News

Group Asks for Staggered Start on ICD-10

Submitted May 17, 2012 - 09:28

The MGMA-ACMPE, formerly the Medical Group Management Association, is calling for pilot testing and a staggered start before the federally mandated conversion to the ICD-10 family of diagnostic and procedural codes takes full effect.

The association also is calling for changes to a separate rule by the CMS to implement a proposed national health plan identifier. Both rules would implement changes authorized under the administrative simplification section of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

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FCC Chooses Spectrum for Wireless Medical Devices

Submitted May 17, 2012 - 08:42

(Reuters) - The U.S. telecommunications regulator is expected to announce plans on Thursday to set aside spectrum to connect wireless medical devices for more convenient health monitoring.

The Federal Communications Commission said it is scheduled to vote on May 24 to adopt the plan for so-called Medical Body Area Networks, according to the telecom regulator, which has been working on the project for about two years.

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Insurance Exchanges Could Mean Savings for Some, Researcher Says

Submitted May 17, 2012 - 08:40

People who purchase health insurance policies on the individual market may save an average of $280 annually under the healthcare overhaul's coming insurance exchanges, according to projections by a federal researcher.

Steven Hill, a senior economist in the Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, analyzed costs for the 11 million beneficiaries in the individual insurance market in recent years and projected their future costs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

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U.S. Sets Deadline for Proposals on State Healthcare Exchanges

Submitted May 17, 2012 - 07:07

The Obama administration forged ahead with healthcare reforms on Wednesday, announcing a November 16 deadline for state governments to submit proposals showing how they intend to operate health insurance exchanges in 2014.

The Department for Health and Human Services released a detailed blueprint of the legal and operational requirements states must meet in their proposals if they expect to win federal approval to begin operating regulated insurance markets, in whole or in part, by January 1, 2014, when the 2010 law is scheduled to come into full force.

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Professor Links Gene Mutations With Heart Disease Precursors

Submitted May 17, 2012 - 06:58

Heart disease in young people is always alarming, if not devastating: Sometimes without sign or symptom, people in their 30s and 40s, or even as young as in their teens, can suffer from sudden cardiac arrest. Some of these people suffer from a genetic heart disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, which affects one in 500 people.

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Worker Accused of Selling Health Records

Submitted May 16, 2012 - 10:30

Authorities charge hospital employee with disclosing patients’ information

Six weeks after Howard University Hospital told more than 34,000 patients that a contractor’s laptop containing their personal health information had been stolen, federal authorities have filed criminal charges against a hospital worker accused of selling people’s medical records.

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Data-Mining in Doctor's Office Helps Solve Medical Mysteries

Submitted May 16, 2012 - 10:28

When hospitals turn to Microsoft Corp., it's no longer just for the latest office software. Some are asking the technology giant for help in diagnosing their patients.

In one instance, a hospital in Washington, D.C., asked Microsoft to examine its medical records to determine why certain patients were getting sick soon after being discharged. The company crunched the data from MedStar Washington Hospital Center and found something surprising: Patients who stayed in the same room had come down with the same infection.

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Higher Income, Education Tied to Better Health: Report

Submitted May 16, 2012 - 10:27

Rates of obesity, tobacco use, depression and other health-risk indicators are higher among people with lower income levels and less education, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

As part of its 35th annual report on overall U.S. health, the center included for the first time a special section on the impact of socioeconomic status on the health of adults and children. The data showed better health status among Americans with higher incomes and more education.

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Heading Off a Doctor Shortage

Submitted May 16, 2012 - 10:25

Arizona needs to confront a problem. You need to help design a solution.

There's a big hole in the pipeline between medical school and a physician's office near you. If it's not fixed, you could find yourself facing a long wait for a doctor's appointment.

"The iceberg is coming," says Dr. Stuart D. Flynn, dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix. Arizona's impending doctor shortage "is real," he says.

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Some States Mandate Better Coverage Of Oral Cancer Drugs

Submitted May 15, 2012 - 09:16

Cancer treatment is changing: Increasingly, pills are the drug of choice rather than intravenous chemotherapy that drips into a patient's vein.

In contrast to conventional IV chemotherapy, which often kills both cancer and healthy cells alike, many of the new oral oncology drugs target specific biologic processes in cancer cells and block their growth. In addition to being highly effective, they're convenient, especially for patients who live far from a treatment facility.

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