Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Hot Medical News

Hot Medical News


Hello Health Inc. Announces Addition Of Revenue Cycle Management Services

Posted: 14 Jan 2014 08:05 AM PST

Now we’re adding no-cost medical billing services to our product suite, and believe this will significantly change the medical practice management landscape because our clients can get an EHR, billing software and full-service medical billing and not pay a single dime.” The Hello Health EHR includes a comprehensive patient portal that features state-of-the-art telemedicine functionality, and fosters two-way, secure connectivity between physicians and patients. Patients pay a small monthly subscription for portal access, thus creating a revenue stream for the practice often up to $20,000 or more per physician. This incremental revenue stream can now be applied against Hello Health’s medical billing services. The net result: a billing fee that can be as low as zero percent. “It has been an unfortunate reality that physicians have to pay to collect all of the money they earn for the services they provide,” said Hello Health Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Barry Holleman . “We’re pleased that we are going to be able to change that by eliminating the costs for these services.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hello-health-inc-announces-addition-144500478.html

Hawaii Health Director Died Of Cardiac Arrhythmia

Posted: 13 Jan 2014 07:54 PM PST

Knowing the cause of Fuddy’s death doesn’t alleviate the grief, her brother said. “I don’t think it’s every going to bring any comfort to us,” he said. “We felt she had a lot of years to live and only the Lord knows why.” Kawasaki agreed that the cause of death doesn’t make him feel better: “The end result is a fatality in a crash.” More questions remain, including why the engine lost power, he said. One passenger, C. Phillip Hollstein Jr., has said he credits Kawasaki for being the reason nearly everyone survived. When the plane’s lone engine failed, the 60-year-old veteran pilot and passengers stayed calm as the aircraft glided toward the ocean and made a belly landing in rough waters, Hollstein recounted.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hawaii-health-director-died-cardiac-arrhythmia-21520874

Monday, 13 January 2014

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Hot Medical News


The High Cost Of Health Care In Retirement

Posted: 12 Jan 2014 07:33 PM PST

A recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington calculates how much individuals and couples will need to budget for health care in retirement based on three levels of possible drug expenditures: at the national median, the 75th percentile, and the 90th percentile. A couple retiring in 2013 with median drug expenses would need $151,000 for a 50% chance of having enough money to cover health costs in later life (assuming they have Medicare Part B and Part D coverage as well as Medigap insurance). But the same couple at the 90th percentile of drug spending would need $220,000an additional $69,000. (Some good news: Those figures are down from 2012, given that projections of spending growth for Medicare beneficiaries are slowing.) Enlarge Image There are, of course, several ways to help limit spending on prescription drugs and save more for health-care expenses: stay on top of changes in Medicare Part D plans (for prescription drugs), open a health savings account, take advantage of wellness programs in the office or your community, and, perhaps most important, enter retirement in good health. To learn more go to ebri.org and, under “Publications,” click on “Notes” and see October 2013: “Amount of Savings Needed for Health Expenses.” HEALTH-CARE OVERHAUL If our mail is any indication, readerswhatever their views of the Affordable Care Acthave innumerable questions about the program and how it works. Among the best sources of information: the Kaiser Family Foundation, a Menlo Park, Calif., nonprofit that specializes in health-policy analysis. The organization’s website offers, among other features, detailed opinion polls (the December survey found that 34% of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA, 48% an unfavorable view); an animated video that explains how individuals can obtain health coverage for 2014; a subsidy calculator (plug in your income, family size, age and tobacco usage) that estimates how the ACA might affect you financially; a list of more than 200 common questions about the program, divided into 16 categories; an infographic with three scenarios that illustrate the cost of health insurance under the act for families in different circumstances, before and after premium subsidies; a flowchart that helps explain what types of health coverage people qualify for in 2014; and a quiz that will test your knowledge of the health law.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303453004579290603381892762

Sunday, 12 January 2014

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Hot Medical News


Good News For Health Care: Medical Connectivity To Grow Over 800 Percent In 7 Years

Posted: 12 Jan 2014 07:25 AM PST

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For example, a brain-injured patient in the ICU breaths with the help of a ventilator, operating according to physician-prescribed parameters. A respiratory therapist draws blood to send to the lab to test the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The lab calls the ICU nurse with the results, who reports them to the physician, which leads to adjusting the ventilator. This happens four to six times a day. Even a layman can see how inefficient this is, and how it could be improved by connecting the procedures. On their own, the medical-device makers have little incentive to overcome this problem. However, both hospitals and insurers increasingly have the right incentives.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2014/01/03/good-news-for-health-care-medical-connectivity-to-grow-over-800-percent-in-7-years/

