Pioneer in Cancer Immunotherapy Receives Federal Award
October 8th 2015Steven Rosenberg, MD, chief of surgery at NCI's Center for Cancer Research, has been awarded the 2015 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, or Sammie for his contributions to the field of immune-based cancer treatments.
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Food Politics Get Heated as Dietary Guidelines Near Approval
October 8th 2015Intense lobbying and charges of bias surround the late efforts to influence what goes into the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A recommendation from an advisory committee to eat less red and processed meat has fueled most of the controversy.
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Access to Palliative Care Remains Inadequate, Report Finds
October 7th 2015Millions of Americans with serious illness, such as cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, and dementia, continue to have inadequate access to palliative care, according to the 2015 State-by-State Report Card from the Center to Advance Palliative Care.
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HHS Issues Rules to Simplify EHR Requirements for Providers
October 7th 2015The announcement covered a final rule on interoperability for creators of Health IT, and a proposal to simplify current rules for providers. Both look ahead to implementation of the new Medicare and CHIP reimbursement models.
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Obamacare Increased Collections, Decreased Visit Volume
October 6th 2015Coverage expansions resulting from the Affordable Care Act have not had a negative financial effect on medical practices. Instead, primary care physicians reported increased collections and decreased visit volume, according to athenahealth
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In New Jersey, Horizon's Big Reach for Value-Based Care Runs Into Political Reality
October 5th 2015An initiative by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to implement integrated, value-based care on a wide scale has run into criticism from legislators who say it will bring financial harm to some safety net hospitals. A Senate hearing today concluded with a call for an investigation from the Attorney General into how the alliance was created.
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Weight-Loss Surgery Can Prevent Cancer, Now Let's Pay for It
October 5th 2015The evidence of weight-loss improving overall well-being and predisposition to chronic as well as acute conditions is mounting. We now need coverage policies that can help patients take advantage of weight loss procedures.
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Effect of Telemedicine on Outcomes for Patients With COPD
October 4th 2015The use of telemedicine could be an alternative to visits at respiratory outpatient clinics for patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a study published in the International Journal of COPD.
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