Friday, June 4, 2010

Health Informatics News

Health Informatics News

Pain-doctor limits set

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 By Carol Gentry 3/1/2010 © Health News Florida Doctors who haven’t passed certification exams in pain management will be able to keep working in pain clinics as long as they have hospital privileges and a qualified supervising physician, under a rule adopted by a state board this weekend.

Senate paging Dr. Welby

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By Jim Saunders 2/19/2010 © Health News Florida  As Florida lawmakers struggle to overhaul the Medicaid system, state Rep. Ed Homan describes the choice in stark terms: Expanding the controversial "reform" pilot or creating "medical homes," with primary-care doctors offering "Marcus Welby medicine." See also, "Living in a Medical Home."

Health rankings follow the money

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By David Gulliver 2/17/2010 © Health News Florida Florida’s richest counties tend to be healthiest, according to a nationwide study released this morning. A Health News Florida analysis found a strong statistical correlation between prevention -- lower smoking and obesity rates, access to doctors -- and good outcomes.

Could vaccine forms spook parents?

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By Jim Saunders 2/17/2010 © Health News Florida State Rep. Kevin Ambler says he wants to make sure parents have adequate information about vaccinations that children need to enroll in school. But doctors say it could scare parents away, leaving kids unprotected.

Over-billing: just FL culture?

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By Cynthia Washam 2/16/2010 © Health News Florida Brevard County’s largest medical group is close to settling a complaint that it overbilled Medicare $8 million by giving cancer patients more expensive treatments than they needed. Is this a case of fraud, as the Justice Department maintains, or an example of Florida's overheated style of medical treatment?

Patients decry C-section rate

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2/12/2010 © Health News Florida Advocates for women's health are hosting a seminar today and Saturday on the alarming rate of unnecessary Cesarean sections in Miami, where the surgery accounts for more than half of births. Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reports on another patient-education effort: on the dangers of MRIs for pacemaker patients.

State agencies on trial today

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By Sammy Mack 2/9/2010 © Health News Florida A landmark lawsuit that seeks to rewrite Florida's Medicaid policy resumed today in Miami, with plaintiffs charging that state agencies' low pay for doctors and dentists and tendency to switch plans without notice often leave children with no access to care. A related story in Florida Today shows the struggle of dentists who take Medicaid. 

Some defend DOH secrecy

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By Carol Gentry 2/8/2010 © Health News Florida  The state Department of Health's decision to withhold information on its consumer web site about pending actions against health professionals -- including arrests --- is entirely appropriate, say attorneys who defend doctors. The public's reaction was different. As one woman said, "I was horrified."

Uninsured Mexicans find care

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2/2/2010 © Orlando Sentinel When Josefina de la Rosa was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, she could not afford treatment. In stepped nonprofit Casa de Mexico, which finds doctors to help.

Patient or fetus -- whose rights prevail?

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1/26/2010 © Associated Press The case of Samantha Burton, who was forced to remain in the hospital for the welfare of her fetus, is drawing attention to the question of whether pregnancy deprives patients of their rights.

As records go digital, cultures clash

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By Sammy Mack 1/21/2010 © Health News Florida The switch to electronic medical records has been rocky for doctors in Broward who refused to pay what they called unwarranted charges and were turned over to collections. More disputes are arising as midcareer physicians bump up against the world of high-tech software sales.

Doctor wrote 1,000 scripts/week

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By Carol Gentry 1/15/2010 © Health News Florida Since 2004, a Miami psychiatrist has prescribed almost 14 million pills to Medicaid patients at a cost to taxpayers of $43 million, a feverish pace of 1,000 prescriptions a week. A state senator says the doctor should be the "poster boy for tougher enforcement actions."

Medics overwhelmed by injured

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 1/14/2010 © New York Times First aid responders and doctors tried to triage the massive number of injured in Haiti as the death toll estimate rose to 45,000. They didn't even have aspirin, much less anesthesia.
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