patient health news from FierceHealthcare

A high-profile researcher has issued what is now one of many public challenges to the manner in which the FDA speeds approval of certain drugs. Researcher Dr. Clifford J. Rosen is concerned, in... Read more...

Fed up with accusations one of its hospitals has engaged in Medicare fraud and operational problems, a Texas hospital has gotten a judge to issue an order which will bare the identity of a persistent blogger critic. Nashville-based Essent Healthcare is forcing the Internet service provider hosting blog "The-Paris-site" to cough up the blog owner's name, not to mention the identities of several other people who posted critical follow-on …

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Illinois-based retail clinics may soon find that there are a new set of eyes looking over their shoulder. Retail clinics, which are popping up in Wal-Marts, Walgreen's and CVS/Caremark pharmacies,... Read more...

 

Late this month the industry will make its annual pilgrimage to the giant HIMSS '07 show, which, for the non-technical reader, is the must-attend annual event for health IT types. Our sister …

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In a bid to reduce hospital-acquired infections, Senator Richard T. Moore (D) of Massachusetts has filed legislation that would require all state hospitals to publicly report hospital-acquired infection rates as early as next year. According to the Boston Globe, the law calls for "mandatory education for healthcare workers and penalties for employees and facilities that don't comply with infection prevention measures, which health officials are developing." Regulators hope to …

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While a tiny 1 percent of U.S. workers are enrolled in CDHPs, lots of people are suggesting that they have an extremely rosy future, notably the health insurance industry, the employers who see big cost savings, and the banks slavering over the profits from the be made a billion-dollar inflow of health savings account funding. Still, those without financial skin in the game, such as The …

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It's well-known that the healthcare provided in some prison systems--such as California's--is minimal at best. To draw attention to the issue, healthcare workers with the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare West have been planning strikes at prison healthcare facilities, arguing that understaffing at these facilities is endangering patient health. However, the SEIU has reached a breakthrough in its talks with Prison Health Services, which may lead to calling off the strikes. Release

Retail clinics have been a hot topic for quite some time here at FierceHealthcare. Along the way, we've covered some stumbles among …

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New research suggests that hospital visits decrease as the level of cost the patient bears go up. While this might be worrisome--we don't want people to avoid hospital trips and end up sicker--the study also found that the higher co-pays actually didn't have a negative effect on patient health. In fact, they saw no increase in negative clinical events such hospitalization, intensive care admission or deaths. To gather their data, researchers followed more than two million …

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Good physical fitness--achieved safely with the guidance of an instructor--can go a long way in improving a patient's medical problems. According to The New York Times, a closer relationship between fitness professionals and doctors can also help physicians catch health problems that they might otherwise miss. Yet, despite the fact that healthcare providers could use fitness trainers as a tool for improving patient health, many providers either don't take advantage of trainers or …

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