Managed Care Weekly articles from November 2003

Managed Care Weekly archives from November 2003

Researcher argues industry could trim costs more than 10%.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Toronto expert in Operations Research argues that the healthcare system in the U.S. and Canada could cut ballooning hospital expenditures more than 10% if management adopted the same...

Survey shows physician assistants increasingly employed in medical practices.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) announced that their annual census of physician assistants (PAs) shows the profession continues to become a more widely recognized patient care...

Incentives for improved quality more likely among California physician groups.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Physician organizations in California are more likely than their counterparts outside the state to be paid for improving healthcare quality, and are more likely to follow case management or similar...

Grants support work toward elimination of health disparities.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) has awarded grants totaling $65.1 million to support the advancement of health...

Computerized ICU system saves nurses time.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Installing a modern computerized medical information management system in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) can significantly reduce the time spent by ICU nurses on documentation, giving them more...

Senate bill bans some use of genetic data.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Insurance companies would be barred from using people's genetic information or family histories to deny medical coverage or set premiums under a bill passed 95-0 by the U.S. Senate on October 14, 2003....

Medical Mutual to use RationalMed to prevent drug-induced problems.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medical Mutual is introducing RationalMed, a health and safety system from Medco Health Solutions, Inc. The system uses integrated medical and pharmaceutical data to prevent unnecessary...

Massachusetts General to battle ALS with RNAi technology.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Massachusetts General Hospital and CytRx Corp. (CYTR) have jointly initiated a broad-based research program for the use of RNAi gene-silencing technology in the development of a drug for the prevention,...

Death risk hinges on choice of surgeon, study finds.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- If the largest blood vessel in your body threatens to burst, a new study finds that your best bet is to have it repaired by a surgeon who has operated on many other patients with the same condition. If...

eFLAG, a computer-based aid for limited-English-proficiency patients, launched.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MEDI-FLAG Corp. announced the release of eFLAG, the company's computer-based version of its successful Foreign Language Assessment Guide (FLAG). The eFLAG provides medical practitioners with a means...

Commentaries question benefit of early screening.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of three commentaries in the October 15, 2003, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute addresses the issue of whether premenopausal women are being accurately informed about the...

Premature adoption of sentinel node biopsy as standard test is a concern.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study suggests that surgeons are routinely performing an investigational procedure called sentinel node biopsy (SNB) on women with early-stage breast cancer and this may be affecting the accrual...

List of uninsured kids grows after Florida shuts door on enrollment.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tammey Amodea's baby needs a heart valve replacement. So the Cape Coral, Florida, real-estate agent is busy organizing fundraisers to pay for the operations her child is going to need. Amodea has...

Officials say CHIP eligibility may have to be tightened.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Montana may have to tighten eligibility standards for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), citing a record number of children on the waiting list and the rising costs of health insurance, an...

Arkansas awarded $3.5M to treat substance abuse.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the Arkansas governor's office will receive $3.5 million over 5 years to increase the capacity of state treatment systems to...

Definity Health, Cardtronic partner to launch smart card program.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Definity Health announced the launch of an innovative smart card program through a partnership with Cardtronic of Minneapolis that will bring added convenience to members and increased administrative...

HMO enhances diabetes and heart disease programs.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxford Health Plans, Inc., (OHP) announced a new 5-year agreement with American Healthways (AMHC), the nation's largest provider of disease management and care enhancement services. In addition to...

INFe board approves post-merger name change to Pacer Health.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The board of directors of INFe, Inc., (INFE) has voted unanimously to change the name of the company to Pacer Health Corp. The name change is subject to shareholder approval, to be determined at...

Lawson signs contract with Trinity Health.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lawson Software (LWSN) signed a significant contract with Trinity Health, Novi, Michigan, in Lawson's first quarter of fiscal 2004, which ended August 31, 2003. The health system licensed Lawson...

Screenings provide sufferers with first step.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly half of the 19 million Americans suffering from depression go undiagnosed, despite the prospect that most cases of clinical depression can be treated effectively. National Depression...

Three-year pact signed for congestive heart failure patient management.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Healthways, Inc., (AMHC) announced the signing of a 3-year agreement with Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc., and its subsidiary, Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey, Inc., (Horizon) to provide the...

Moore Medical obtains rights to distribute medical products.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Moore Medical Corp. (MMD) has obtained the rights to distribute Midmark Corp.'s line of medical products, including power and manual exam tables, specialty tables and chairs, sterilizers, diagnostic...

