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IHI’s presidentDon Berwick nominated to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)The White House has made official what’s been rumored for a week: Don Berwick, MD, president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), is President Obama’s nominee to lead CMS. The nomination is subject to approval by the U.S. Senate. In addition to his role as president and CEO of IHI, Dr. Berwick is Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Health Care Policy at the Harvard Medical School, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is also a pediatrician, adjunct staff in the Department of Medicine at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and a consultant in pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Dr. Berwick has dedicated his career to improving outcomes for patients and providing better care at lower cost,” President Obama said. “That’s one of the core missions facing our next CMS administrator, and I’m confident that Don will be an outstanding leader for the agency and the millions of Americans it serves.” “If confirmed by the US Senate, I would welcome the opportunity to lead CMS because it offers the chance to help extend the effort to improve America’s health care system—the very vision that led to the founding of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement,” Dr. Berwick said. “I have never felt more excited about what is possible for what we all care about—a healthier nation, a healthier system of care, and a healthier world.” Many in Oregon are familiar with Dr. Berwick and his work. “It’s hard to imagine a better founding leader for this next phase of American health care than Don,” said CareOregon President and CEO Dave Ford. “If the stars line up, and with hard work, we may see realized the actual constructive transformation in health care that’s needed to serve this and the next generations of Americans. Oregon and CareOregon have a great opportunity to contribute substantively to that work and transformation.”
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Also in National News:Support urged for primary care homes H1N1 may be part of 2010 flu shot AMA gives help with HIPAA privacy rules |
Federal advisory groupMore support urged for primary care training, medical homes recommendedA federal advisory committee says the federal government should increase funding and offer more loan repayment options for primary care training. An increase in primary care providers is needed to provide care to an aging U.S. population, the report said. The Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry, which advises Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services, also recommended expanding pilots of patient-centered medical homes. The January 2010 report recommends:
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Fall 2010 flu seasonFlu shots may include H1N1 and be recommended for allTwo panels have made separate recommendations that the influenza vaccine administered this coming fall should include the H1N1 vaccine and that nearly everyone should have a shot. In Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that flu vaccine for the northern hemisphere should include protection against three strains, including pandemic H1N1 virus. According to the committee, the H1N1 pandemic is not over and will rear up again this fall and winter. In Atlanta, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that all Americans (except babies younger than 6 months and those with egg allergies or other rare conditions that preclude influenza vaccination) should get the seasonal flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention usually follows the recommendations of the advisory committee. Seasonal flu vaccination is now recommended for about 85 percent of Americans but only about one-third of Americans typically get a flu shot.
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Online toolkitAMA gives help with tougher HIPAA privacy rulesNew, tougher health information privacy rules carry hefty penalties: as much as $50,000 per violation. And every clinic and doctor’s office must have in place written procedures for complying with the rules. The American Medical Association has posted a resource online to help physicians understand and comply with the rules, which were included in the 2009 federal stimulus package. The web site explains the requirements and how to comply, and gives the deadlines for implementation.
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Provider book clubsBooks help doctors connect with patientsIn at least 25 states across the country, doctors, nurses and other health care providers are meeting in book clubs in an effort to provide better care for their patients. But the book clubs are not centered on professional journals or medical texts. Instead, they are reading literature, albeit with a medical theme. Many medical schools also require humanities classes of their students. ”The humanities can remind them that they're dealing with very complicated, whole individuals with their own needs and opinions,” according to Elizabeth Sinclair, coordinator of the Maine Humanities Council’s literature and medicine program. Literature has a lot to teach about medicine. “Literature is messy. There’s not a black and white answer,” Sinclair said. Too often, health care providers are expected to have a definitive answer. Literature can be a reminder that sometimes answers aren’t black or white, she said. |
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Record levelsNational enrollment in Medicaid on the increaseNot since it was launched has Medicaid seen such an increase in membership. The prolonged and deep recession has pushed millions of Americans into the program, with no state escaping the economic crisis. More than 3 million people were added to Medicare in the 12 months that ended June 2009, when enrollment reached a record 46.8 million. That has put a strain on the budgets of states that are, at the same time, struggling with decreased revenue.
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Obesity, asthma and moreChronic health problems hit one-quarter of U.S. childrenIn only 12 years, the rate of chronic health problems among American Children has doubled, from one in eight in 1994 to one in four in 2006, according to a recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The chronic health problems considered include obesity, asthma and learning disabilities. But the report also revealed some welcome data that bears additional study: Half of children who had a chronic condition at some point during the research period, 2000–2006, had that condition at the end of the study.
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