Gop House Targets Health Care Law; 67 Dems Join In

Posted: 11 Jan 2014 07:15 PM PST

But Democrats said there had been no breaches at the health care website. The bill was simply a Republican effort to “put fear into the public,” according to Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. Rep. Diane DeGette, D-Colo., described the legislation as a “solution in search of a problem.” In fact, there was at least one breach last year.
http://news.yahoo.com/gop-house-targets-health-care-law-67-dems-201647610–politics.html

Saturday, 11 January 2014

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Hot Medical News


Health Care Job Losses For First Time In Decade

Posted: 11 Jan 2014 07:03 AM PST

health care jobs lost

It’s not so surprising that the health care sector, which had reliably added jobs even through the Great Recession, is finally taking a breather, experts said. The industry is in the midst of a restructuring aimed at slowing the growth in costs and improving quality. “There needs to be a pause, which may lead to a reduction of jobs,” said Stuart Altman, a health policy professor at Brandeis University. Friday’s dour news comes on the heels of another federal report released this week that showed health care spending growth remained low for the fourth year in a row.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/10/news/economy/health-care-jobs/index.html

Friday, 10 January 2014

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Hot Medical News


Tech Ventures In Georgia Prosper As Health Care Law Kicks In

Posted: 10 Jan 2014 06:40 AM PST

EndoChoice CEO Mark Gilreath.

Private insurers will probably follow Medicare’s lead. Willis says that’s creating a new market for companies like Premedex. “We’ve got clients across the country small clients, large clients they all feel the same pressures,” he says. Premedex started with five employees. It’s up to 25 and growing.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/01/09/261042111/affordable-care-act-helps-georgia-s-growing-health-it-industry

Health Industry Insiders Analyze, Predict And Prescribe

Posted: 09 Jan 2014 06:24 PM PST

That is, they’ve got to find a simple way to solve a complex problem, which will have imperfections for everyone. We did the [Medicare] prescription drug plan in 2006 and had lesser problems, but of a similar nature, where people were walking up to the pharmacy counter to get their drugs and their name wasn’t in the computer” (Appleby, 1/8). CQ HealthBeat : No ‘Obamacare Death Spiral’ In 2015, Insurance Insider Says The man who, more than any other person, has kept the press informed about the foul-ups bedeviling insurers since the launch of the health law’s online marketplaces says plans won’t jack up their premiums next year. That’s unexpected, given the series of blogs posted by industry consultant Robert Laszewski in recent weeks detailing how those problems are likely to swamp the exchanges with too many high risks (Reichard, 1/7).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20140109/Health-industry-insiders-analyze-predict-and-prescribe.aspx

Thursday, 9 January 2014

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Hot Medical News


Ex-pakistan Leader Pervez Musharraf To Leave Country For Medical Treatment, Dodging Treason Trial, Sources Say

Posted: 09 Jan 2014 01:25 AM PST

Pervez Musharrafis expected to leave the country for medical treatment in exile, avoiding treason charges and returning to a life away from his home country by the end of January, a family member and a Pakistani intelligence official told CBS News on Tuesday. Last Thursday, Musharraf was rushed to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) in the city of Rawalpindi, next to Islamabad, after complaining of chest pains while being driven to the court where his high treason trial was due to begin. The special court tryingMusharraf said Tuesday it was examining a medical report to decide whetherMusharrafcan be excused from appearing in court while he remains hospitalized. The treason charges, which carry the death penalty or life imprisonment under Pakistans laws, relate to events in 2007 whenMusharraf,while serving as Pakistans president and military commander, imposed a nationwide state of emergency and oversaw the arrests of several judges and civil society activists. Akram Sheikh, the prosecutor in the case, has told the court he doubts Musharrafis ill and accused the former president of trying to avoid making an appearance. Twice beforeMusharrafrefused to appear in court after his security staff found explosives hidden near a road down which he was due to travel to the proceedings. During his nine-year rule, which began when he seized power in a 1999 military coup and dismissed the elected government of then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,Musharraf faced at least three known assassination attempts — widely believed to have been organized by the Taliban.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sources-say-musharraf-heading-back-into-exile/

Wednesday, 8 January 2014

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Hot Medical News


Test Your Knowledge Of Key Health Issues In Upcoming Year

Posted: 08 Jan 2014 12:41 AM PST

It reduces risk by 50-60 percent. 4. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. What’s happening on the issue in Florida in 2014? a. Florida will legalize medical marijuana. b.
http://tbtpics.tampabay.com/news/health/test-you-knowledge-of-key-health-issues-in-upcoming-year/2160083