Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Blacks five times more prone to hypertension than Whites

The hospital admission rate for Blacks with hypertension was 161 per 100,000 people in 2006 - nearly 5 times the hospitalization rate for Whites (33 admissions per 100,000), according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

3 Jul 2010

Consumers examine government's new health care website, health insurers critical

News outlets continue to report on the federal government's new health care website, healthcare.gov, launched Thursday.

3 Jul 2010

Insurer stocks drop; Drugmakers shed 35,000 jobs

News outlets report on a drop in health insurance stocks and the elimination of 35,000 jobs in the drug industry this year.

3 Jul 2010

High-risk pools begin taking applications in some states

The Dallas Morning News: The federal government began accepting applications Thursday for coverage through high-risk insurance pools from people who have been unable to obtain insurance on the commercial market due to pre-existing conditions. "To be eligible, people must be uninsured for at least six months and have been turned down for coverage by a private insurer because of a medical problem. Applications for the insurance are available online at www.HealthCare.gov. Coverage starts Aug. 1" (Boderson, 7/2).

3 Jul 2010

ePlus subsidiary achieves HP PartnerONE Healthcare Elite status

ePlus inc. announced today that its subsidiary, ePlus Technology inc., has achieved HP PartnerONE Healthcare Elite status. HP partners who attain Healthcare Elite status are considered experts in the healthcare environment, with superior HP-validated industry qualifications in everything from small practices to large healthcare systems.

3 Jul 2010

Hospitals in Iowa, Kentucky and Massachusetts face new challenges, opportunities

Quad-City Times: "A proposed change in Medicare reimbursement could increase payments to Iowa hospitals by more than $12.5 million next year. At the same time, a rule change on reimbursement to doctors could boost their Medicare payments by 5 percent beginning next year. 'This will mean a great deal to Iowa hospitals that have been struggling for many years,' said U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa.

3 Jul 2010

Virginia challenge to health overhaul goes to court

Justice Department and the state of Virginia lawyers faced off Thursday in the first challenge of the federal government's authority to require people purchase health insurance.

3 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: Insurance premium caps; Doc shortage; High-risk pool

The insurer's proposed premium hikes are staggering, but the problem is that medical costs have been growing considerably faster than inflation. AB 2578 would help put a check on unjustified hikes ... The Assembly passed the bill last month, and we urge the Senate to follow suit (7/2).

3 Jul 2010

PhenotypeIT launches integrated Corporate Health and Wellness Management Platform

PhenotypeIT, Inc. announced today the launch of its PhIT™ platform, the first truly integrated Corporate Health and Wellness Management Platform that predicts disease and chronic health conditions before their onset and provides critical aggregated data to employers to reduce costs. The PhIT platform accurately assesses the impact of current and future health conditions, and assesses the cost implications of these conditions and related loss of productivity for the employer.

2 Jul 2010

HMS acquires AMG-SIU for $26.2 million

HMS today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Allied Management Group (AMG-SIU), a leading provider of fraud, waste, and abuse prevention and detection solutions for healthcare payors, in an all-cash transaction. AMG-SIU is based in Santa Ana, California.

2 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 2, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include the latest developments regarding Virginia's legal challenge to the federal health care overhaul.

2 Jul 2010

MedAptus awarded U.S. patent for "Method and System for Processing Medical Billing Records"

MedAptus®, the market leader in charge capture technologies, announced today that it has been awarded U.S. patent number 7,685,002 entitled "Method and System for Processing Medical Billing Records." The patent pertains to MedAptus' automated process for completely and accurately capturing both professional and facility charges in outpatient settings.

2 Jul 2010

Sensor-augmented insulin-pump therapy effective for type 1 diabetes patients

Adding a continuous blood sugar level sensor to an insulin pump helps patients with type 1 diabetes achieve better blood sugar control compared to the common standard of care, multiple daily insulin injections, concludes a study published on-line today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Visually impaired people dose accurately with insulin pens: Study

Labels on the popular insulin pen used by people with diabetes warn against visually-impaired people using pens to measure out and administer their insulin dosage.

2 Jul 2010

Premier Purchasing Partners awards new agreements for waste management products, services

Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, today announced new agreements for waste management products and services have been awarded

2 Jul 2010

Continua champions use of personal connected healthcare technologies at House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing

Continua Health Alliance championed the use of personal connected healthcare technologies to increase veteran access to quality healthcare during last week's hearing of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health. President and Chair of the Continua Board of Directors, Rick Cnossen, testified on behalf of the Alliance to address the issues facing veterans living in rural areas who typically receive lower quality healthcare than the general population due to lack of access.

2 Jul 2010

BIDMC calls for new training program for personalized healthcare

The Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have issued "A Call to Action" for the medical profession to catch up with the technology and business communities in the application of genomics to personalized health care.

2 Jul 2010

HHS launches website to provide consumers with public, private health coverage options

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled an innovative new on-line tool that will help consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable health care coverage. Called for by the Affordable Care Act, HealthCare.gov is the first website to provide consumers with both public and private health coverage options tailored specifically for their needs in a single, easy-to-use tool.

2 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Teva launches antidepressant Venlafaxine HCl ER Capsules

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has commenced commercial launch of Venlafaxine HCl ER Capsules, the Company's generic version of Wyeth's antidepressant Effexor XR®. The brand product had annual sales of approximately $2.75 billion in the United States, based on IMS sales data.

2 Jul 2010