McKesson news from FierceHealthcare

In mid-2007, a court struck down New Hampshire law banning the practice of collecting data on physician prescribing patterns and selling it to pharmaceutical company marketing departments. It sided Read more...

Hearings began this week on an effort, sponsored by at least six pharma data-mining firms, designed to overturn a new Maine law which lets prescribers opt out of having their prescribing information Read more...

So, HIMSS is already beginning to slow down, even though the show doesn't officially end until tomorrow. (It could be that people are exhausted after walking the exhibit hall floor--we're talking a brightly colored, …

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> Chain drug store operator Walgreens plans to open 10 to 15 retail clinics in the Milwaukee area over the next 12 months. The Walgreens offering will compete with Aurora Health Care's QuickCare clinics. Article

> California's Los Angeles and Alameda counties have contracted with McKesson to run a pilot disease management program. McKesson will work Medi-Cal patients, who …

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> A new study by researchers at Boston University claims that Massachusetts has the most expensive health care system in the world. Article

> Neil Versel reports in Health IT World that Care New England Health System in Providence, RI has been using software from Core Security Technologies to protect its network as it goes live with Cerner and PHRs. …

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There was a big healthcare IT deal in the Bay area today as McKesson announced that it has bought RelayHealth. The company is probably best known for WebVisits, popular software that allows patients to exchange messages with providers over a secure internet connection. Providers who use RelayHealth's system typically bill patients for an "online consultation" or e-consult, allowing them to seek reimbursement from insurers.

Despite reluctance on the part of some doctors, online …

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> Mass. Governor Mitt Romney's administration releases a report that concludes that the state's new mandatory insurance plan could cost low-income residents as much as $140 a month. Article 

> A new study finds that healthcare and national security top the list of concerns for potential voters in the upcoming elections. …

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> Observers speculate that as the options-backdating scandal broadens, criminal charges become more likely. Could UnitedHealth Group's McGuire be at risk? Article

> Information services giant Thomson formalizes its deal with MercuryMD, the Research Triangle based maker of MData Enterprise. Article

> GE …

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> The UK health minister admits that plans to give all 50 million NHS patients in England a full electronic medical record are running at least two to two-and-a-half years late. Article

> McKesson will sell its automated prescription services segment to Parata Systems, a pharmacy robotics specialist.  …

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UnitedHealth subsidiary Ingenix has signed a deal to acquire NWH, a New York-based company specializing in "real-time Internet connections" between healthcare companies, for $52.4 million. NWH reported $18.9 million in revenue and net income of $942,000 last year. A UnitedHealth spokesman said the merger will increase efficiency, and allow the insurer to reimburse physicians more quickly. The move comes on the same week that a report listed the insurer as among the slowest to respond to …

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