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Uninsured community health center patients often have difficulty accessing specialty services

Uninsured patients in publicly funded community health centers face significant obstacles accessing specialty services outside of these centers, a new study finds.

12 Sep 2007

Immigrants and health care: sources of vulnerability

Expanding opportunities for immigrants to obtain legal residency and citizenship may be the best option to offer them better access to health care, according to an article published today by the RAND Corporation in the journal Health Affairs.

12 Sep 2007

U.S. has highest level of health spending compared to other OECD countries

The United States continues to spend the most on health care when compared to other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

11 Sep 2007

Health spending in OECD countries in 2004 and trends in the health of older Americans

Health Spending In OECD Countries In 2004: An Update, by Gerard Anderson, Bianca Frogner, and Uwe Reinhardt. "In 2004, the U.S. health care system continued to provide less access to health care resources than the health systems in many other [industrialized] countries; however, the United States continued to have the highest level of spending," Anderson and coauthors report.

11 Sep 2007

Premiums increased at slowest rate since 1999

Health insurance premiums increased at the slowest pace in eight years, marking the fourth consecutive year premium increases have declined, according to a new report released today.

11 Sep 2007

Maximizing opportunities for personalized treatment

Scientists and clinicians from around the world will gather in Atlanta, Georgia next week at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

11 Sep 2007

Clinical handover at the patient's bedside key to improving safety in hospitals

The handover of patient information during nursing shift changes is a key area under investigation in a national effort to improve patient safety in hospitals.

5 Sep 2007

Has NHS programme for reforming doctors' training lost its way?

In this week's BMJ, father and son, Anthony and George Madden discuss Modernising Medical Careers, the programme of reform of junior doctors' training, and ask is it still fit for purpose?

5 Sep 2007

PACE program helps seniors to live independently

As the baby boomer generation faces retirement, there is heightened interest in the best ways to care for older adults and prolong their abilities to live independently. A new study looks at seniors' abilities to perform essential daily functions after entering the PACE program, a large-scale managed-care initiative with 15,000 current U.S. participants.

3 Sep 2007

University of Portsmouth launches a UK first in healthcare education

A new course which will train professionals in the healthcare professions - the first of its kind in the country – is being launched by the University of Portsmouth in October.

30 Aug 2007

For some being uninsured is a matter of choice

"While it is true that the number of uninsured has grown, it is equally true that the number of people with insurance has continued to grow steadily," said NCPA Senior Fellow Devon Herrick.

29 Aug 2007

New nurses report significant job stress

What keeps a newly licensed nurse on the job? Answers to that question are important to hospitals across the U.S., many of which are confronting serious nursing shortages.

29 Aug 2007

The travesty of uninsured Americans

U.S. Census Bureau data shows a rise in the number of Americans lacking health insurance. 47 million people did not have health coverage in 2006, up from 44.8 million in 2005.

29 Aug 2007

AIDS Healthcare Foundation names new chief of medicine: Homayoon Khanlou, M.D.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today announced that it is has named Homayoon Khanlou, M.D. as its Chief of Medicine, U.S. Prior to assuming his new role as Chief, Dr. Khanlou served as AHF's Associate Director of Medicine, Regional Medical Director of Western Region while also holding the posts of AHF's Associate Director of Research and the Medical Director and attending physician for the San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley Healthcare Centers. Dr. Khanlou has also served as Chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee at AHF.

28 Aug 2007

Report shows PA hospitals national leaders in health IT adoption, investment

Despite high barriers, Pennsylvania's hospitals have established a leadership position in the adoption of health information technology (IT) as compared to their peers nationwide.

28 Aug 2007

Drop-off in procedural experience of UK junior doctors

UK trainee doctors working in emergency care claim they are gaining less experience of common practical procedures, suggests a small study in Emergency Medicine Journal.

22 Aug 2007

$25 million made available for health care partnership emergency care competitive grants

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that $25 million is available to hospitals and other health care facilities via a competitive emergency care grant program focused on hospital surge capacity, emergency care system capability, and community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies.

13 Aug 2007

Improving the quality of primary care could prevent 4 million hospitalizations each year

More than 4 million hospitalizations potentially could be prevented each year by improving the quality of primary care, enhancing patients' access to effective treatments, and getting more Americans to adopt healthy behaviors, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

13 Aug 2007

Beryl Institute reveals high number of calls to hospitals mishandled or misdirected

A recent analysis of more than 2,000 calls to hospital switchboards revealed that nearly 60 percent of attempts to obtain a physician referral were not initially successful.

13 Aug 2007

Hospital kitchens - a pretty dirty affair

With reports on a regular basis telling us that controlling superbugs such as MRSA in many hospitals is akin to fighting a losing battle, the last thing the public want to hear is that hospital kitchens are filthy.

13 Aug 2007