CQ Politics | Innovations - Health: September 2008 Archives

Digitizing Health Records Still a Challenge

September 27, 2008 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Healthcare could be dramatically improved if every doctor a patient ever saw had access to all that patient's health records, which could happen if the records were all digital. But only 15 to 18 percent of U.S. doctors use electronic records, partly because of the upfront costs of going digital. Technology Review talks to Karen Bell, who's in charge of promoting digital records at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about what the problem is.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Bills to Increase Health Research, Treatment Expected to Pass

September 23, 2008 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Drew Armstrong, CQ Staff Writer

The House is scheduled to take up nine public health bills Tuesday under suspension of the rules, in an effort to quickly move non-controversial legislation dealing with topics such as organ transplant funding and infant health promotion.

Continue reading Bills to Increase Health Research, Treatment Expected to Pass.

Doctors Perfecting Scarless Surgery

September 22, 2008 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Surgeons are working on new experimental techniques to avoid of scarring by working with the openings that already exist in the human body. The Washington Post says doctors have started using flexible endoscopes to, for instance, remove gallbladders through the mouth, and are experimenting with appendectomies and stomach surgery. Some, though, question the need for new procedures, when there are already safe and minimally invasive practices in use.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Obama, McCain Agree on Speeding Generic Medicines to Market

September 22, 2008 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Meghan McCarthy, CQ Staff

No matter who wins November's presidential election, biotech drug manufacturers are unlikely to get the 14-year period of data exclusivity they seek as part of follow-on biologics drug legislation, according to the candidates' top health policy advisers.

At an annual generics industry conference last week hosted by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), Douglas Holtz-Eakin, adviser to GOP nominee John McCain , and Dora Hughes, senior health adviser to Democratic nominee Barack Obama , said both candidates support the shortest time period possible.

Continue reading Obama, McCain Agree on Speeding Generic Medicines to Market .

Report: Increased Competition Will Produce Better, Cheaper Medicines

September 18, 2008 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Meghan McCarthy, CQ Staff

More competition among manufacturers of brand name and generic will create better and cheaper biotech drugs, according to a study released Wednesday by the generic pharmaceutical company Teva Pharmaceuticals USA.

Conducted by Boston University Economics Professor Larry Kotlikoff, the study invokes traditional economic theory as it argues that monopolies discourage innovation, which flourishes in a competitive environment.

Continue reading Report: Increased Competition Will Produce Better, Cheaper Medicines .

With Google and Microsoft, Patients May Get Plugged-in Soon

September 17, 2008 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Ellen Perlman, Governing.com

Call it the Google lift or the Microsoft bump. This spring, these tech powerhouses announced they were entering the field of personal health records, and that has energized other players in the field. It also has set many in the health IT community to thinking: Will the presence of these Internet giants provide the oomph needed to turn the corner on converting patients' paper medical records into a digital system that connects hospitals to doctors and other providers of health care?

Continue reading With Google and Microsoft, Patients May Get Plugged-in Soon .

Tiny Spy Planes Turned Into Medical Carrier Pigeons

September 15, 2008 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The unmanned aerial vehicles that the military uses to fly reconnaissance missions over enemy territory may be able to benefit civilian medical care. According to New Scientist, engineers have tested a converted craft to carry medical samples of blood, urine, or sputum, or up to two units of blood, for between hard-to-reach clinics in parts of South Africa and distant medical labs. Use of the vehicles - which, at about 1 foot long, resemble toys - should speed up diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as tuberculosis.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Campaigns Trade Barbs on Stem Cell Research

September 10, 2008 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The public policy debate on what research, if any, to perform with embryonic stem cells is heating up. The New York Times reports that Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is going on the offensive against a Republican Party platform that opposes any form of such research, even that approved by the Bush administration. The McCain campaign accuses Biden of using the issue to attack vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whose youngest son was born with Down syndrome.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com

Bigger Rewards -- And Stronger Penalties -- May Help Improve Health Care Quality, Experts Say

September 10, 2008 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Mary Agnes Carey, CQ Staff

Paying health care providers more to do quality work and insisting they abide by a set of minimum quality standards would go a long way toward improving the quality of medical care that patients receive, witnesses told the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday.

After his testimony, William Roper, chairman of the board of directors of the National Quality Forum, said he would tie as much as 5 to 10 percent of a provider's payment to the quality of care they delivered. Roper told the Finance panel that changing the health care industry's attitude about quality will take time but be well worth it.

Continue reading Bigger Rewards -- And Stronger Penalties -- May Help Improve Health Care Quality, Experts Say.

Panel Seeks to Bring Down Medical Imaging Costs

September 6, 2008 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Leah Nylen, CQ Staff

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussed several options to reduce the ballooning costs associated with medical imaging services during a panel discussion with researchers Friday.

The use of medical imaging services, such as MRI and CT scans, have dramatically increased in recent years, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last month. In 2000, Medicare paid nearly $7 billion for medical imaging procedures; by 2006, that amount had increase to more than $14 billion.

Continue reading Panel Seeks to Bring Down Medical Imaging Costs.

Industry Goes on Offense on Medical Device Approvals

September 5, 2008 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Meghan McCarthy

A new report from the Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, aims to stress the safety and efficacy of the current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process for approving medical devices to counter criticism of the process that could appear in an upcoming Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

GAO reports released in January and May of this year have been highly critical of the FDA's medical device approval processes. The reports found that the agency has not met requirements to inspect domestic plants manufacturing medical devices every two years, and that FDA also faces major challenges inspecting foreign establishments. The new GAO report is expected to be released in September.

Continue reading Industry Goes on Offense on Medical Device Approvals.

Candidates Offer Answers on Biomedicine Questions

September 3, 2008 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Barack Obama and John McCain have provided answers to 17 questions related to healthcare and medical research posed by a group promoting health care as a higher national priority. Science News reports several similarities in the candidates' responses to questions from Research! America, of Alexandria, VA. Both believe in funding for the National Institutes of Health, support stem cell research, and let in more foreign workers with medical skills. The site links to the complete set of answers, and is seeking answers from third party candidates such as Ralph Nader and Bob Barr.

Web pick posted by Neil Savage, Xconomy.com