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Features of Ingenix's CareTracker EMR e-prescribing solution expanded

Ingenix today announced that it has expanded the electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) capabilities of its CareTracker™ EMR solution. The new e-prescribing features are Surescripts® certified and allow physicians to access their patients’ prescription histories and drug benefit information as part of an electronic health record.

6 Oct 2009

NCQA awards Excellent Accreditation status to AvMed Health for its commercial and Medicare products

For two consecutive years, AvMed Health Plans has received an Excellent Accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for both its commercial and Medicare products. The Excellent rating is the NCQA's highest accreditation status for service and clinical quality that meet or exceed NCQA's rigorous requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement.

6 Oct 2009

Ankota releases Healthcare Delivery Management software

Ankota, Inc. a Baltimore, MD-based software company, announced today the release of the Ankota Healthcare Delivery Management (HDM) software suite for Home Medical Equipment (HME), Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Respiratory Therapy (RT).

6 Oct 2009

Incentives move doctors to e-prescribe; hospitals slow to join HIT exchanges

"The number of U.S. physicians and other medical professionals prescribing electronically is expected to more than double this year, enticed by higher Medicare payments tied to the technology's use," Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Oct 2009

MSF calls on drug companies to pool HIV patents

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) recently launched an e-mail campaign calling on nine of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to "release their patents on specific HIV drugs into a collective pool that will increase access and affordability to treatment in developing countries," Inter Press Service reports (Borde, 10/1).

5 Oct 2009

Eleventh-hour lobbying campaigns hope to lower costs to industry

As the Senate Finance Committee finalizes its health reform proposal, medical-device makers are hoping to convince lawmakers to make one last change, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, the trade group for the larger device manufacturers, wants [Committee Chair Max Baucus of Montana] to reduce $40 billion in fees over the next decade to $15 billion, according to people close to the negotiations. But industry was told that offer is too low.

5 Oct 2009

Health reform a chance for mental health care changes

The Baltimore Sun reports that congressional efforts to reform the health care system could lead to improvements in care for the nation's mentally ill.

5 Oct 2009

Costs of health bills, health care under scrutiny

"A bill to overhaul the nation's ailing health care system must avoid additional spending now, and also lower costs down the road, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday," CNN reports. "Greenspan told the ABC program 'This Week' that the federal debt was already getting too big, so reforming health care must do more than achieve what politicians call revenue neutrality — bringing in as much money as it costs."

5 Oct 2009

NC State researchers help design affordable sanitary pads from local, organic materials

For most American women, their "time of the month" is seen as a hindrance to daily life. In impoverished and developing countries, however, monthly periods are a major cause for concern among women. The lack of affordable, quality sanitary pads results in females missing up to 50 days of school annually - thereby compromising their educational and professional potential.

5 Oct 2009

ZYNEX obtains accreditation as a Medicare DMEPOS supplier

Zynex, Inc. a provider of pain management systems and electrotherapy products for medical patients with functional disability, announces it has obtained accreditation as a Medicare DMEPOS (Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies) supplier, as required to maintain its status as provider to Medicare and several private health insurance companies.

5 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health news: World Bank budget concerns; Ethiopia prepares for malaria surge; malnutrition in Yemen; malaria prevention in Africa

Before the start of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund World Bank on Friday, World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that the international lender expects to "face serious constraints" by the middle of next year unless developed nations provide the bank with more resources, the Associated Press reports.

5 Oct 2009

HealthCare Insight launches new care management program for oncology claims

HealthCare Insight, a division of Verisk Health, Inc., and a provider of clinically validated fraud, abuse, and overpayment prevention solutions for private and public-sector payors, announced today the release of a new care management program for oncology claims.

5 Oct 2009

Today's editorials and opinions

The Senate Finance Committee put the final touches on its healthcare bill early Friday morning, and soon Democratic leaders will begin reconciling it with a more costly alternative approved by the Senate's health panel.

5 Oct 2009

Challenges surround the calculation of costs associated with illegal immigrant care

PhillyBurbs.com examines the cost of caring for undocumented immigrants and whether it really is cheaper to exclude them under a health care overhaul. Despite widespread support for requiring people to prove their citizenship to receive government health benefits, PhillyBurbs.com reports: "Public health and immigration experts worry excluding undocumented immigrants would put everyone at risk, hamper attempts to prevent the spread of disease and lead to an increase in health care spending."

5 Oct 2009

Medicaid expansion proposal continues to worry governors

The Washington Post: "The nation's governors are emerging as a formidable lobbying force as health-care reform moves through Congress and states overburdened by the recession brace for the daunting prospect of providing coverage to millions of low-income residents.

5 Oct 2009

San Francisco’s public option receives high marks

The Los Angeles Times reports on San Francisco's public option: "Over the last two years, three-quarters of San Francisco's uninsured adults have enrolled in a public program that guarantees access to medical services, an effort that is being touted as a national model during the rancorous debate over healthcare reform.

5 Oct 2009

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Lawmakers are planning to pay for much of their plans to expand coverage to the uninsured by slowing Medicare spending by as much as $500 billion over 10 years, Long Island Newsday reports. Democrats say the only thing the cuts "take out of Medicare is waste" - in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, - but Republicans who oppose the Democrat-led reform effort have warned that cuts will reduce services for seniors.

5 Oct 2009

Nursing home industry: New funding cuts will force closures

"The nation's nursing homes are perilously close to laying off workers, cutting services — possibly even closing — because of a perfect storm wallop from the recession and deep federal and state government spending cuts, industry experts say," The Associated Press reports.

5 Oct 2009

Snowe, some Democrats hesitate to support finance reform package

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine continues to be a key swing vote as the Senate Finance Committee wraps up its work in its health bill version and prepares to move it to the Senate floor. "Early Friday, Ms. Snowe said she was not sure how she would vote. 'I've got to review the document and go from there,' she said of the revised bill.

5 Oct 2009

Supportive housing program is cost-effective option for people with mental illness

In the wake of a landmark decision by Federal District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who in early September ruled that New York State is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by segregating individuals with mental illness from the general population and fostering "learned helplessness," detrimental to rehabilitation and recovery, Community Access is inviting neighbors, local businesses and friends to tour its supportive housing sites in New York City this October

5 Oct 2009

Healthcare News

Features of Ingenix's CareTracker EMR e-prescribing solution expanded

NCQA awards Excellent Accreditation status to AvMed Health for its commercial and Medicare products

Ankota releases Healthcare Delivery Management software

Incentives move doctors to e-prescribe; hospitals slow to join HIT exchanges

MSF calls on drug companies to pool HIV patents

Eleventh-hour lobbying campaigns hope to lower costs to industry

Health reform a chance for mental health care changes

Costs of health bills, health care under scrutiny

NC State researchers help design affordable sanitary pads from local, organic materials

ZYNEX obtains accreditation as a Medicare DMEPOS supplier

Also in Global Health news: World Bank budget concerns; Ethiopia prepares for malaria surge; malnutrition in Yemen; malaria prevention in Africa

HealthCare Insight launches new care management program for oncology claims

Today's editorials and opinions

Challenges surround the calculation of costs associated with illegal immigrant care

Medicaid expansion proposal continues to worry governors

San Francisco’s public option receives high marks

Lawmakers plan to finance health reform with Medicare cuts, much to seniors' dismay

Nursing home industry: New funding cuts will force closures

Snowe, some Democrats hesitate to support finance reform package

Supportive housing program is cost-effective option for people with mental illness

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