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Many physicians do not use e-mail to communicate with patients

AP/Long Island Newsday on Tuesday examined how although U.S. patients increasingly "want the convenience of e-mail" to communicate with physicians, many physicians do not use the technology for that purpose.

24 Apr 2008

Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty discusses concerns about legislation that would overhaul state health care system

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) on Monday said that legislation being considered by lawmakers to overhaul the state's health care system could lead to higher costs by further expanding eligibility for state health programs, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

24 Apr 2008

Leavitt calls on successor to continue Bush administration's 'Four Cornerstones' plan

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday urged his successor to continue with the Bush administration's "four cornerstones" initiative that promotes collaborative efforts to improve the national health care system and reduce costs, CQ HealthBeat reports.

24 Apr 2008

Federal Government should 'pay its bills' instead of shifting health care, other costs to atates, Arizona Gov. Napolitano writes

States are "in a precarious position" this year because the "economy is slowing down," revenues from taxes are declining and "demand for expensive services -- health care, food assistance and the like -- is growing," Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

24 Apr 2008

Democratic lawmakers set smaller goals for health care than Presidential candidates' proposals

Democratic lawmakers are "maneuvering to lower public expectations" about the prospects of health care proposals offered by Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) amid concerns that "sweeping change will be difficult," The Hill reports.

24 Apr 2008

CMS adds searchable database of lowest-quality nursing homes nationwide to web site

CMS on Thursday added to the Nursing Home Compare Web site a searchable database with the names of nursing homes that rank in the lowest 5% to 10% in quality based on state inspection results, the Wall Street Journal reports

24 Apr 2008

Proposed rules to revise family and medical leave act prompt debate over law

The Bush administration appears "intent on putting its stamp" on the Family and Medical Leave Act through rules that would increase restrictions, but the proposals face "fierce" opposition, the Washington Post reports.

24 Apr 2008

House votes 349-62 to approve legislation that would block new Medicaid regulations

Despite a veto threat from the White House, the House on Wednesday voted 349-62 to approve legislation (HR 5613) that would place a one-year moratorium on seven new Medicaid regulations, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Abrams, AP/Houston Chronicle, 4/24).

24 Apr 2008

Brain tumor care, treatment in spotlight

Patients, physicians, and those caring for loved ones with brain tumors will have an opportunity to attend two full days of programs hosted by health care professionals from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

24 Apr 2008

Senators request resignation of VA Mental Health Director

Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and committee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Tuesday called for the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Director Ira Katz, alleging he withheld important information regarding suicide risk among veterans, the AP/Washington Post reports.

23 Apr 2008

White House issues formal veto threat against legislation that would delay Medicaid regulations

The Bush administration on Tuesday issued a formal veto threat against legislation (HR 5613) that would place a one-year moratorium on seven new Medicaid regulations, CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 4/22).

23 Apr 2008

Slowing the spread of cancer in Albania

Once locked in decades of isolation, Albania is seeing new horizons in the fight against poverty. Expectations run high, driving demands for better - and healthier - lives.

23 Apr 2008

Farm Bill will not include provision to ban physician referrals to specialty hospitals

Senate conferees in negotiations on the farm bill have withdrawn a proposal that the conference report include a provision under which physicians could not refer patients to specialty hospitals in which they have a financial interest amid opposition from House conferees and others, CongressDaily reports.

22 Apr 2008

Number of general surgeons in U.S. declined by 26% since 1981

The ratio of practicing general surgeons to patients in the U.S. declined by 26% between 1981 and 2005, according to an analysis published Monday in the Archives of Surgery, Reuters reports.

22 Apr 2008

Class-action lawsuit over veterans health care system begins

Arguments began on Monday in a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs that alleges the agency is unequipped to provide medical services to treat the mental health problems of soldiers returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the New York Times reports. The lawsuit was filed by two groups, the Veterans for Common Sense and the Veterans United for Truth, in a federal court in San Francisco (MacFarquhar, New York Times, 4/22).

22 Apr 2008

Developing 'roadmaps' for enhancing the professional culture of medical schools

There is change afoot in the way medicine is being taught. Rigorous course work, state of the art laboratories and demanding clinical training are necessarily at the forefront. To complement the constant updating of the technical preparation of future physicians, a movement is growing determined to produce doctors who are not only outstanding clinicians, but who are also compassionate individuals able to communicate well with patients, their families and other caregivers.

22 Apr 2008

Health care debate to produce sharp differences between parties in Presidential election

The Wall Street Journal on Saturday examined how health care will produce "some of the sharpest differences" between Democrats and Republicans in the presidential election as the candidates "respond to increasing economic anxiety about many issues."

21 Apr 2008

Health insurers experience effects of recent economic downturn despite history of resisting recession

The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined "what is shaping up to be a shaky earnings season" for health insurers in the face of the current economic recession.

21 Apr 2008

Several states consider tobacco tax increases to fund health care programs, address budget deficits

Several states have sought to increase their tobacco taxes to fund health care programs and address budget deficits, but efforts to increase tobacco taxes in some cases have prevented the passage of health care proposals, the New York Times reports.

21 Apr 2008

HHS appeals decision that requires release of Medicare physician claims data

HHS last week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia filed an appeal of an August 2007 court decision that requires the department to release Medicare claims data on more than 40 million beneficiaries and 700,000 physicians, the Los Angeles Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times, 4/19).

21 Apr 2008

Healthcare News

Many physicians do not use e-mail to communicate with patients

Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty discusses concerns about legislation that would overhaul state health care system

Leavitt calls on successor to continue Bush administration's 'Four Cornerstones' plan

Federal Government should 'pay its bills' instead of shifting health care, other costs to atates, Arizona Gov. Napolitano writes

Democratic lawmakers set smaller goals for health care than Presidential candidates' proposals

CMS adds searchable database of lowest-quality nursing homes nationwide to web site

Proposed rules to revise family and medical leave act prompt debate over law

House votes 349-62 to approve legislation that would block new Medicaid regulations

Brain tumor care, treatment in spotlight

Senators request resignation of VA Mental Health Director

White House issues formal veto threat against legislation that would delay Medicaid regulations

Slowing the spread of cancer in Albania

Farm Bill will not include provision to ban physician referrals to specialty hospitals

Number of general surgeons in U.S. declined by 26% since 1981

Class-action lawsuit over veterans health care system begins

Developing 'roadmaps' for enhancing the professional culture of medical schools

Health care debate to produce sharp differences between parties in Presidential election

Health insurers experience effects of recent economic downturn despite history of resisting recession

Several states consider tobacco tax increases to fund health care programs, address budget deficits

HHS appeals decision that requires release of Medicare physician claims data

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

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