Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

First hospital penalties for high readmissions detailed

KHN examines new penalties hospitals face under the health law. Meanwhile, Medpage Today reports on the American College of Physicians' new recommendations on government rules about doctors' interactions with patients.

14 Aug 2012

Boomers face dearth of home caregivers; Medicare expands home-care pilot project

As baby boomers age, the U.S. will face a challenge trying to fill more than 1 million new home care positions to meet their needs, The Associated Press reports. In the meantime, Medicare is adding more groups to a pilot program aimed at lowering costs for Medicare beneficiaries by providing them with home-based care.

14 Aug 2012

Health law critically important to women; Expanding Medicaid could spur state education cuts; Misuse of antipsychotics in dementia patients

If we can set aside the political wrangling and focus on the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, what becomes obvious is its critically important impact on women's health. The fact is while women are the primary coordinators of health care for families and comprise the majority of U.S. health-care workers, they also put their own health-care needs behind those of their children. Cost is too often the reason.

13 Aug 2012

High-cost imaging increasingly used for stage IV cancer patients

High-cost diagnostic imaging was increasingly used for elderly patients with stage IV cancer of the breast, lung, and prostate, and colorectal cancer in the USA, research demonstrates.

13 Aug 2012

Quintiles acquires premier provider of genomics testing and analysis

To help biopharmaceutical companies dramatically improve drug development productivity and deliver greater value, Quintiles today announced the acquisition of Expression Analysis, Inc. (EA), a premier provider of genomics testing and analysis to biopharma, academic, government and non-profit customers.

13 Aug 2012

Mitt Romney taps Paul Ryan as his V.P. pick

The selection of the fiscal conservative puts the size and scope of the federal government -- and especially the future of Medicare and other entitlement programs -- at the center of the election debate. Ryan's views on social issues, such as abortion, are also explored by media outlets.

13 Aug 2012

Romney-Ryan team hits the campaign trail

GOP presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney will make campaign appearances Monday in Florida, the senior-rich state where Medicare is a key voter concern, and where some predict Paul Ryan's budget proposals could have a negative impact. Meanwhile, the newly anointed Romney vice presidential pick will be in Iowa.

13 Aug 2012

drchrono adds new layer of security to cloud-based EMR platform

Most electronic medical records (EMRs) today require a standard username and password, leaving many physician's offices – often unknowingly – open to security threats and data breaches. In an effort to address growing physician concerns around patient data protection, drchrono added a new layer of security to its cloud-based EMR platform which offers physicians extra protection around patient data accessed through mobile and tablet devices such as iPads and iPhones.

13 Aug 2012

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for patient lifts and lateral transfer devices

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced new agreements for patient lifts and lateral transfer devices have been awarded.

13 Aug 2012

SAIC acquires maxIT Healthcare

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) today announced it has completed the acquisition of maxIT Healthcare Holdings, Inc., a leading healthcare IT (Information Technology) consulting firm based in Westfield, Ind.

13 Aug 2012

Medical ethics: an interview with Anita Silvers

Medical ethics assists healthcare professionals to make decisions respectful of persons who happen to be their patients.

13 Aug 2012

Effects on white matter brain volume from long-term alcoholism are different for men and women

(Boston) - Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have demonstrated that the effects on white matter brain volume from long-term alcohol abuse are different for men and women. The study, which is published online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, also suggests that with abstinence, women recover their white matter brain volume more quickly than men.

12 Aug 2012

Romney chooses Rep. Paul Ryan as vice presidential candidate

Mitt Romney has selected Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice-presidential running mate. ... Romney's campaign formally alerted supporters at 7 a.m. via an iPhone app that the seven-term congressman would be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Minutes later, the campaign sent out a release calling Romney and Ryan "America's comeback team."

12 Aug 2012

House Republicans seek details on health law implementation spending, Medicare Advantage bonus payments

Members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee are following the spending trail of Obama administration health programs.

12 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Democrats must get tough on entitlements; Fla. Gov. Scott says feds should stay out of state Medicaid decisions

Democrats nurtured entitlements, which provided a bedrock of security for Americans. But we never said no to entitlement expansion or benefit increases. We haven't supplied enough discipline, and they are out of control. Conversely, we've ignored the New Frontier investment programs, bragging about them but meting out only subsistence rations. They're now stunted and need higher rations. We have one more chance. The fiscal cliff was designed to force tough choices.

12 Aug 2012

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Federal safety monitors produced a harsher critique of Parkland Memorial Hospital's reform efforts than recently portrayed by the hospital, finding ongoing dangers to patients from a botched surgery, medication errors and emergency care failures. Those problems, cited in a June compliance report obtained by The Dallas Morning News, were not disclosed in a Parkland summary released to The News two weeks ago.

12 Aug 2012

Health insurer rebates: Where has the money gone?

The New York Times reports that many consumers who get health coverage through their employers wonder what happened to the insurer rebates that were part of "the great health insurance giveback" under the health law. Also in the news, The Associated Press details who will be hit the hardest by the health law's tax provisions.

10 Aug 2012