Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

Independence Blue Cross now offers its members more personalized online information about their health – as the amazon.com experience is to the savvy shopper, the ibxpress.com experience is to the smart health care consumer. Personal health information began to flow into members' electronic health records this month – available through ibxpress.com, the company's member website.

9 Jul 2010

MHPA responds to CMS annual report on Medicaid managed care enrollment

Medicaid Health Plans of America, the leading trade association solely focused on representing Medicaid health plans, responded today to an annual report just released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Medicaid managed care enrollment, which showed Medicaid health plan enrollment grew by almost 2.4 million members in 2009 to more than 23.4 million Americans nationwide.

8 Jul 2010

Health Net of California provides health plans that help employers adapt to challenging economy

Health Net of California, Inc. is expanding its efforts to provide health plans that help employers adapt to the still-challenging economy.

8 Jul 2010

Patients cope with navigating the health care system

Americans who lose employer coverage between now and 2014, when much of the health overhaul kicks in, "may find buying insurance on their own unaffordable." But for those without coverage and who can't afford to buy it "there are ways to cope."

8 Jul 2010

Australian health makeover over the next few years planned

Australian health is about to get a massive make over according to the four year time schedule and plans announced by the Federal Government. The plans include major reforms that will be undertaken over the next two years.

7 Jul 2010

CME announces conference on mind-body connection in psychiatric disorders

CME LLC announces Treating the Whole Patient: The Mind-Body Connection in Psychiatric Disorders, a one-day educational conference for professionals to be held on August 14, 2010, at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California. Leading mental health experts Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH, Jon W. Draud, MD, MS, Vladimir Maletic, MD, and Charles Raison, MD will review the most recent developments concerning the relationship between mental and physical health conditions and explore the concept of Wellness.

7 Jul 2010

Nearly 60% of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis fail to receive needed care from specialists: Study

Nearly 60 per cent of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis - an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints - were not seen by a specialist within a one year period to treat the debilitating disease, according to a new study. Even more concerning is that women of child-bearing age are less likely to see a specialist than women 45 or older, say researchers from St. Michael's Hospital, the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, and Women's College Hospital

7 Jul 2010

HHS Secretary releases $15M for operation of nurse managed health clinics

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced the release of $15,000,000 for the operation of 10 nurse managed health clinics to support the education and training of nurse practitioners. Nurse managed health centers staffed by nurse practitioners provide comprehensive primary health care services to populations living in medically underserved communities.

7 Jul 2010

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

The Boston Globe: In Massachusetts, "[t]he number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed … despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use. According to state data released last week, emergency room visits rose by 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year.

7 Jul 2010

Health Council of Canada applauds B.C. initiative for integrated primary and community care

The Health Council of Canada applauds the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services and the B.C. Medical Association on their June 24, 2010 announcement of $137 million toward integrated primary and community care that will connect every resident with a family doctor by 2015, starting with the province's most vulnerable citizens - high needs patients, frail seniors and patients with chronic diseases.

6 Jul 2010

Simple new rule can help primary care physicians rule out CHD in chest pain patients: Study

A simple new rule can help primary care physicians rule out coronary heart disease in patients with chest pain, states a study published in CMAJ.

6 Jul 2010

Erectile dysfunction drug user over 40 more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases

Physicians who prescribe erectile dysfunction drugs for their male patients should be sure to discuss the importance of safer sex practices, even with older patients: that is an important implication of a report in the July 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The analysis of insurance records of more than 1.4 million U.S. men over 40 found that those who used ED drugs were more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases than were non-users.

6 Jul 2010

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: The Quality Of Care Provided To Hospitalized Patients At The End of Life - In this study, researchers used a set of quality indicators to assess the end-of-life care and pain management received by 496 patients who died three or more days after admission at the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center. The authors found "pain assessments (94%) and treatments for pain (95%) and dyspnea [breathing problems] (87%) were performed with fidelity."

