August 4 Health News

Kentucky Medicaid is balanced, state says

Kentucky's Medicaid budget is balanced and on schedule to move about 560000 of its members into new, managed-care programs by Oct. 1, according to the state's top health and… READ ARTICLE AT Louisville Courier-Journal

10 Benefits of Telemedicine, eHealth and Health IT

Based on analysis from sources including the Department of Health & Human Services and the US Chamber of Commerce, the IIA has identified 10 significant benefits of telemedicine, eHealth and health IT, listed below: "Particularly for Americans that do ...READ AT Business Wire

Free, at what cost?

Epocrates has won over nearly half of the nation's doctors for its free smartphone apps that lets them look up information on drug dosing, interactions and insurance coverage while seeing a patient. Rose Crane, chief executive of ... READ AT New York Times

Penalties for improper e-prescriptions

The CMS is starting a new phase of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) to increase electronic prescribing (e-prescribing). Nurse practitioners who don’t either e-prescribe or properly document e-prescriptions can be penalized with Medicare fee cuts in 2012.
READ ARTICLE AT NURSING WORLD

FDA approves generic diabetes treatment from Strides

The FDA authorized multiple doses of Strides Arcolab's acarbose, a generic treatment for diabetes. Strides said Perrigo will launch the product under a profit-sharing arrangement. The company has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration ( USFDA) for marketing of Acarbose tablets in strengths of 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg in the US market. READ MORE at Economic Times

Rural Health and Nursing Solutions

At a recent AARP Public Policy Institute Solutions Forum—Advancing Health in Rural America: Maximizing Nursing’s Impact— policy experts, thought leaders and key stakeholders convened to discuss improving health care in rural America—nearly one quarter of the nation’s population—by strengthening rural health models, transforming policy implications and maximizing the role of nurses. The Forum, in collaboration with the National Rural Health Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), featured keynote speaker the Honorable Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Necessity is the mother of innovation,” Wakefield said. "When you look at rural health care, innovation is catalyzed by necessity.”  Read more.

Fact Sheet on advancing rural health care.

http://championnursing.org/solutions-advancing-rural-health-care

Telemedicine could aid rural providers amid health care overhaul

The U.S. health care overhaul is likely to put a strain on providers in rural areas, but that can be addressed with the aid of telemedicine, says a report from UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform and Modernization. The report's authors suggest giving rural providers greater broadband access to promote widespread telemedicine use, among other recommendations.  READ MORE AT HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT

In recognition of a growing body of studies highlighting the key role nurses’ play in patient safety, Champion Nursing Coalition member The Leapfrog Group today announced they will publicly report on hospitals that have demonstrated nursing excellence through Magnet designation.

Making the announcement, Leapfrog’s CEO Leah Binder stated, "With this addition to our annual survey, Leapfrog is recognizing the vital role nurses play in patient safety and their strong commitment to transparency.” The 2011 Leapfrog Hospital Survey data is publicly available for the first time today.

Today’s announcement comes as part of The Leapfrog Group’s commitment to implement recommendations found in Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Binder joined other health care, business, consumer, and education leaders to develop strategies to prepare and enable nurses to lead change to advance health, a key recommendation from the IOM report. CCNA is working with national and state stakeholders to drive action in support of the IOM recommendations.

The Magnet Recognition Program® was developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to recognize health care organizations that provide nursing excellence. The program also provides a vehicle for disseminating successful nursing practices and strategies. Recognizing quality patient care, nursing excellence, and innovations in professional nursing practice, the Magnet Recognition Program provides consumers with a reliable benchmark to measure the quality of care that they can expect to receive.

Results from the survey 2011 Leapfrog Hospital Survey can be viewed at www.leapfroggroup.org/cp where visitors can search for hospitals by city, state, or zip code. A list of hospitals reporting Magnet® status to Leapfrog is available at www.leapfroggroup.org/MagnetRecognition. Visitors can also find information, by hospital, on infection rates, survival rates for certain high-risk surgeries, rates of hospital-acquired injuries, rates of early elective deliveries, and much more about a hospital’s safety and quality.