Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Research roundup: Patients' experiences at safety-net hospitals

Each week KHN reporter Ankita Rao compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

15 Sep 2012

Spending measure passes House with Ryan's support

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., returned to the chamber Thursday for the first time since he became the GOP vice presidential candidate, casting his vote for a measure that raised spending above the levels in his own budget. Republicans hailed him, while Democrats released a video highlighting his proposal to overhaul Medicare as a fixed subsidy program.

15 Sep 2012

Court denies Maine Medicaid lawsuit, says to give CMS time to rule on cuts

A federal appeals court rejected a Maine lawsuit Thursday and said the state -- which wants to cut 30,000 from its Medicaid rolls -- needs to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services time to review its request.

15 Sep 2012

Physicians Endoscopy announces acquisition of minority interest in Illinois ASC

Physicians Endoscopy, LLC (PE) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a minority interest in the Digestive Disease Endoscopy Center (DDEC) located in Normal, Illinois. DDEC is a joint venture partnership between five physicians, BroMenn Physicians Management Corporation and Physicians Endoscopy.

15 Sep 2012

Study assesses hand contamination of healthcare workers after disinfection procedures

New research demonstrates that daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces in isolation rooms of patients with Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) significantly reduces the rate of the pathogens on the hands of healthcare personnel.

15 Sep 2012

Doctors can be ‘conscientious’ providers of abortion

Exercising conscience in healthcare is usually defined as refusing to provide contested services, like abortion. But in an article to be published Sept. 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine, a University of Michigan faculty member says doctors can be "conscientious" providers of abortion.

15 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: While health care demand rises, medical schools turn away thousands; Jeb Bush on state-based Medicaid changes

Despite high unemployment, there is one bright spot in the economy: while nearly all other sectors shrank during the recession, jobs in health care increased by more than 1.2 million, with most paying salaries of over $60,000. And demand for those workers will keep improving. ... But for American health workers, this is hardly good news. Despite a labor shortage, our crowded medical professional schools are turning away hundreds of thousands of qualified applicants; to fill the gap, we are importing tens of thousands of foreign workers.

15 Sep 2012

Supplies and devices may contribute to increase in average cost per patient discharge

Inpatient hospital treatment accounts for the largest proportion of health care spending in the U.S., with the use of diagnostic imaging services such as MRIs, frequently implicated as the probable cause. A new analysis finds that the biggest expense may not be imaging technology but from supplies including medical devices, such as stents and artificial joints.

15 Sep 2012

Number of uninsured Americans drops by 1.3 million

New census data shows that for the first time since 2007, the number of Americans without health insurance declined. However, high rates of poverty persisted.

14 Sep 2012

New ads, campaign appearances deepen political lines in the sand

As former President Bill Clinton concludes his two-day Florida campaign tour for President Barack Obama, he continued to hammer domestic themes including the importance of the health law and to criticize GOP statements regarding Medicare.

14 Sep 2012

Kohl, Grassley press CMS on long-delayed physician payment sunshine rule

In other hearings, Republican lawmakers pressed the IRS about the regulatory costs of the health law and criticized the requirement that all insurance plans cover birth control.

14 Sep 2012

ASN's top five recommendations to avoid wasteful and harmful medical interventions

Earlier this year, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the world's leading kidney organization, joined other groups in a campaign to help health care professionals and patients avoid wasteful and sometimes harmful medical interventions. A new article in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) outlines the ASN's top five recommendations for the campaign and the rationale behind them.

14 Sep 2012

Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation: an interview with Dr Leon Ekchian, President and CEO of NeuroSigma

Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS) is a novel medical treatment in which mild electrical signals stimulate branches of the trigeminal nerve in order to change the activity of targeted brain regions. The trigeminal nerve is the largest cranial nerve, and provides sensation to the face and head. Because it is a large sensory nerve, the trigeminal offers a high-bandwidth pathway for electrical signals to enter the brain. The brain areas targeted by TNS are known to play key roles in seizures, mood, and attention.

14 Sep 2012

New report on paediatric intensive care units

Standards of care in children's intensive care units come under scrutiny in a new audit report published today by the University of Leeds and the University of Leicester.

14 Sep 2012

Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim announce availability of My Well Planner for adults with type 2 diabetes

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announce the availability of a new online program offering customized educational content to help adults with type 2 diabetes make simple lifestyle changes to improve their health.

14 Sep 2012

Researchers regenerate axons at spinal cord injury site

In a study at the University of California, San Diego and VA San Diego Healthcare, researchers were able to regenerate "an astonishing degree" of axonal growth at the site of severe spinal cord injury in rats.

14 Sep 2012

New links between ghrelin and brain cells involved in development of alcoholism

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have found new links between a protein that controls our urge to eat and brain cells involved in the development of alcoholism. The discovery points to new possibilities for designing drugs to treat alcoholism and other addictions.

14 Sep 2012

Report: Risk pools extend insurance coverage now, but are 'unsustainable' as alternative to health law

The health reform law's high-risk insurance pools, one of the first pieces of the law to be enacted, are operating at a loss and prohibitively expensive - but they also provide needed coverage to a small group of people, according to a new report out Thursday.

14 Sep 2012

Longer looks: The smells to treat PTSD; Nudging healthy choices; When a disabled daughter was shunned

On an Orlando college campus, veterans and active duty soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder inhale the unmistakable smell of burning tires, rotting garbage and Middle Eastern spices as part of a virtual reality treatment for the psychological wounds of war. Participants sit in a chair wearing a head-mounted display and video goggles connected to a computer system and a scent machine that puffs out the odors, recreating their memories of war.

14 Sep 2012

Mo. lawmakers override veto of bill that would allow employers to refuse to cover abortion, contraceptive services

Missouri lawmakers voted Wednesday to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto and allow employers to refuse to provide health insurance coverage for birth control if doing so violates their religious convictions. But almost immediately after the vote, a Kansas City firefighter and the Greater Kansas City Coalition of Labor Union Women filed a lawsuit asking a judge to throw the new law out.

14 Sep 2012

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Research roundup: Patients' experiences at safety-net hospitals

Spending measure passes House with Ryan's support

Court denies Maine Medicaid lawsuit, says to give CMS time to rule on cuts

Physicians Endoscopy announces acquisition of minority interest in Illinois ASC

Study assesses hand contamination of healthcare workers after disinfection procedures

Doctors can be ‘conscientious’ providers of abortion

Viewpoints: While health care demand rises, medical schools turn away thousands; Jeb Bush on state-based Medicaid changes

Supplies and devices may contribute to increase in average cost per patient discharge

Number of uninsured Americans drops by 1.3 million

New ads, campaign appearances deepen political lines in the sand

Kohl, Grassley press CMS on long-delayed physician payment sunshine rule

ASN's top five recommendations to avoid wasteful and harmful medical interventions

Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation: an interview with Dr Leon Ekchian, President and CEO of NeuroSigma

New report on paediatric intensive care units

Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim announce availability of My Well Planner for adults with type 2 diabetes

Researchers regenerate axons at spinal cord injury site

New links between ghrelin and brain cells involved in development of alcoholism

Report: Risk pools extend insurance coverage now, but are 'unsustainable' as alternative to health law

Longer looks: The smells to treat PTSD; Nudging healthy choices; When a disabled daughter was shunned

Mo. lawmakers override veto of bill that would allow employers to refuse to cover abortion, contraceptive services

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

How GLP‑1 Agonists Are Shaping the Future of Obesity Treatment With Dr Bryony Henderson

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

How GLP‑1 Agonists Are Shaping the Future of Obesity Treatment With Dr Bryony Henderson

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