3 Jul 2010

State Roundup: Florida to investigate WellCare; Calif. budget cuts; Computer system helps states find Medicaid savings

Nextgov: "A 17-year-old computer data matching system designed to prevent welfare recipients from drawing benefits in more than one state at a time is now helping cash-strapped states save millions of dollars -- but not as originally intended.

3 Jul 2010

Positive reviews of health overhaul implementation so far but potential stumbling blocks lie ahead

The New York Times notes an uptick in support for the health overhaul in polls as parts of the law begin to take effect, as well as some positive reviews - even from conservatives - about the administration's performance in implementing the measures. Stuart Butler, a vice president of the Heritage Foundation, for instance, said, "I give them an A for effort. But there are land mines down the road because the law is fundamentally flawed." The latest poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows 48 percent hold a favorable view of the new law, while 41 percent oppose it.

3 Jul 2010

Today's OpEds: Insurance premium caps; Doc shortage; High-risk pool

The insurer's proposed premium hikes are staggering, but the problem is that medical costs have been growing considerably faster than inflation. AB 2578 would help put a check on unjustified hikes ... The Assembly passed the bill last month, and we urge the Senate to follow suit (7/2).

3 Jul 2010

Over 28,000 patients access myMDAnderson web-based portal for personal health information in one year

Just one year after The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center launched its secured, Web-based portal for personal health information, more than 28,000 patients (57 percent) who logged into myMDAnderson - a personalized, online connection to the center - have accessed their personal medical information, test results and records.

2 Jul 2010

Two questions to identify families whose young children suffer from hunger

Asking parents just two simple screening questions could help health care providers and social workers to easily and quickly identify families whose young children are suffering from hunger, enabling early interventions that could prevent serious health consequences, according to a new study led by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers. The study, published July 1 in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed data gathered from more than 30,000 families nationwide, about a quarter of whom suffered from hunger.

2 Jul 2010

Greenway receives U.S. Patent for clinical template builder module

Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc., provider of the integrated, single-database electronic health record (EHR), practice management and interoperability solution PrimeSuite®, has been awarded a patent for its innovative template builder module used to create custom clinical templates that can be integrated with financial and administrative workflows.

1 Jul 2010

Eisai to commercialize lorcaserin for obesity and weight management in U.S.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Eisai Inc. will market lorcaserin for obesity and weight management in the United States following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval under the terms of a marketing and supply agreement between Arena Pharmaceuticals GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Eisai. Lorcaserin, which Arena discovered and has developed for weight management, is intended for obese patients as well as overweight patients who have at least one weight-related co-morbid condition.

1 Jul 2010

Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

MHPA responds to CMS annual report on Medicaid managed care enrollment

Health Net of California provides health plans that help employers adapt to challenging economy

Patients cope with navigating the health care system

Australian health makeover over the next few years planned

CME announces conference on mind-body connection in psychiatric disorders

Nearly 60% of Ontarians with rheumatoid arthritis fail to receive needed care from specialists: Study

HHS Secretary releases $15M for operation of nurse managed health clinics

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

Health Council of Canada applauds B.C. initiative for integrated primary and community care

Simple new rule can help primary care physicians rule out CHD in chest pain patients: Study

Erectile dysfunction drug user over 40 more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases

Research Roundup: 'Pay-for-performance' unintended effects; Lessons from Mass.; End of life treatment

State Roundup: Florida to investigate WellCare; Calif. budget cuts; Computer system helps states find Medicaid savings

Positive reviews of health overhaul implementation so far but potential stumbling blocks lie ahead

Today's OpEds: Insurance premium caps; Doc shortage; High-risk pool

Over 28,000 patients access myMDAnderson web-based portal for personal health information in one year

Two questions to identify families whose young children suffer from hunger

Greenway receives U.S. Patent for clinical template builder module

Eisai to commercialize lorcaserin for obesity and weight management in U.S.

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

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Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

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