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Competitive marketplace key to successful U.S. health care system

The U.S. health care system "is in need of serious reform, but the solution is not Cuban-style socialized medicine, as Michael Moore advocates in his new film 'Sicko,'" HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

10 Jul 2007

Health care 'staking claim to center stage' on national agenda

Health care "is rising on the national agenda, but at least four things need to happen for this debate not to end in failure in the new Congress in 2009, as the last debate did in 1994," Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

10 Jul 2007

ICW America and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island team up to offer an interoperable personal health record

ICW America (ICW), a leading international e-Health provider and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University's Center for Primary Care and Prevention (the Center) at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, a leading research and teaching institution, have reached agreement to enter into a strategic collaboration to "develop and test a 21st century patient-centered, e-Health model of care".

9 Jul 2007

Thoroughly modern mental healthcare

UNISON is applauding the new mental health bill, agreed by the Commons yesterday after a rocky passage through parliament.

9 Jul 2007

When to move into a nursing home

When is the right time to suggest parents or loved ones can no longer live safely on their own?

4 Jul 2007

How medical homes promote equity in health care

Providing minority patients a medical home in which they have a regular doctor or health professional who oversees and coordinates their care would help eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and promote more health care equity, says a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

28 Jun 2007

Many needle-stick injuries unreported

A survey of nearly 700 surgical residents in 17 U.S. medical centers finds that more than half failed to report needle-stick injuries involving patients whose blood could be a source of HIV, hepatitis and other infections.

28 Jun 2007

Conference to address healthcare policy and patient safety

Practical solutions for boosting quality in healthcare and patient safety will take center stage when the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery hosts the 2007 Quality in Otolaryngology conference in Arlington, VA.

26 Jun 2007

NHS goes to market

UNISON will step up its campaign in support of the NHS, while opposing privatisation and the growth of the market, its national conference decided in Brighton this afternoon.

26 Jun 2007

Kidney specialists review plans for disaster response

Hurricane Katrina and other recent disasters have focused attention on the urgent need for planning to provide health services after natural disasters.

23 Jun 2007

Indiana Medicaid program to enroll disabled, elderly in managed care plans

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is negotiating two managed care contracts for state Medicaid beneficiaries who are blind, elderly or disabled, agency Secretary Mitch Roob said on Tuesday, the AP/Louisville Courier-Journal reports.

22 Jun 2007

Defense Secretary Gates says military mental health system 'will get fixed'

Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday during a press conference said that the military mental health system "must and will get fixed," the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

22 Jun 2007

CBO Director discusses health care spending growth

Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag on Thursday at a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee said that federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid would increase from about 4.5% to about 20% of U.S. gross domestic product by 2050, CongressDaily reports.

22 Jun 2007

Medical standards in 21 states based on local rule, not national standards

Although most patients don't know it, 21 U.S. states follow some form of an 1880 ruling that says the standard of care physicians must meet by law depends on where the doctor practices, even if, in some cases, it is a small town with only two doctors.

20 Jun 2007

Veterans treated in psychiatric wards which "threaten their lives"

A report by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations has found serious flaws in services for veterans at two psychiatric wards in a Seattle hospital.

19 Jun 2007

One in ten young cancer docs depressed

In a survey of 401 oncology registrars, 102 scored above the threshold for possible psychiatric morbidity and more than one in ten showed clinically important levels of depression.

From The University of Manchester 18 Jun 2007

Changing face of dialysis care in the United States

As medical, economic, and policy trends converge to alter the way dialysis care is organized and financed, protecting the unique relationship between dialysis patients and the kidney specialists who direct their care is a top priority, according to a special feature in the July Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

17 Jun 2007

Nurses who work the night shift more likely to have poor sleep habits

Nurses who work the night shift are more likely to have poor sleep habits, a practice that can increase the likelihood of committing serious errors that can put the safety of themselves as well as their patients at risk, according to research presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

14 Jun 2007

State snapshots highlights gains and lags in health care quality

AHRQ's State Snapshots Web tool was launched in 2005. It is an application that helps state health leaders, researchers, consumers, and others understand the status of health care quality in individual states, including each state's strengths and weaknesses.

14 Jun 2007

Hawaii the tops when it comes to health care

Living in Hawaii has more advantages than just sunshine and beautiful beaches. Health wise Hawaii is the top place to be when it comes to accessing safe and affordable medical care.

13 Jun 2007