NPI required for all HIPAA Standard Transactions on May 23, 2008
As of May 23, Medicare FFS will require and send NPI-Only in ALL provider identifier fields for all HIPAA and paper transactions where a provider identifier is required. If you send Medicare a transaction with a Medicare legacy identifier in any of the provider fields, your claim will be rejected. These transactions include all electronic […]
Quest Diagnostics and Google Empower Patients and Physicians to Share Diagnostic Test Results Online
MADISON, N.J., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Patients and physicians have a new way to share diagnostic laboratory data online, thanks to Quest Diagnostics and Google Health, a product launched today by Google. More than 100,000 physicians in the U.S. who use Quest Diagnostics' family of Care360(TM) connectivity products will be able to securely provide diagnostic […]
Annual FIT Testing Detects Colorectal Cancer Two Years Earlier Than Colonoscopy Alone
Annual FIT Testing Detects Colorectal Cancer Two Years Earlier Than Colonoscopy Alone, Study of High-Risk Population Finds SAN DIEGO, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — An interim analysis of a study presented today at the 39th Annual Digestive Disease Week (DDW) Conference found that, among patients at increased risk for colorectal cancer who completed an annual fecal […]
Legislative Alert
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus crafting legislation that would provide positive Medicare payment updates through 2009 and make other needed reforms
Ischemic Preconditioning During the Use of the Percusurge Occlusion Balloon for Carotid Angioplast
AbstractIschemic preconditioning (IP) uses transient ischemia to render tissues tolerant to subsequent, prolonged ischemia. This study sought to evaluate factors that contributed to the development of cerebral ischemia during PercuSurge balloon (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, CA) occlusion in patients undergoing carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). The PercuSurge occlusion balloon was used in 43 of 165 patients […]
Do Immigrants Help or Hurt US Healthcare?
Immigration is a hot topic these days, and its impact on the US healthcare system has been studied and debated from various angles. So it's not surprising that healthcare entrepreneur and business consultant David E. Williams has weighed in on the issue. But you might be surprised at his particular views.
Does a Goiter Always Require Surgery?
Fate of the non-operated, non-toxic goitre in a defined population Winbladh A, Järhult JBr J Surg. 2008;95:338-343 SummaryDoes every patient with a benign goiter need surgery? To answer this question, the study authors reviewed data on 261 patients (median age, 56 years) who, at the time of clinical examination or after fine-needle aspiration (233 patients), […]
Food Aid Missing Critical Ingredients
As food aid is mobilized in response to the global food price crisis, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that sending adult food to feed young children will not save them from the risk of malnutrition. Today MSF urged donors to ensure their aid includes special foods for young […]
HHS Commissioned Corps Officers Join Operation Continuing Promise Aboard the USS Boxer in Central Am
In Escuintla, the Boxer team has turned the Escuela Santa Isabel into a primary-care facility. Hundreds of patients have stood in line for care, some having traveled over four hours by foot. The Boxer team set up a dental clinic, an optometry clinic, a primary-care center and an educational area, all of which featured HHS […]
HHS Secretary Begins Third Visit to the People’s Republic of China
May 12, 2008 – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt today began his third visit to the People's Republic of China with activities in the eastern coastal city of Shanghai. The Secretary shared his vision for improving the safety of consumer products with more than 800 vendors, suppliers and executives […]
