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Findings of a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology show that 95% of inpatients at a VA hospital in Minneapolis with an incorrect or indeterminate diagnosis, were given inappropriate antibiotics, as opposed to 38% who were accurately diagnosed, yet administered incorrect medication.

Data presented at the American Urological Association in New Orleans show a 50% drop in PSA testing in the years since the USPSTF issued its controversial D recommendation. Some see a "chilling" effect, but not all see a problem.

Health insurance companies will be looking for consumers to pay more in 2016, according to Kim Holland, director for state affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, who called demands for lower premiums or monthly fees "unrealistic."

Large data sets like SEER need better quality control checks and researchers and clinicians who use these data sets should also consider using secondary data analyses that answer specific research questions. This is the advice of a senior urologist following the removal of the PSA data.

One of the reasons may be that health plans primarily have access to retrospective information rather than real-time information, unlike providers, and they also have to consider other factors such as a member's health indicators, plan, deductible, and family structure.

Although there has been improvement in the use of health information technology for care coordination, fewer than half of patient-centered medical homes routinely use computerized systems to identify patients seen in emergency departments or hospitals or to send care summary to other providers.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Henry Ford Hospital, found that complications associated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomies were higher in low-volume hospitals, with relatively inexperienced staff.

Karen Davis, director of Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care at Johns Hopkins University, says increasing resources available for home treatments and services and support for family caregivers of the elderly and those with debilitating diseases might work to reduce reliance on costly nursing homes for those afflicted.

The FDA said it had received 20 reports in the 15 months since the first of the SGLT2 inhibitor class was approved, and had continued to receive reports since that time. All drugs in the class were included in the safety communication.

The study, published in Cancer, found a 14% higher rate of obesity among childhood cancer survivors in their surveyed population, compared to the federal numbers.

ICD-10 should not only be delayed, but scrapped, said Steven Stack, MD, the incoming president of the American Medical Association, throwing his organization's support behind a bill by Texas Republican Representative Ted Poe delaying its rollout.

Despite ample health research showing that needle exchanges can reduce the spread of disease, the ban on federal funding of these programs has remained mostly intact since 1988.

As of April 2015, 21 states have chosen not to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. All but one of those states have also chosen to rely on federally facilitated marketplaces.

Even though patient-centered medical home models are being implemented by multiple provider practices and health systems, little is known about what facilitates their implementation.

This week The American Journal of Managed Care launched its new Managed Markets News Network, featuring the top stories in managed care and interviews with industry experts.

More than 1 in 4 adults who bought insurance for themselves or their families last year had to skip needed medical care because they couldn't afford it, according to a study released Thursday by Families USA, a consumer health group.

Gov. Rick Scott told agency heads to prepare for the worst Thursday, asking them to list only the state's most critical needs in the event the Legislature can't reach an agreement on a budget that doesn't expand healthcare to the poor.

The contractor tapped to rescue the flailing HealthCare.gov in the fall of 2013 declared its work finished Thursday and said it doesn't plan to continue overseeing the website that sells subsidized insurance to millions of Americans as part of the federal health law.

Conducted by Harris Poll, an interesting survey finding points to "employees" in general as the biggest insider threat to data security.

In his own words, "The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research."

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released new reference standards that could help diagnostic laboratories standardize their equipment and software to reduce variability in genetic test results between laboratories.

If adopted, the active surveillance threshold would give physicians a tool in the management of men with localized prostate cancer and could spare many aggressive therapy or radiation and its side effects.

A physician expresses his frustration with the lack of clarity in healthcare costs and explains the advantage of price transparency in easing a patient's worries as well as reducing healthcare utilization by increasing physician awareness.

In 2014, Medicare telemedicine reimbursement totaled $13.9 million, a number that has steadily increased since 2008, according to the Robert J. Waters Center for Telehealth and eHealth Law.

For e-prescribing to realize its full potential for improving the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of prescription drug delivery, important work remains to be carried out.

Raising awareness of the dangers of mouth and throat cancer increased the number of black men in some of Florida's poorest counties who sought screening for the first time, which could improve survival rates through early detection and treatment.

At the Medical Home Summit in Philadelphia, Lisa Letourneau, MD, executive director of Maine Quality Counts, told the audience that ACOs have not had as much an impact on healthcare cost because a lot of primary care payments are still made under the old fee-for-service model.

What one type 1 diabetic has learned from living and coping with diabetes for 42 years.

While the marketing of the first biosimilar to be approved in the US market, Zarxio, has been delayed due to a court order, the FDA is providing guidance to manufacturers to help them effectively navigate the process of product development.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania tested interventions on smokers who worked to quit either on their own or in teams, with different reward structures.