Mariner Health Care sells Florida facilities.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mariner Health Care, Inc., (MHCA) has closed 19 of the previously announced sale of 20 Florida skilled-nursing facilities to an affiliate of Formation Capital, LLC, and Longwing Real Estate Ventures,...

California gets $17.4M grant for people at risk of dependence on alcohol or drugs.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced a $17.4 million award to California to fund "early intervention" services in hospitals and other general medical and community...

Study links reduced healthcare costs to moderate increase in exercise.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research released by the HealthPartners Research Foundation shows that sedentary adults aged 50-and-over who increase their physical activity can substantially reduce their annual medical costs. ...

Hearing-aid company completes $2 million financing.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- HearUSA, Inc., (EAR) has completed a private placement of $2 million of unsecured notes with a number of investors, including three of HearUSA's directors. The 1-year notes bear interest at a rate...

Orthopedics company completes tender offer.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc., (HGR) has accepted for purchase $134,438,000 aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 11.25% senior subordinated notes due 2009 (CUSIP no. 41043FAB5). These...

StepWatch Activity Monitor measures ambulatory activity.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cyma Corporation, a Seattle-based medical device company, announced the completion of the StepWatch Activity Monitor (SAM) 3.0, the first commercial product of its kind to accurately measure patient...

Children's hospital ranks in top 10% for NIH funding.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Children's Hospital and Research Center at Oakland ranks among the top 10% of children's hospitals and pediatric departments nationwide to receive research funding from the U.S. National Institutes of...

Employers faced with healthcare cost increases exceeding ability to pay.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The weighted average healthcare plan cost increase for employers for 2003 was 15% from 2002, more than 5 times the rate of general inflation in the United States over the same period, according to...

I-trax announces launch of Health-e-Life Program.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- I-trax, Inc., (DMX), a health-management-solutions company, announced that after 4 years of research and development they have launched its new Health-e-Life Program, a personalized health-management...

Pharmacists highlight their role in improving patient safety, lowering costs.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pharmacists who work in hospitals and health systems across the U.S. used the occasion of National Pharmacy Week, October 19-25, 2003, to underscore the many new and vital roles they now play in patient...

Louisville, Kentucky, hospital to accept Humana patients.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Baptist Hospital East, in Louisville, Kentucky, will accept patients' Humana health insurance cards starting in January 2004. Baptist East had been the only major hospital in the city that did not...

Increased age and institutionalization raise fracture-related costs for women.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Increased age and institutionalization raise fracture-related costs for women. "A prospective study was done among women who were postmenopausal and who had a displaced femoral neck fracture. The...

Boomers have more ways than they might realize to pay for elderly parents' care.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Joan Coleman calls it her nightmare. When her 74-year-old mother fell ill, Coleman assisted her in the hospital and also had to get her stroke-afflicted 75-year-old stepfather and 95-year-old...

States struggle with rising health insurance costs for public.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sandra Miller feels lucky to work for the state of Rhode Island, but that won't make it easier if she has to start paying for health insurance for herself and teenage son. "I could have been...

Task force rejects statewide health insurance pool for New Mexico.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A state health advisory committee has rejected a plan to bring thousands of New Mexicans under a single state insurance purchasing pool, voting instead for studies. Nearly a quarter of all New...

Two state hospitals, other health programs saved under new Georgia budget.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two state mental hospitals and many other health and social services have survived a round of budget cuts in a revised plan announced by Georgia Department of Human Resources officials in early October...

Plan proposes to expand tax credit to unemployed workers.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two senators are proposing to help unemployed workers purchase health insurance by expanding a tax credit already in effect for people who lost their jobs because their employers were harmed by foreign...

Hispanic heart patients have best survival rates.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study looking at more than 47,000 cardiac patients at two Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers over 12 years found that Hispanics had the best survival rate, compared to whites and African Americans....

Healthcare plan educates members about proton-pump inhibitors.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As part of a long-standing commitment to educating its members and helping them maximize available benefits, Aetna will provide approximately 100,000 pharmacy members with educational information about...

Molecular Imaging enters strategic alliance.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Molecular Imaging Corp. (MLRI), a provider of molecular-imaging (MI) services to healthcare entities in the U.S., has signed a strategic-alliance agreement with Siemens Medical Solutions, headquartered...

