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How sloppy is that triple Whopper with cheese? It has 1,250 calories, or 62.5% of the recommended 2,000-calories-per-day diet. The Fried Macaroni and Cheese from the Cheesecake Factory? Try 1,570 calories — according to health experts, you're better off eating a stick of butter. more»

Effective health-care reform must meet two objectives: 1) It must secure coverage for all Americans, and 2) it must dramatically lower the cost of health care. Health-care spending has outpaced the rise in all other consumer spending by nearly a factor of three since 1980, increasing to 18% of GDP in 2009 from 9% of GDP. This disturbing trend will not change regardless of who pays these costs -- government or the private sector -- unless we can find a way to improve the health of our citizens. Failure to do so will make American companies less competitive in the global marketplace, increase taxes, and undermine our economy. more»

Companies combine vision of semantic interoperability with expertise in best practice terminology development, implementation, and education services more»

A new personal health support model is emerging—a model that more accurately describes what we are able to do with individuals within the population. This approach moves well beyond simply targeting a few diseases to one that addresses the needs of more individuals within a health plan or employer group. It focuses on providing individuals with the tools, support and coordination of care necessary to affect health in ways that provide meaningful and lasting outcomes. more»

As an American living abroad for ten years, I’ve been watching the commonalities between the U.S. and Europe around healthcare. Europeans have done a remarkable job in adopting technology within primary care, and the Americans have done an equally good job within acute care. There have been many lessons learned on both sides of the Atlantic — and we have more to learn as our continents converge to improve healthcare and reduce its cost. more»

(Dallas – May 19, 2009) – Broadlane is pleased to announce it received the Practice Greenhealth Champion for Change Award for the fourth consecutive year for outstanding contributions as a group purchasing organization to environmentally responsible healthcare. The award was presented to Broadlane, along with other top healthcare and healthcare partnering organizations, at the Environmental Excellence Awards today in Chicago, Illinois at CleanMed, the Premier Global Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare. more»

Expanding its global healthcare capability, the Centre of Excellence will help IBM healthcare clients design and create healthcare and life sciences solutions that improve care delivery, predict and prevent disease and enable smarter individual health and wellness. more»

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 21, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) Chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams today appeared before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee to suggest a set of priorities for reforming the health care delivery system and to encourage Congress to implement a number of successful private-sector innovations on a wider scale to benefit the entire population. more»

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM - News) – Humana Military Healthcare Services (HMHS), TRICARE contractor for the South Region, will partner with Broward Navy Days to hold Fleet Week 2009 Port Everglades, April 27 - May 2, 2009. This annual event brings together men and women of the maritime services and the south Florida community. more»

Express Scripts Inc will buy health insurer WellPoint Inc's NextRx prescription business for $4.68 billion, becoming the No. 2 U.S. pharmacy benefit manager while gaining more leverage in driving down drug prices. more»

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced today that Jonathan Lord, M.D., Humana’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer, has been named chief executive officer of Navigenics, Inc., a Foster City, Calif.-based personal genomics company that uses DNA testing and analysis to determine an individual’s genetic predisposition for various health conditions with the goal of improving health outcomes in individuals across the population. more»

Pittsburgh, Pa. and Chicago, Il., April 5, 2009 — dbMotion, a leading provider of health interoperability and intelligence solutions, and Allscripts, the clear leader in software, services, information, and connectivity solutions for physicians and hospitals, today agreed to create tightly integrated connectivity solutions that allow physician communities to see a more holistic view of their patient’s clinical record and to collaborate with providers throughout their community. more»

NEW YORK, NY — April 3, 2009— ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®) today announced that it has rolled out an innovative solution that couples its disease management (DM) program with a value-based insurance design (VBID) incentive. When individuals with chronic conditions engage in disease management nurse coaching, they are eligible for reduced co-payments on their medications. The new program, currently in place at a large, national employer, is designed to improve clinical outcomes by encouraging targeted individuals to participate in nurse coaching and removing a financial barrier to medication compliance. more»

INDIANAPOLIS, April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today announced the appointment of Charles Kennedy, M.D., vice president for Health Information Technology, WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP), to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, a new advisory body established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, helps meet legislators' needs for timely and reliable information on a wide range of government activities. more»

Annual health care benefit cost increases running at twice the rate of inflation, coupled with an economy in freefall, are pushing a growing number of large employers to offer consumer-directed health (CDH) plans, the forthcoming 14th annual National Business Group on Health/Watson Wyatt Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care finds. more»

SAN FRANCISCO, March 30, 2009 — McKesson today announced the availability of its Advanced Diagnostics Management (ADM) solution that intelligently connects payors, clinical laboratories and providers to help physicians order the most appropriate tests for the right cost at the point of care. ADM expands the RelayHealth network to allow providers to gain electronic access to labs’ test catalogs and health plans’ rules for eligibility, automatic pre-authorization, network coverage, and price estimation. more»

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 24, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) Chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams today appeared before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee to outline the critical components of needed health care reform and to signal Aetna's readiness to work with Members of Congress to create and implement practical solutions. more»

Initiated in 2008, Deloitte’s longitudinal study of health care consumers is designed to provide a comprehensive view of health care consumerism in the United States, a view that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of what health and health care are commonly thought to encompass. more»

If all the talk in Washington about using electronic medical records to cut health-care costs makes your eyes glaze over, it might help to consider the experience of Holly Jacobson.

For two years, the 41-year-old employee of an educational nonprofit in Sacramento, Calif., has been using the My Health Manager Web site provided by her health plan, Kaiser Permanente, to access her electronic medical records. When she has her cholesterol checked, or one of her two children is tested for strep throat, she goes there to click on links that explain the test results. more»