Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Sepracor to be acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for $2.6 billion

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (“DSP”, TSE: 4506) and Sepracor Inc. (“Sepracor”, Nasdaq: SEPR) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which DSP will acquire Sepracor for approximately $2.6 billion through a cash tender offer of $23.00 per share, followed by a merger to acquire all remaining outstanding Sepracor shares at the same price paid in the tender offer.

3 Sep 2009

Despite health reform efforts, Milwaukee clinic for low-income patients may close

A clinic in a low-income Milwaukee neighborhood has filled a need for 23 years, but people running it worry that it may not be helped by any changes to the health care system. The New York Times reports on the Milwaukee Immediate Care Center, a small nonprofit clinic, "which keeps hours at night and on weekends, [and] is the only full-time operation in the neighborhood that provides urgent care, luring patients with a sign that reads, 'When You Need a Doctor Today.'"

2 Sep 2009

CIGNA partners with MCNT to launch a medical home type program in Texas

CIGNA (NYSE:CI) and Medical Clinic of North Texas (MCNT) are preparing to launch a pilot program that incorporates components of the medical home model based on a comprehensive, accountable and collaborative approach they believe will lead to improved patient access, better continuity and coordination of care, improved quality of care for patients, and lower medical costs.

2 Sep 2009

SynerMed's announces a 35 percent growth in membership since the beginning of the first quarter of 2009

SynerMed, Inc. today announced a 35 percent growth in membership since the beginning of the first quarter of 2009. Representing 550,000 beneficiaries through its clients, SynerMed is the largest Medicaid managed service organization (MSO) in the country.

2 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 2, 2009

Baucus-Grassley Bipartisan Partnership Frays Under Health Reform Pressures For nearly a decade, the cross-aisle team of Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Charles Grassley has shaped dozens of tax cuts, trade measures and health bills on the Senate Finance Committee. That led many to predict that the partnership would be strong enough to broker bipartisan health care legislation this year (Kaiser Health News).

2 Sep 2009

Expanding health centers to reach more patients will result in huge health care savings

Expanding health centers to reach an additional 20 million patients as part of national health reform would result in overall health care savings of $212 billion over the ten-year period 2010 to 2019, including federal Medicaid savings of $59 billion.

2 Sep 2009

One Medicaid program struggles with 'financial tsunami', California confronts medical wait times, and more

State Medicaid programs are facing trouble and looking for solutions. Meanwhile, California regulators face down medical wait times and local political candidates face the health care issue during their short campaign season.

2 Sep 2009

Retail clinics offer better quality care at lower costs than other venues

A new study by Rand Corporation, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, concludes retail clinics provide quality care at lower costs and equal or better quality than other urgent care options.

1 Sep 2009

Demand for Imprivata's OneSign Platform solution growing

Imprivata®, Inc., the employee access management company and largest provider of healthcare single sign-on (SSO), today announced that it continues to see strong demand for its OneSign Platform solution from the healthcare industry's leading organizations.

1 Sep 2009

Black hypertension patients experience poor communication with doctors than white patients

Black patients with high blood pressure experience poorer communication with their doctors than white patients do, a study led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher has found.

1 Sep 2009

Officials flesh out new grant program to help states, doctors with health IT

Two weeks ago, the Obama administration offered nearly $1.2 billion in stimulus-funded grants to set up state-run health information exchanges, and create 70 "health IT regional extension centers" to help physicians adapt to the digital era, a term officials defined in greater detail during a conference call late last week, Modern Healthcare reports.

1 Sep 2009

Patient race more important than blood pressure control status for determining the quality of patient-doctor communication

Black patients with high blood pressure experience poorer communication with their doctors than white patients do, a study led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher has found.

1 Sep 2009

Home births performed by registered midwives are safe and natural

Having your baby at home is as safe as birth in the hospital, according to a new study published in the September Canadian Medical Association Journal. In Ontario, as in BC where the study was conducted, Registered Midwives are the only heath care professionals who attend home births.

31 Aug 2009

Researchers develop an index scale to help physicians predict a patient's risk of dying from COPD

Researchers have developed an index scale to help physicians predict a patient's risk of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The ADO index can help physicians assess the severity of a patient's illness to determine the appropriate level of treatment. COPD, which comprises emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is a major public health problem and it is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. The study of the ADO index is published in the August 29 edition of the Lancet.

29 Aug 2009

Physician payment plan stirs concern over reform efforts

Issues surrounding physician payments and addressing the primary care doctor shortage are central to health care reform efforts.

28 Aug 2009

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may help with primary care shortage

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may help mitigate the primary care physician shortage.

28 Aug 2009

NIH panel releases report on the pertinence of family health history information in improving health

Though most Americans are familiar with completing a questionnaire about their family health history when visiting health care providers, an independent panel was convened by the National Institutes of Health this week to critically assess exactly what we know and what we need to learn about how this process relates to improving health.

28 Aug 2009

New risk index for COPD developed to estimate the risk of death

Researchers from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) and the Municipal Institute of Medical Research (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), in collaboration with the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, have participated in an international consortium that has developed a new risk index for COPD patients. With this index, doctors can assess disease severity more objectively and estimate the risk of death.

28 Aug 2009

ACPM launches a web page on lifestyle medicine

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) has launched a web page featuring an extensive literature review on lifestyle medicine -the practice of changing health behaviors to promote health and prevent and treat disease.

27 Aug 2009

Integrated Healthcare Association releases healthcare performance results for California

New healthcare performance results released by the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) include a comparison of average composite scores across eight California regions in four performance measurement domains: clinical quality, patient experience, information technology-enabled systemness, and coordinated diabetes care.

27 Aug 2009

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Sepracor to be acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for $2.6 billion

Despite health reform efforts, Milwaukee clinic for low-income patients may close

CIGNA partners with MCNT to launch a medical home type program in Texas

SynerMed's announces a 35 percent growth in membership since the beginning of the first quarter of 2009

First Edition: September 2, 2009

Expanding health centers to reach more patients will result in huge health care savings

One Medicaid program struggles with 'financial tsunami', California confronts medical wait times, and more

Retail clinics offer better quality care at lower costs than other venues

Demand for Imprivata's OneSign Platform solution growing

Black hypertension patients experience poor communication with doctors than white patients

Officials flesh out new grant program to help states, doctors with health IT

Patient race more important than blood pressure control status for determining the quality of patient-doctor communication

Home births performed by registered midwives are safe and natural

Researchers develop an index scale to help physicians predict a patient's risk of dying from COPD

Physician payment plan stirs concern over reform efforts

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may help with primary care shortage

NIH panel releases report on the pertinence of family health history information in improving health

New risk index for COPD developed to estimate the risk of death

ACPM launches a web page on lifestyle medicine

Integrated Healthcare Association releases healthcare performance results for California

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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