The Case of the Ruthless Ruler With a Deadly Disease
Introduction The patient was an elderly male, a member of a prominent royal family, who became a ruthless ruler of a European principality. Little is known about his medical background, family history, or details about his final illness except that he was obese and a nonsmoker. From what is now known about his cause of […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
HHS Secretary Meets with Chinese Minister of Health, Visits Shanghai University of Traditional Chin
May 13, 2008 – On the second day of a week-long visit to the People's Republic of China, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt conitnued his visit to the port city of Shanghai. The Secretary held discussions with his counterpart, the Honorable Chen Zhu, M.D., and expressed his condolences on […]
Have you been selected to participate in the Physician Practice Information survey?
The AMA and more than 70 other organizations are conducting a comprehensive multi-specialty survey of America’s physician practices. The results will be used to positively influence national decision makers to ensure accurate and fair representation for all physicians and patients, and to articulate the challenges of running a practice that provides expert patient care, while […]
Trouble in Trialville
Trouble in Trialville: Plans for Post-DES Clopidogrel Trial GetBogged Down Over Trial Design, Leadership Almost 16 months after an FDA hearing into drug-eluting stent (DES) safety emphasized the need for a randomized clinical trial to determine, once and for all, the optimal duration of clopidogrel (Plavix, Sanofi-Aventis) plus aspirin after DES implantation, researchers, government agencies, […]
Congress passes “skinny” Medicare payment bill and averts SGR cut through June 2008
Unable to reach consensus on a meaningful Medicare reform package, Congressional leaders and the Bush Administration have cobbled together a last–minute, barebones package to temporarily avert the 10% across-the-board Medicare physician payment cut scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2008. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
