Federal News
Latest Health Hurdle: Buying Insurance Without A Bank Account
One in five households in the U.S. have only a tenuous relationship with a traditional bank. The federal health law requires most Americans to carry health insurance starting next January. This presents a particular problem for those households. Most health plans accept a credit card for the first month's premium payment and then require customers to pay monthly with a check or an electronic funds transfer from a checking account. Those options won't work for the so-called unbankables looking to purchase health coverage with federal subsidies through online insurance marketplaces. (Source: NPR) [Read article]
U.S. Broadband Availability: June 2010 – June 2012
This report on the availability of broadband, authored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is the first in a series of Broadband Briefs that uses publicly available data collected by the Department of Commerce to examine broadband availability in greater detail. This report examines improvements in broadband availability by speed, technology and location since 2010. Almost 100 percent of urban residents have access to download speeds of at least 6 Mbps, while 82 percent of rural communities can access these speeds. (Source: NTIA) [Read article; Press release]
Adverse Events after Hospital Discharge
According to a patient safety primer, adverse drug events are the most frequent complication that patients experience after they are discharged from the hospital. The primer provides background and relevant, research-based information to help hospital staff reduce the incidence of adverse events that cause readmissions. It suggests that hospital staff follow a systematic approach, including implementing an effective medication reconciliation program; communicating information about the patient’s medication changes, pending tests, and follow-up needs with outpatient physicians; and educating patients and families about their diagnosis and follow-up needs. (Source: AHRQ) [Read article]
Honoring EMS Responders during National EMS Week
This week, our nation honors emergency medical service (EMS) professionals for their dedication to public service. Our health care system must be ready at a moment’s notice to respond to threats to the public’s health. Time and time again, disaster after disaster, EMS responders across the country have risen to that challenge, whether a hurricane, wildfire, flood, bombing, chemical plant explosion, or pandemic flu impacts the community. Disaster response and recovery requires a whole community working together. It’s one mission, one team. EMS is a crucial part of that team, there when every minute counts. (Source: HHS) [Read article]
CMS Updates EHR Program Guidance For CAH Physicians
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued updated guidance that explains how certain physicians who provide services in the outpatient departments of critical access hospitals can participate in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program beginning this year. The affected physicians are those for whom a CAH bills Medicare for their outpatient department services using optional Method II. (Source: AHA News) [Read article]
The Evolving Role of Emergency Departments in the United States
This report evaluates the evolving role of hospital emergency departments (EDs) in the U.S. health care system. EDs are being increasingly used for complex workups and ED doctors are the principal decision makers for half of all hospital admissions. (Source: RAND) [Read article]
Up To 1 In 5 Children Suffer From A Mental Disorder, CDC Says
According to Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2005–2011, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 20 percent of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number of kids diagnosed with one has been rising for more than a decade. Researchers found childhood mental illnesses affect up to one in five kids and cost $247 billion per year in medical bills, special education and juvenile justice. (Source: FOX News) [Read article]
Many Fronts in Fighting Obesity
Sugar, and especially the high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens many processed foods and nearly all soft drinks, has been justly demonized for adding nutritionally empty calories to our diet and causing metabolic disruptions linked to a variety of diseases. But a closer look at what and how Americans eat suggests that simply focusing on sugar will do little to quell the rising epidemic of obesity. This is a multifaceted problem with deep historical roots, and we are doing too little about many of its causes. (Source: NY Times) [Read article]
