive

In his response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said the nation cannot afford the Democratic agenda, including health care, The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Jan 2010

Lawmakers prod White House to release health reform deal documents

A group of Republicans and Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who chairs the Energy and Commerce committee, are prodding the White House to release documents detailing agreements cut with industry groups in exchange for their support for health reform, The Christian Science Monitor reports. "Those agreements - never released in any detail - set markers for Congress's work on healthcare, which many lawmakers felt bound to respect." Michael Burgess, R-Texas, one of the committee members seeking the documents, speculates, "Was this a payoff to the insurance industry?"

28 Jan 2010

Federal panel awards almost $500 million to La. to replace New Orleans Charity Hospital

Ending one of the longest-running disputes left by Hurricane Katrina, a federal arbitration panel ruled Wednesday that Louisiana would receive $474.8 million — nearly all it had requested — to pay for the replacement of Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which has been closed since the storm.

28 Jan 2010

Texas Tribune: Will local docs overcome obstacles to go paperless?

American hospitals have lots of reasons to go digital, as well as a handful of motives to stick with paper.

28 Jan 2010

AAOS, SOMOS, and OTA host EWI symposium on improving patient care for wounded warriors

Since the beginning of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, there have been nearly 36,000 battle- injured warriors, of which approximately 82 percent suffer extremity trauma. Many of these injuries are complicated by the effects of improvised explosive devices which cause injury patterns distinct from civilian trauma. Traditional wound-management guidelines simply fall short.

28 Jan 2010

Zero LWOT metric appeared on the hospital dashboard at United Hospital Center

The week of Christmas left no one turned away from the Emergency Department at United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. For the first time in years, a zero LWOT (Left Without Treatment) metric appeared on the hospital dashboard.

28 Jan 2010

Christiana Care Health System introduces COPE technology for common diagnoses

Christiana Care Health System is taking a giant leap forward toward a comprehensive Electronic Health Record with the launch of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE), technology that makes it easier, more efficient and safer for doctors to order tests and medications.

28 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 28, 2010

It's the morning after the State of the Union address. What's the state of health reform?

28 Jan 2010

Quinnipiac University to open a medical school to meet global health needs

Quinnipiac University President John L. Lahey announced today that the University would begin the complex process of opening a medical school, with an emphasis on primary care and global health.

28 Jan 2010

Care of aging/elderly relatives and cost of Afghanistan, Iraq wars: New Yorkers equally concerned

A new survey by Partners in Care, conducted by Gotham Research Group indicates that New Yorkers are equally worried about managing the care of an aging or elderly relative as they are over the cost of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The poll also indicates that they find it more of a concern than the direction the economy will take over the next few years.

28 Jan 2010

Orthopaedic researchers explore novel treatments for wounded soldiers

For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So after the surge in U.S. troops heading to Afghanistan, there will be an influx of injured veterans returning back home. But the U.S. Department of Defense has recruited its own "soldiers" in the battle against war casualties: a consortium of researchers who are improving care to wounded soldiers as well as the general public.

28 Jan 2010

GUMC invites Washington-area residents for Spring 2010 Mini-Medical School Program

Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is inviting Washington-area residents to find out what it takes to become a doctor—minus the long hours and late nights. Georgetown's eight-week Spring 2010 Mini-Medical School Program, open to the public and members of the media, begins Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

28 Jan 2010

National summit to focus on new ways of eliminating health care fraud

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder will convene a “National Summit on Health Care Fraud” on Thursday January 28, bringing together leaders from the public and private sectors to identify and discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse in the U.S. health care system.

28 Jan 2010