What not-for-profit hospitals pay their CEOs has little to do with financial performance or quality scores, but the top executives generally make more at hospitals with expensive technology and high marks in patient satisfaction, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The researchers drew data on 1,877 CEOs overseeing 2,691 hospitals from the Form 990 their organization submitted to the IRS for the 2009 tax year.
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Months after the latest trial of a possible HIV vaccine were halted because it was ineffective, newly published details suggest researchers and advocates made important strides with some the country's hardest-hit and difficult-to-reach populations.
The study, published in the Oct. 7 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found the two-year trial of an experimental HIV vaccine did not prevent HIV among participants, with 41 cases of infection among those who received the vaccine compared with 30 cases among those who took the placebo.
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HHS is searching for the best idea for a system that captures essential data from durable medical equipment, such as loss of power, GPS location and privacy-protected user information during emergencies.
Thousands of people in the U.S. rely on electrically powered durable medical equipment to meet their medical needs at home and often have to find help in shelters or emergency rooms during extended power outages, according to HHS.
The department's office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR, kicked off the Ideation Challenge, a contest to find ideas for determining the location and the status of durable medical equipment—such as oxygen concentrators and portable ventilators—to help users in emergencies. The system should also gather the power level and battery life of the equipment and the time and date. HHS envisions a network that's accessible to all those who use durable medical equipment in their homes and sends data securely to other secure information systems.
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Most of the people who come to the emergency room with gunshot wounds have no insurance, and if they're admitted as inpatients, hospitals will spend an average of $23,500 caring for them, according to a new study of gun trauma and healthcare costs.
But the study from the Urban Institute found that gunshot victims' uninsured status may affect their care. “Uninsured victims of firearm assaults appear to have different treatment when they arrive at the ED. Their ED visits are the most expensive, they are admitted for inpatient care less often, and their treatment, once admitted, appears to be less intensive,” the study says. “The numbers indicate that some hospitals may be making treatment decisions based on the insurance status of the patient rather than the patient's condition.”
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A new study of electronic cigarettes offers the first clinical evidence of their effectiveness in helping tobacco smokers quit, though it does not address their safety.
The report, published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet, assessed the efficacy of e-cigarettes compared with nicotine patches in helping smokers quit. Patches are one of seven FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy products. The FDA has not yet issued any assessment of e-cigarettes.
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A study found no evidence that primary-care physicians spend less time with safety net patients and the uninsured than with privately insured patients, countering longstanding assumptions that doctors give less attention to Medicaid and uninsured patients.
The study in the September issue of the journal Health Affairs looked at the amount of time physicians spent with patients and found no significant differences between those with private insurance and patients with Medicaid or those uninsured.
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A substantial number of Americans are worried about the security of their medical information.
Nearly 1 in 8 people have withheld information about themselves from a healthcare provider due to concerns about security and privacy, according to a study published online by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports use of a number of family-planning services by women in their prime child-bearing years dropped across the board in the late 2000s even as the median age for beginning sexual activity dropped to just past 17.
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The Union of American Physicians and Dentists and California state officials have tentatively agreed on a three-year labor contract for about 1,500 employees including physicians and other staff working for the Department of Human Resources, the Sacramento Bee reports.
The agreement includes an 8% raise for some physicians and surgeons, a 5% raise for some medical consultants and public health officers, and a 4% raise for all other unionized employees. The increases would depend on whether state revenue meets projections. If there is a shortfall, the pay hikes would be delayed until the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
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Wender
Dr. Richard Wender has been hired by the American Cancer Society to work in the newly created position of chief cancer control officer.
Wender, the first primary-care physician to serve as ACS president, will focus on the organization's consumer and clinical guidance on cancer prevention and early detection as well as the implementation of its evidence-based cancer-control interventions, according to a news release.
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Wender
Dr. Richard Wender has been hired by the American Cancer Society to work in the newly created position of chief cancer control officer.
Wender, the first primary-care physician to serve as ACS president, will focus on the organization's consumer and clinical guidance on cancer prevention and early detection as well as the implementation of its evidence-based cancer-control interventions, according to a news release.
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