Healthcare professionals updated on new CDC hand hygiene guidelines.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- 3M Health Care has sponsored a new video to make it easier for healthcare professionals to update their procedures in light of the new hand hygiene guidelines issued recently by the U.S. Centers for...

Data management software launced.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lumigent Technologies, Inc., a developer of data-integrity solutions, has unveiled Entegra 2.0. This enterprise level software helps organizations address compliance, security, audit, and privacy...

Perot Systems to provide Mount Sinai with revenue cycle solution.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Perot Systems Corp. (PER) announced the signing of a 5-year business- process-outsourcing agreement with Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) in Chicago, Illinois. Under terms of the agreement, Perot Systems...

Program provides physicians with online prescription tools.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AdvancePCS (ADVP) and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (BCBSNJ) announced a program that provides physicians with secure online prescription tools, enabling them to enhance the quality of...

Couple allegedly perpetrated $40 million healthcare fraud scheme.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A couple stole doctors' identities and billed government agencies for more than $40 million in bogus medical services in one of the largest healthcare fraud schemes ever in California, according to a...

HMS to help Nassau County recoup Medicaid costs.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Nassau County (New York) Department of Social Services (DSS) has awarded Health Management Systems, Inc., (HMS) a contract for revenue-enhancement services to help manage the growing cost of the...

Hospital lab software recalled.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An Arizona company is recalling versions of computer software used by hospital and other health laboratories because of a glitch that could cause serious errors in patient care. B-AUT-RAPID-LAB...

Groups release conflicting doctor numbers for Wyoming.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two groups are offering different interpretations of figures for the number of licensed physicians in Wyoming. At issue is whether Wyoming's medical malpractice insurance rules are driving doctors away...

West Virginia's largest malpractice insurer boosts rates 13%.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- About 500 West Virginia doctors covered by the state's largest private provider of malpractice insurance will pay 13% higher rates in 2004. The state Insurance Commission has approved the increase...

Health Alliance selects LabOne as partner for laboratory sale.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Health Alliance has entered into negotiations with LabOne, Inc., (LABS), Lenexa, Kansas, as its partner for the sale of its medical-testing laboratory, Alliance Laboratory Services. Wendell...

Campaign's goal is to make Iowans aware of disparities.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Iowa Hospital Association wants to convince Iowans they're not getting the most from Medicare. The association has launched a campaign focusing on the federal insurance program's uneven...

Lawmakers want companies to keep retiree benefits.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fearing a political backlash, lawmakers at work on a Medicare drug bill are ready to spend billions of dollars to discourage companies from dropping or reducing coverage for retirees when a new federal...

Panel to examine intravenous medication harm prevention.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alaris Medical Systems, Inc., (AMI), provider of practical solutions for medication safety, announced its sponsorship of an industry-wide workgroup to examine the potential for harm from intravenous...

Ardent Health Services purchases Northwestern Institute of Psychiatry.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ardent Health Services has acquired the 146-bed Northwestern Institute of Psychiatry, a private behavioral health services facility, in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, company officials announced. ...

Matria acquires Options Unlimited.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Matria Healthcare, Inc., (MATR) announced the acquisition of Options Unlimited, a national provider of case-management services to health plans, employers, medical professionals, and disability...

Fallon Clinic joins Private Healthcare Systems provider network.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS), a healthcare cost-management company, has entered into an agreement with Fallon Clinic, a premier community-based, physician-group practice in central Massachusetts,...

Smoking rate among black males down.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time, the smoking rate among black men in the United States has dipped to nearly that among white men - a victory federal officials attribute in part to a decades-old change in attitudes....

Cancer pharmaceutical purchaser provides services to oncology practices.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Oncology, Inc., (U.S.ON) has signed agreements with three oncology practices - one in California and two in West Virginia - to provide pharmaceutical services. U.S. Oncology, one of the...

In response to September fire, National HealthCare to retrofit nursing homes with sprinklers.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- National HealthCare Corp. (NHC) will retrofit all of its licensed nursing homes without sprinklers with the devices, NHC President Andy Adams announced. In addition, NHC will hire a fire-safety...

Childhood trauma focus of $31 million federal initiative.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced cooperative agreements totaling $31 million over 4 years to improve the quality of treatment and services received by children...

Dean Swisher named VP of technology and process integration at MedSynergies.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MedSynergies, Inc., has named Dean Swisher vice president of technology and process integration, a newly created position in the company. MedSynergies is a provider of financial and technology...

