Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

'Bad' hospitals may treat larger proportion of poor patients, study finds

The nation's worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks and pneumonia, new research shows. Now, these hospitals, mostly in the South, may be at higher risk of financial failure, too. That's because the nation's new health care law punishes bad care by withholding some money, says the lead author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs.

7 Oct 2011

Alzheimer Society urges Liberal Government to make good on their healthcare commitments

The Alzheimer Society of Ontario congratulates Ontario's re-elected Liberal Government and urges them to make good on their healthcare commitments.

7 Oct 2011

Roundup: Health alliances formed in Calif., Wash.; Mass. group seeks repeal of mandate there

One of Southern California's largest hospital systems is teaming up with hundreds of doctors in a new alliance designed to better manage patient care, improve medical outcomes and reduce costs. Under the partnership with Providence Health & Services of Southern California, doctors will share and analyze data about diabetes, congestive heart failure and other conditions to identify effective practices and eliminate inefficiencies that drive up expenses.

7 Oct 2011

Longer looks: A new life for Bart Stupak; The Komen Foundation and BPA; moving primary care out of the ER

Former Democratic congressman Bart Stupak is relishing the good life. After nine terms in the House of Representatives, the once obscure, pro-life, conservative legislator who became the flash point in last year's historic health care debate gave up his seat to become a gilded Washington operative - a partner in the Government and Legislative Affairs Group of Venable LLP. … Even before he negotiated a last-minute deal with President Obama to ban federal funding for abortion and provided the defining vote, he called his life "a living hell." "I was the face of health care. Whatever you thought about it, I was it," he says calmly. "I'm surprised I never got shot."

7 Oct 2011

Parents choosing alternative vaccine schedules for their kids: Survey

According to a new study some parents choose alternative schedules for vaccinating their children and yet others decide their own vaccine timelines.

4 Oct 2011

FDA grants 510(k) clearance to Carticept Medical's Navigator Delivery System

Carticept Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative products for the treatment of cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market its Navigator™ Delivery System (Navigator DS) in the United States.

4 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 4, 2011

Today's news highlights include reports that the Supreme Court kicked off its new term by hearing a key Medicaid case that tests whether providers and patients can go to court to challenge decisions by cash-strapped states to reduce Medicaid payments.

4 Oct 2011

Certain care situations result in poorer hand hygiene practice in ED

Researchers studying hand hygiene of healthcare workers in the emergency department found certain care situations, including bed location and type of healthcare worker performing care, resulted in poorer hand hygiene practice.

4 Oct 2011

Residential washing machines may not eliminate hospital-acquired bacteria

Residential washing machines may not always use hot enough water to eliminate dangerous bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Acinetobacter, a Gram-negative bacteria, from hospital uniforms, according to a study published in the November issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

4 Oct 2011

Supreme Court opens new term, health law challenge tops agenda

The cases coming before the court "address some of the central issues facing the country," said former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger. The clashes over health care and immigration "are not mere lawyers' issues, but fundamental questions about how the country is governed."

4 Oct 2011

AHRQ: 55.1 million American adults treated for hypertension in 2008

One in four American adults (55.1 million) was treated in 2008 for hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

4 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Mixing Obama and Ryan's plans, cancer rationing and stalling federal aid

What has been revealed is that the systems set up during an industrial era to provide health care, retirement income and support during economic downturns are inadequate for and ill-suited to our post-industrial, globalized economy. ...one can imagine a system in which all workers and nonworkers are required to buy insurance from the government-regulated exchanges being set up in each region or state under the Obama health-care reform plan.

4 Oct 2011

Hospitalization for an acute event can lead to long-term institutionalization

Confirming many elderly patients' worst fears, a national study has shown that being hospitalized for an acute event, such as a stroke or hip fracture, can lead to long-term institutionalization in a nursing home. Equally alarming, researchers found that direct discharge to a skilled nursing facility -- a common practice designed to reduce hospital stays -- put patients at "extremely high risk" of needing long-term nursing home care.

4 Oct 2011

Post Acute Medical acquires Hill Country Specialty Hospital

Post Acute Medical today announced the purchase and immediate operation of 40-bed Hill Country Specialty Hospital.

3 Oct 2011

Supreme Court hears arguments in Calif. Medicaid case

Justices will hear arguments today regarding California's plan to cut Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals and other medical providers in an effort to address the state's budget issues. Experts say the case has national implications because its central issue involves states' rights to regulate their Medicaid programs.

3 Oct 2011

IOM essential benefits report — long-awaited — expected out later this week

The report will offer the Institute of Medicine's recommendations regarding how the health law's essential benefits package should be determined. In other health law news, federal regulators also must decide whether family planning should be included as a preventive care benefit. Religious groups say the "carve-out" exemption included in the draft regulations is too narrow.

3 Oct 2011

Drug shortages lead to rationing of critical medicines

Though a number of reasons have created the shortfalls, everyone agrees that the proliferation of "gray markets" is one of the biggest factors.

3 Oct 2011

Florida AHCA renews Medicaid Management Information System service agreement with HP

HP Enterprise Services today announced the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has signed a renewal service agreement to manage the state's Medicaid Management Information System.

3 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 3, 2011

Today's headlines include stories previewing how health policy issues will fit into the Supreme Court's new term.

3 Oct 2011

NHI partners with Polaris Hospital affiliates to develop acute care hospital in Murfreesboro

National Health Investors, Inc. announced today it has entered into a development and lease transaction with affiliates of Polaris Hospital Company to develop a 60-bed general acute care hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee that will provide acute psychiatric and in-patient rehabilitation services. NHI's total commitment to the project is $21.5 million.

3 Oct 2011