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Information
J&J unit phasing out all-metal hip devices
By New York Times | May 17, 2013
The orthopedic unit of Johnson & Johnson said that it was phasing out production of all-metal replacement hips, a move reflecting an industrywide trend to abandon the once widely used implants because of high early failure rates.
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Modern Physician
Oregon releases benchmark report on Medicaid reform
By Andis Robeznieks | May 17, 2013
The Oregon Health Authority released its benchmark-setting report tracking the progress of the state's Medicaid transformation program, which is projected to save $11 billion over the next 10 years.
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News
House panel marks $344M for Defense-VA EHR
By Ashok Selvam | May 17, 2013
| Basic Web
The House Appropriations Committee this week marked $344 million for the development of an electronic health-record system that would allow the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments to share the same information.
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News
Reform Update: ACA foes, supporters trade volleys
By Jessica Zigmond
| May 17, 2013
| Basic Web
Democrats and Republicans played another game of political tennis this week when House Republicans served up another vote to fully repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Democrats returned a litany of reasons why the 2010 law is good for Americans.
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News
Quest acquires Concentra lab business
By Rachel Landen | May 17, 2013
| Basic Web
Quest Diagnostics, a Madison, N.J.-based provider of diagnostic information services, has acquired medical center operator Concentra's toxicology and clinical laboratory business and agreed to serve as Concentra's primary provider of workplace drug toxicology and clinical laboratory testing.
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News
Decline in hospital CPI biggest since '97
By Melanie Evans | May 16, 2013
| Basic Web
Consumer prices for hospital services dropped 0.7% in April, the largest one-month decline since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics first reported the figures in January 1997. The drop follows a 0.4% increase the prior month, figures for the BLS Consumer Price Index show. In April 2012, hospital...
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News
Reform Update: IRS controversy reaches ACA
By Jonathan Block | May 16, 2013
| Basic Web
The tentacles of the Internal Revenue Service controversy have reached the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On Wednesday, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) introduced legislation, the IRS Accountability Act, to halt funding to the IRS for new agents enforcing the ACA.
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News
Docs, NPs at odds on pay issues, roles: survey
By Andis Robeznieks | May 16, 2013
| Basic Web
Physicians and nurse practitioners agree that NPs should practice “to the full extent of their license.” But the two groups strongly disagree on whether doctors and nurse practitioners should receive equal pay for providing the same services and on whether NPs can lead a...
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Modern Physician
AMA sees profit decline by one-third
By Andis Robeznieks | May 16, 2013
Despite a 3.2% increase in membership, the American Medical Association's operating profit dropped by nearly 33% last year, which the organization's annual report said was due in a large part to “a material decline” in advertising revenue and coding book sales.
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Information
Facility fees inflate hospital prices for common services
By Denver Post | May 15, 2013
The first time Jeff Shellan got a cardiac stress test for his troubled heart, the retail price was $2,166. His insurance company agreed to a discounted price of $885, of which Shellan paid $364. When his doctor suggested a retest a year later, the charge was $8,078, the discounted rate was $3,755,...
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News
Drop in hospital PPI biggest since '04
By Melanie Evans | May 15, 2013
| Basic Web
The acute-care hospital Producer Price Index dropped 0.6% in April, preliminary data show. The decline is the largest one-month slide for the hospital inflation measure since January 2004, the first month for which data are available.
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News
Green named CEO of URAC
By Maureen McKinney | May 15, 2013
| Basic Web
URAC, a Washington-based healthcare measurement and accreditation organization, has named Kylanne Green president and CEO, effective July 22. Green succeeds Alan Spielman, who left his post Feb. 15 after serving as president and CEO since 2005.
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News
IOM report questions steep cuts in salt intake
By Ashok Selvam | May 14, 2013
| Basic Web
Maintaining moderation in sodium consumption is key, according to a new Institute of Medicine report that supported past research and reiterated that high salt intake could cause heart disease, but which also warned that reducing salt intake below recommended dietary guidelines could be harmful.
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Modern Physician
It's time 'to break cycle' on SGR: Baucus
By Rich Daly and Jonathan Block | May 14, 2013
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus opened the panel's first hearing in six years on Medicare physician pay with assertive rhetoric about scrapping the hated sustainable growth-rate formula this year. .
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News
Technology mandates ruining primary care
May 14, 2013
| Basic Web
Regarding “Leap to ICD-11 not recommended: AMA board”: Our government is systematically decimating the practice of medicine in the U.S. It is past time to acknowledge the real costs and challenges of electronic documentation and the financial and physical toll our government has placed...
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News
C.R. Bard to pay $48.3 million to settle kickback case
By Modern Healthcare staff | May 14, 2013
| Basic Web
Medical-device maker C.R. Bard Inc. agreed to pay $48.3 million to resolve allegations that the company illegally rewarded physicians and other customers for using its radiation seeds in the treatment of prostate cancer.
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Information
89 charged in Medicare fraud busts
By Associated Press | May 14, 2013
Nearly 100 people, including 14 doctors and nurses, were charged for their roles in separate Medicare scams that collectively billed the taxpayer-funded program for roughly $223 million in bogus charges in a massive bust spanning eight cities, federal authorities said Tuesday.
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Information
Most doctors still reject Medicaid as program expansion nears
By The Miami Herald | May 14, 2013
Because of the program's history of low payments, fewer than half of U.S. doctors and other healthcare professionals accept Medicaid patients, according to a recent study. For those that do, getting an appointment sometimes can take months because of the high demand, particularly among specialists.
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News
Four docs, HIE leader win AMDIS awards
By Joseph Conn | May 14, 2013
| Basic Web
Four physician informaticists and the leader of a health information exchange have been named winners of the 2013 annual awards for outstanding achievement in applied medical informatics given by the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems, the organization for physician...
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Information
Vt. bill would let docs help patients die
By NBC News | May 14, 2013
Vermont is poised to become the fourth state to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients die. A bill approved Monday night by the state House would allow Vermont doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication.
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May 20, 2013
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