July 21, 2010 at 7:40 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
The nation’s largest doctor group and state medical societies across the country are calling on health insurance giants to improve the accuracy of how they rate physicians for health plan enrollees and consumers.
Insurance companies say they rate physicians on quality and efficiency measures that allow consumers and health plan enrollees to then choose such a doctor for the price of a lower co-payment. A higher co-payment or deductible might be charged for a less efficient or lower quality physician, insurers and employers that are increasingly turning to such ratings, say. Get the full story »
July 15, 2010 at 4:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
Chicago may have lost out on the heart-stopping NBA talent of Lebron James but may be getting the next best thing Cleveland can offer to repair damaged aortas and clogged cardiac arteries.
In a move likely to shake up the market for heart care in the Chicago area, the well-known Cleveland Clinic’s cardiac surgery program said Thursday that it has signed an affiliation agreement with Central DuPage Hospital in the western Chicago suburbs. Get the full story »
July 15, 2010 at 7:57 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
Swedish Covenant Hospital on Chicago’s Northwest Side said it has opened a comprehensive back care center executives hope will position its growing campus for the future demands of health reform.
Known as the Chicago Back Institute, the hospital said it has invested $2.5 million in the project, including upgrades of existing neurological surgery equipment and purchasing new minimally invasive devices. Get the full story »
July 14, 2010 at 10:23 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
The Illinois Hospital Association today named long-time Democratic congressional aide Kimberly C. Parker as its first vice president of federal relations, opening the powerful state lobby’s first-ever office in Washington, D.C.
As health reform is implemented during the next four years, IHA said it wanted a stronger presence in Washington. Hospitals in Illinois are particularly concerned about rates they are paid by the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, which is funded partly from federal dollars but also from state coffers that are bleeding red ink. Get the full story »
July 14, 2010 at 7:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
Employers could see an additional cost increase of up to 2 percent to medical premiums next year under the new health reform law that extends coverage to people up to age 26 through their parents’ health plans.
A new study by employee benefits consulting firm Mercer says the influx of “newly eligible” college-aged dependent children on their parents health plans will on average increase health care costs 0.25 percent to 2 percent. The increase would come on top of premiums for large employers already rising this year 8 to 10 percent by most analysts’ estimates. Get the full story »
July 13, 2010 at 11:21 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Reuters
Ten million AIDS deaths could be averted by 2025 and a million new HIV infections prevented every year if countries took a fresh look at how to meet targets for treating the disease, the United Nations AIDS program said Tuesday.
The UNAIDS Outlook report called for a simpler approach to tackling the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, one it said could drastically cut the number of AIDS-related deaths and help to stop HIV from spreading. Get the full story »
July 13, 2010 at 10:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Insurance,
Litigation
By Bruce Japsen
For the fourth consecutive year, the state’s largest insurer of medical liability for doctors said it will not increase the base premium rates on policies.
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. credited its decision to a stable “lawsuit environment nurtured by Illinois’ 2005 medical litigation reform law, but cautioned that resulting market improvements could be at serious future jeopardy.” Get the full story »
July 8, 2010 at 6:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Litigation
By Melissa Harris
A group of doctors at Rush University Medical Center’s prestigious orthopedic department routinely overbooked their schedules and relied heavily on residents to perform surgeries, violating federal Medicare billing rules, according to a newly unsealed whistle-blower lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The suit alleges that in one instance, a surgeon never entered the operating room to supervise a procedure. In others, a surgeon monitored residents performing operations via video feed while simultaneously performing his own operations in nearby rooms.
June 29, 2010 at 3:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Litigation
From Crain’s Chicago Business | The University of Chicago Medical Center has agreed to pay $7 million to settle charges of overcrowding in its neonatal intensive care unit.
June 28, 2010 at 11:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Pharmaceuticals
By Alejandra Cancino
Abbott Laboratories said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration approved a new diagnostic test that allows for the detection of two sexually transmitted diseases.
Abbott’s RealTime Chlamydia trachomatis/neisseria gonorrhoeae (CT/NG) assay and Abbott’s m2000 System can detect gonorrhea and chlamydia, a disease that often goes untreated because of its lack of symptoms. Get the full story »
June 23, 2010 at 11:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
International,
Pharmaceuticals
By Bruce Japsen
Abbott Laboratories and its Massachusetts biotech partner have launched a final-stage clinical trial of their experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis.
The first patient — out of 1,500 needed worldwide — was enrolled last month in the U.S. The drug, daclizumab, is being developed for monthly injection under the patient’s skin by North Chicago-based Abbott and Cambridge-based Biogen Idec. Get the full story »
June 23, 2010 at 6:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
International
By Reuters
Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released Wednesday. The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries — Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 6:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Pharmaceuticals
By Tribune staff report
The Postal Regulatory Commission heard testimony Monday from businesses that oppose an end to mail delivery on Saturdays, a move the postal service says would save more than $3 billion annually.
Among them, CVS Caremark Co. said a five-day delivery service would impede the growth of mail-order pharmaceuticals and keep vital medications from patients. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 6:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Pharmaceuticals
By Reuters
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. is pulling a decade-old leukemia medicine off the U.S. market after a study found a higher death rate and no benefit for patients.
Mylotarg won approval under an abbreviated process to help bring treatments for serious diseases to patients more quickly. Medicines cleared in that way must pass follow-up tests to confirm they work. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 4:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Environment,
Health care,
Policy,
Politics
By Tribune staff report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has delayed until Oct. 1 the date by which contractors must be certified to safely remodel homes built before 1978 that may contain lead paint.
The Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, which involved specific safety precautions and criteria for contractor certification, took effect April 22. The agency has faced criticism for more than a year from remodelers’ trade groups that argued there was not adequate time to get firms certified.
Get the full story »
