By Matthew DoBias September 24, 2009 The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday paved the way for stricter background checks for nursing home workers, building on a CMS pilot program and adding an extra layer of security to a vulnerable patient population. ... FULL STORY
By Jessica Zigmond September 15, 2009 Because of limited evidence, it’s not possible to determine conclusions about the comparative safety and effectiveness of particle beam radiation therapy, says a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ... FULL STORY
By Matthew DoBias September 02, 2009 An overwhelming number of Californians say that it’s important for doctors to have access to scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of treatments, adding that they would support legislative measures requiring physicians to provide patients with a complete understanding of their... ... FULL STORY
By David Witt August 31, 2009 A 1990 study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that about 8% of healthcare spending is on defensive medicine, an estimate later researchers have confirmed. Eliminating these unnecessary expenses would save nearly $200 billion. Added to the many collateral gains from eliminating defensive... ... FULL STORY
By Jean DerGurahian August 10, 2009 Mandated quality measures don’t always improve quality—if a recent move by regulatory officials is any indication. ... FULL STORY
By Andis Robeznieks July 21, 2009 A coalition of 11 medical societies representing some 43,000 physicians and two past presidents of the American Medical Association have sent a ... FULL STORY
By Jean DerGurahian July 20, 2009 In the past year, Wellmont Health System has taken a hard look at its operating numbers, and decided things aren't adding up. After conducting audits and restating some previous financial reports, the health system is initiating cost-saving measures to improve performance. ... FULL STORY
July 20, 2009 No. 1 on the list, EHRs are being considered the most critical technology for improving safety and care delivery, and federal legislation is trumpeting the need to have electronic information implemented across the health system. But most providers remain skeptical—barely 2% of hospitals have... ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea July 06, 2009 Two sweeping advisory committee reports providing guidance for creating a national comparative-effectiveness research program set an ambitious agenda and could mark the turning point for the delivery of patient care in the U.S., said healthcare industry experts familiar with the reports. ... FULL STORY
July 06, 2009 Modern Healthcare's Managing Editor Neil McLaughlin talks with Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, about her role on the 15-person Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea June 30, 2009 An Institute of Medicine advisory committee has issued recommendations for 100 areas that should receive priority attention with comparative-effectiveness research. The report, Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research, comes one day after the Federal Coordinating Council... ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea June 29, 2009 An independent advisory committee released a 73-page report outlining its first set of recommendations for spending more than $1 billion in comparative-effectiveness research funding allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell June 26, 2009 Major medical organizations are urging health committees in the House and Senate to make comparative-effectiveness research a key component of healthcare reform. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell May 19, 2009 Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) has introduced comparative-effectiveness research legislation that he hopes will be incorporated into a larger health reform package. ... FULL STORY
By Andis Robeznieks / HITS staff writer
May 15, 2009 When you add $1.1 billion to what was once a $15 million a year enterprise, you get a lot of suggestions on what to do with that money. To ensure that not all those suggestions were coming from Washington insiders, 11 members of the new 15-person Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative... ... FULL STORY
By Andis Robeznieks May 14, 2009 Several members of the new 15-member Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research met in Chicago on Wednesday to ensure that all of the suggestions on how to spend $1 billion do not come only from Washington. ... FULL STORY
By Jennifer Lubell May 05, 2009 Comparative-effectiveness research could play an important role in improving mental health treatment, according to studies published in the May-June issue of Health Affairs. ... FULL STORY
By Shawn Rhea April 20, 2009 The New England Healthcare Institute, a quality-research and policy group based in Cambridge, Mass., has issued a set of recommendations that it urges the Institute of Medicine to include in its forthcoming guidance to Congress on developing a national comparative-effectiveness research program. ... FULL STORY
By Jessica Zigmond April 15, 2009 The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative-Effectiveness Research welcomed healthcare representatives and members of the public to the first of three “listening sessions” in Washington on April 14. ... FULL STORY
By Jessica Zigmond March 30, 2009 The money has been allocated, the principal players have been named, and the lobbying groups are in position. But the question lingers: Will a $1.1 billion, federally led, comparative-effectiveness research effort be able to change the nation’s healthcare system? ... FULL STORY
July 22, 2009 The IOM published a report in June 2009 called Initial National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research, which I read with interest and noted that no nurses were included on the IOM committee that set out national priorities for comparative-effectiveness research. I thought that this was... ... FULL STORY
July 02, 2009 Now that we have $1.1 billion for comparative-effectiveness studies, it is time we investigated the cost and quality of life benefits of lifestyle changes. For example, what is a more effective and better use of resources: medications for diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease or improved diet,... ... FULL STORY
June 29, 2009 I have very bad news for those who love the idea of government-run healthcare. It does not work. The examples are plentiful starting with the VA, going to Canada and then onto Europe. I am a veteran and know the VA system intimately. ... FULL STORY