Dr. Soon John Park joins Sutter collaborative heart program.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Soon John Park, MD, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon and researcher, is joining a Sutter Health collaborative heart program between California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, California,...

Gregory Cierlik appointed president and CEO of Lincoln Park Hospital.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Merit Health Systems announced that Gregory Cierlik has been appointed president and CEO of Lincoln Park Hospital (formerly Grant Hospital), Chicago, Illinois. Cierlik brings over 20 years of...

IT company names new president for physician-systems business unit.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Misys Healthcare Systems announced the appointment of Pat McNamee as its new president of the physician-systems business unit. This business unit focuses on developing, marketing, installing, and...

Magellan Health Services names COO Rene Lerer, MD, president.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Magellan Health Services, Inc., (MGLH) announced that chief operating officer Rene Lerer, MD, has been named to the additional position of president. Lerer succeeds Jay J. Levin, who had agreed...

NDCHealth, Ateb, HHP to provide electronic signature solutions to pharmacies.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NDCHealth Corp. (NDC), Ateb, Inc., and HHP, Inc., have announced a strategic alliance under which NDCHealth will offer electronic signature capture and data collection solutions, using Ateb software and...

IntegriMED and eClinicalWorks form strategic relationship.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IntegriMED, Inc., and eClinicalWorks have entered into a strategic relationship. IntegriMED has elected to broaden their product selection with the eClinicalWorks EMR and...

IHCIS's Impact Pro selected as national partner.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Integrated Healthcare Information Services, Inc., (IHCIS), a healthcare information solutions company, announced that it has signed a contract with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) to...

MEDai launches latest Risk Navigator Clinical.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MEDai, an Orlando, Florida-based firm that assists healthcare organizations in improving care by identifying high-risk patients, announced the newest release of the company's predictive-modeling...

Regulators, industry try to halt Canadian drug tide while Americans seek them.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some of the biggest buyers of prescription drugs - state governments - are trying to get in on the bargain prices available north of the border. Lured by the chance to cut costs in half, several...

Needle exchange programs reduce risky behavior but are rarely used by young IDUs.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Needle exchange programs (NEP) can reduce risky behavior, but young drug users rarely take advantage of them. In a recent study, scientists in the United States "analyzed factors associated with"...

Group applauds release of National Voluntary Hospital Reporting Initiative data.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The following is a statement issued by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) applauds the...

Indiana complaints against Anthem Inc. doubled in 2002.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The number of complaints filed against Anthem Inc. in its home state in 2002 doubled compared with 2001, according to the Indiana Department of Insurance's "complaint index." The Indianapolis,...

HealthSouth inks partnership with mobility equipment maker.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hoveround Corp., a national distributor of power mobility equipment, and HealthSouth Corp. (HLSH) have announced an exclusive national agreement for HealthSouth's outpatient rehabilitation centers to...

Mississippi hospital, insurance provider unable to work out reimbursement deal.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A contract between BlueCross BlueShield of Mississippi and North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC) has ended in a dispute over reimbursement rates. As a result, employees of private companies with...

NCQA selects McKesson to review HEDIS codes for accuracy.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- McKesson Corp. announced it has been awarded a 1-year contract by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to ensure the accuracy and completeness of clinical coding for all Health Plan...

Slaying prompts Sweden healthcare probe.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With the arrest of a mentally troubled man in the killing of their foreign minister, Swedes' grief has turned to outrage over shortfalls in their psychiatric care system. Even before September 10,...

Arizona employers can now purchase complementary healthcare benefits.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time, Arizona employers can now directly purchase complementary healthcare benefits from a specialty benefits health insurance company, making popular healthcare options such as...

National Quality Forum endorses standards for nursing home performance.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced the endorsement of a set of Nursing Home Performance Measures. This action - representing the consensus of nearly 200 hospitals and healthcare systems,...

Nursing home residents, minorities undertreated for recurrent stroke.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Only half of elderly Americans in nursing homes are treated to prevent recurrent strokes, according to a review of nursing home admission records. The study also showed racial minorities receive...

Smoking more common among nursing than medical students.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nursing students are more likely to smoke cigarettes and to be more severely nicotine-dependent than medical students, says a study published in the October 2003 issue of Chest. The study found...

Insurer reduces rates for displaced workers.
November 3, 2003... 2003 NOV 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pillowtex workers in North Carolina who lost their jobs when the company closed will now be able to get health insurance at a more affordable rate. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina said...