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Voters are more worried about health care than about Iraq, according to recent polls, making it a key political issue - and leading many health insurance company CEOs to keep their heads down. Aetna's Ron Williams has been an exception, speaking up on many major issues, though declining to endorse any candidate's health-care proposal. Formerly Blue Cross of California's president, Williams came to Aetna as COO in 2001 when the company was on the brink of failure. more»

In what appears to be a push to transparency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants to add 43 more indicators to the list of quality measures that hospitals are required to report on if they are to receive the full update to their fiscal year 2009 payment rates. Last week I wrote about how CMS’ new list of proposed “never events” will affect hospital reimbursement for 2009, but these 43 new quality measures promise to have an equally big effect. more»

WASHINGTON, D.C. (APRIL 23, 2008) -- A social-based retirement living environment – when coupled with on-site medical centers, electronic medical records, wellness and fitness programs, and a Medicare-approved health plan – will result in cost effective health care that improves outcomes and increases patient satisfaction. That is the finding of an Erickson Health White Paper entitled “The High cost of Health Care for Seniors: Challenges and Solutions” presented this week at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. that was attended by more than 2,000 of the nation’s top health care leaders. more»

Getting workers to get a handle on health care costs can be a tricky business, but here’s an easy way to think of it: Basic employer-sponsored health care coverage for an average American family costs nearly one month’s salary. more»

Burlington, MA, April 22, 2008 — HealthEdge, the leading provider of next-generation claims and benefit administration, business intelligence and portal software products for healthcare payors, today announced that it has secured a $13 million investment commitment from Psilos Group, a leading healthcare venture capital and private equity firm. more»

WASHINGTON- 4/21/08 -(BUSINESS WIRE)--ChangeNow4Health, an open coalition committed to improving the U.S. health care system, today launched a series of new online programs to further drive dialogue and transformation in the health care system. Announced at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C., these programs range from Health Expert Blogs led by national health care consultants to the new “Innovation xChange,” which is an ongoing campaign designed to invite and reward new ideas that address issues in our current health care system. more»

WASHINGTON- 4/21/08 -(BUSINESS WIRE)--ChangeNow4Health, an open coalition committed to improving the U.S. health care system, today launched a series of new online programs to further drive dialogue and transformation in the health care system. Announced at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C., these programs range from Health Expert Blogs led by national health care consultants to the new “Innovation xChange,” which is an ongoing campaign designed to invite and reward new ideas that address issues in our current health care system. more»

Orlando, FL, April 21st, 2008---DSHI Systems, a physician-led medical technology company, has announced the release of www.FreeMD.com, a virtual doctor that conducts an interview, analyzes symptoms, and provides expert advice. FreeMD uses artificial intelligence to control a video doctor who asks questions and shows pictures. This revolutionary web site analyzes over 3,000 symptoms and injuries in infants, children, and adults. more»

CHICAGO (April 21, 2008) – While the median households in the United States earn approximately $48,000 annually,1 the amount these families spend on employer-sponsored health care per year continues to edge closer to one month's salary. Aon Consulting’s 2008 Benefits and Talent Survey revealed that the median annual contribution for family healthcare coverage is $3,120, which is a 15 percent increase from 2007, and 22 percent increase from 2006 (see chart page 4). Meanwhile, organizations have experienced approximately 10 percent annual healthcare cost increases since 2006. more»

A new Web resource that allows users to learn, share, and adopt innovations in the delivery of health services was launched last week by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The resource--called the Health Care Innovations Exchange--is available at www.innovations.ahrq.gov. Designed as a tool for health care leaders, physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who seek to reduce health care disparities and improve health care overall, the site is the federal government's repository for successful health care innovations, but it also includes useful descriptions of attempts at innovations that failed. more»

LOS ANGELES—Suzanne Kreuziger is a registered nurse who uses e-mail almost exclusively to communicate with friends. But when it comes to reaching her doctor, there's a frustrating firewall. more stories like this.

The barrier is her doctor's own reluctance to talk to patients through e-mail. more»

In this presidential election year, issues surrounding healthcare reform and quality of care have taken on new urgency. Expectations are high as patients, payers, and policymakers demand more in terms of improving quality, lowering costs, and ensuring that treatment decisions are based on the latest scientific evidence. more»

Fard Johnmar, well-regarded health blogger and co-moderator of Humana’s ChangeNow4Health campaign introduces a new component of the health reform initiative, the Innovation xChange. Humana will provide up to $30,000 and extensive in-kind support to three individuals or organizations who suggest actionable ideas for helping to solve aspects of the current health crisis. more»

At the Ann Myers Medical Clinic, physicians in a variety of specialties from around the world congregate to teach medical students treatment protocols, how to analyze diagnostic images, and other critical skills that will improve patient care and make them better overall doctors. And when the physicians are done teaching, going home is as easy as logging off and powering down their computer—the clinic is located in Second Life, an Internet-based virtual world. more»

Reno, Nevada - April 15, 2008 - COMPUTERIZED SCREENING, INC., providers of convenient accessible health care through patient interactive kiosks for thirty years has developed the first unattended clinic and remote medication management system available in their CSI Health Station Kiosk. more»

The CSI D.O.C. (Doctor on Call) Model 9K is a completely redesigned medical kiosk, with 4 patents and 3 patents pending, providing security & privacy for your blood pressure, weight, heart rate, HRA measurements. It can be equipped with telehealth and many other non-invasive testing devices such as temperature and peak flow. It also is designed to accept data uploaded from invasive devices such as glucose, cholesterol and urinalysis that are not integrated into the kiosk. Initially providing ports for 12 devices it can be expanded to 24 if needed. The CSI D.O.C. Model 9K has 5 levels of ID security including a 16-digit mag stripe card, PIN, signature, photo & thumb print. Secure data collected including demographics, forms and vital signs may be uploaded to any EMR/PHR. HIPAA compliant. Speak with a physician 24/7. more»

NEW YORK, NY — URAC announced the winners of its inaugural Best Practices in Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards competition March 25, naming ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®) as a Bronze award winner in the Health Information Technology category. The awards were presented at a black tie gala during URAC’s Best Practices in Consumer Empowerment and Protection Conference in Orlando Florida. During the conference, award finalists presented their model programs to attendees so these best practices can be duplicated in communities across the country. more»

When John C. Erickson bought an abandoned seminary in Charlestown, Md., 25 years ago plenty of people thought he had lost his mind. He was used to that. As a developer who never seemed afraid to take a risk, he had listened to plenty of people tell him, "You can't do that."

The secret to his success, of course, was that he knew he could do that. All it took was imagination, vision and a keen sense of identification with the market he wanted to serve. As he explained in the newspaper that the Erickson company puts out for all of the retirement communities among his 18 campuses and 21,000 residents, "Being by yourself in a left-over house where the kids are gone is clearly not the answer." more»

Erickson Retirement Communities, one of the nation's largest developers and owners of senior housing, has teamed with the region's three largest health systems to compete for state money to develop a system for sharing patient information electronically.

MedStar Health, the Johns Hopkins Health System, and the University of Maryland Medical System have submitted a bid with Catonsville-based Erickson to develop a model of what could become a statewide health information exchange. Their pilot program would link three retirement communities, about 16 regional hospitals, several insurance carriers and hundreds of doctors and pharmacists. more»