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New blog on health information technology

Dr. David Blumenthal, HHS’ National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, today announced the launch of Health IT Buzz, a new blog that will allow readers to learn more about health information technology (health IT) and provide a space for consumers, providers, policymakers, and technology experts to share their ideas and concerns regarding health IT. The blog is available at http://healthit.hhs.gov/blog/onc.

23 Nov 2009

New York Times magazine examines needle-exchange programs

In a New York Times magazine article, Tina Rosenberg examines how needle sharing has contributed to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the viability of needle exchange programs as a prevention strategy.

23 Nov 2009

Alleged HIPAA violations by CVS Caremark, again

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), Consumer Action, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Patient Privacy Rights, Private Citizen, and Privacy Journal are asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potentially illegal activity by CVS Caremark.

23 Nov 2009

Guideline controversy: 'Politics is always intruding into the world of breast cancer'

Kaiser Health News' Peggy Girshman talks with Dr. Barron Lerner about the politics surrounding the recent release of mammography guidelines.

23 Nov 2009

Doctor shortage issue heats up with reform efforts

The Miami Herald reports: "Some parts of the country already lack an ample supply of general internists, pediatricians and family physicians, forcing patients to drive further or wait longer for care. If a comprehensive health reform bill passes and extends coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, many are asking if there will be enough primary-care doctors to handle the increased demand for medical services."

23 Nov 2009

KHN column: Getting the bugs out of health reform

In this Kaiser Health News column, which is a collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn, writes about health care's bugs.

23 Nov 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

But when it comes to making medical care not only cheaper but also better, reducing hospital infections is among the easiest changes to make--something reform really should be able to do, even in this political universe of such limited possibility (Jonathan Cohn, 11/23).

23 Nov 2009

ARAMARK Healthcare Canada earns RCO's Waste Minimization Gold Award in Communications

ARAMARK Healthcare Canada’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative has earned a Waste Minimization Gold Award in Communications from the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) for the second straight year, further endorsement of ARAMARK’s effort to promote sustainability at nearly 200 healthcare facilities throughout Canada.

23 Nov 2009

'60 Minutes' on end-of-life health spending: 'Is there a better way?'

While all Americans will eventually die, CBS's 60 Minutes reports, it may turn some heads to find out how much the government will spend when it happens -- in 2008, about $50 billion in the last two months of life. "You might think this would be an obvious thing for Congress and the president to address as they try to reform health care. But what used to be a bipartisan issue has become a politically explosive one - a perfect example of the costs that threaten to bankrupt the country and how hard it's going to be to rein them in."

23 Nov 2009

Public opinion has changed since Clinton tried health care reform

Public opinions have changed since President Bill Clinton tried to reform the health care system more than a a decade ago. USA Today reports that "the years since Clinton's failed effort have seen the cost of medical services nearly double and softened some of the skepticism voiced by Americans in 1993 and 1994. The percentage who say Congress should pass comprehensive legislation, rather than dealing with health care incrementally over several years, has increased by 10 points, USA TODAY/Gallup Polls show."

23 Nov 2009

Senate Democratic leaders look for public option compromise to win moderates

The Washington Post: "Democrats had little time to savor their weekend Senate health-care victory, as two of the lawmakers who voted to move the debate forward Saturday night indicated Sunday that they will not vote to pass the package if it includes a government-run insurance program."

23 Nov 2009

Lobbying is up as health industry examines impact of reform proposals

"Companies and groups hiring lobbying firms on health issues nearly doubled this year as special interests rushed to shape the massive revamp of the nation's health care system now in its final stretch before Congress." As many as 1,000 groups "have hired lobbyists since January, compared with 505 during the same period in 2008, according to a USA TODAY analysis of congressional records compiled by the nonpartisan CQ MoneyLine."

23 Nov 2009

Health debate bears down on senators

"As one of the few senators undecided on healthcare reform, Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln faces a huge headache. Liberals attack her as an obstructionist, even though she cast a key vote keeping the effort alive. Republicans are lining up to run against her -- seven, so far, and counting. The voters here at home seem conflicted, if not downright confused.

23 Nov 2009

Hatch, other conservatives argue individual mandate is unconstitutional

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is leading the Republican movement against the proposed individual mandate to buy insurance, arguing "Congress has no constitutional authority to tell people what to buy with their money, Salt Lake Tribune explains. "'If we have the power simply to order Americans to buy certain products, why did we need a Cash for Clunkers program?' Hatch said during a debate in the Senate Finance Committee. 'We can simply require Americans to buy certain cars.

23 Nov 2009

Error-plagued Los Angeles hospital cuts deal to reopen

A plan to reopen Los Angeles' Martin Luther King Jr. hospital as a private, nonprofit facility in partnership with the University of California is the latest example in a new trend among public hospitals that has lead to greater efficiency, and often quality elsewhere, The New York Times reports. Like many public hospitals, MLK had a track record of inconsistent quality and grim finances, and "was closed in 2007 after a series of errors, some of them fatal.

23 Nov 2009

Administration seeks to distance reform effort from cancer screening fallout

As the intense debate continues over new cancer test guidelines, the Obama administration is trying to protect health care reform from the controversy's fallout.

23 Nov 2009

Cerner connects to its associates, clients globally through AT&T Telepresence Solution

Connecting associates around the world and collaborating with clients is now a quicker, more interactive process for global healthcare solutions provider Cerner ( CERN). Cerner began using the AT&T* Telepresence Solution, an immersive video technology that connects remote participants, earlier this year to help respond to client service requests in a timely manner and to conduct virtual business meetings with its associates, clients and business partners around the world.

23 Nov 2009

Study finds depressed or burned out surgeons more likely to commit major error on the job

Surgeons who are burned out or depressed are more likely to say they had recently committed a major error on the job, according to the largest study to date on physician burnout. The new findings suggest that the mental well-being of the surgeon is associated with a higher rate of self-reported medical errors, something that may undermine patient safety more than the fatigue that is often blamed for many of the medical mistakes.

23 Nov 2009

Cook Medical unveils its uterine manipulator/injectors at 38th Global Congress of Minimally Invasive Gynecology

Laparoscopic surgeons received their first glimpse of Cook Medical’s uterine manipulator/injectors (UMI) last week at the 38th Global Congress of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, sponsored by the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL).

23 Nov 2009

CDEX' ValiMed MVS and ID2 Meth Scanner placed on ABMI GSA Contract Schedule

CDEX Inc. and All Business Machines, Inc. announce that the ValiMed™ MVS (Medication Validation System) and ID2 Meth Scanner™ product lines by CDEX have been placed on the ABMI GSA Contract Schedule. ValiMed MVS puts a technological safety net between the patient and errors made in the compounding of high risk medications and guards against narcotic diversion. Both are now available to the Government markets through the ABMI GSA Schedule.

23 Nov 2009