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Healthagen partners with HCA to provide ER wait times through smartphones

The American College of Emergency Physicians says emergency departments treat over 120 million people each year in America. Along with emergency visit increases comes longer wait times.

6 Oct 2009

House leaders 'tantalizingly close' to finalizing bill - but work still remains

As House leaders prepare to advance their version of health reforms to the the floor, negotiations continue behind the scenes.

6 Oct 2009

Health information updates from FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today released a listing of consumer health information updates about cooperative programs and food safety. All updates can be accessed from the agency's Web page for consumers at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/default.htm You can sign-up for e-mail notices of new consumer updates on an immediate, weekly, or monthly basis at https://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USFDA_9.

6 Oct 2009

President Obama speaks to doctors to promote health overhaul

President Obama told dozens of doctors gathered in the White House Rose Garden this morning that all arguments have been heard in the completed committees' work on health care reform and reiterated that reform will get done this year.

6 Oct 2009

Ending insurance discrimination, closing coverage gaps proving difficult in reform efforts

Current health reform efforts seek to prevent insurers from rejecting individuals or charging people higher rates based on their medical history. However, a simple ban would not take away the economic pressure that encourages such practices, The Washington Post reports: "Cognizant of the threat, lawmakers are trying to neutralize it.

6 Oct 2009

Mutual of Omaha offers new dental product for workplace needs

Mutual of Omaha, a leading provider of group benefits, has announced a new group dental product designed to meet the evolving needs of the workplace.

6 Oct 2009

Obama discretely lobbying for public option in Senate health bill

"Despite months of outward ambivalence about creating a government health insurance plan, the Obama White House has launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to get divided Senate Democrats to take up some version of the idea for a final vote in the coming weeks," The Los Angeles Times reports.

6 Oct 2009

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