"Health & Medical News"

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

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Washington — Physicians trying to keep up with the latest journal articles have their work cut out for them in more ways than one. First, there is the massive number of articles to read. Second, the possibility of publication bias must be considered. Both pose significant challenges when weighing the risks and benefits of therapeutic treatments.

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Washington — Efforts to prepare for a pandemic or other type of mass disease event belong squarely in the realm of public health and not law enforcement, contrary to the direction taken since 9/11 by the federal government, argues a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Instead of focusing on providing resources and guidance to local and state public health agencies, federal policies too often emphasize the need to take tough, coercive actions against the people they are charged with protecting, according to the report, “Pandemic Preparedness: The Need for a Public Health Approach.”

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Washington — Although the HIV/AIDS epidemic is decades old and preventive measures have been widely promoted, another 40,000 people become infected each year. And, despite considerable progress in reducing the disease’s impact among populations hardest hit initially — gay men and intravenous drug users — other populations, especially racial and ethnic minorities, continue to bear a disproportionate burden, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is pouring $15.9 million into a new effort to give doctors and the public a more accurate assessment of physician performance.

The plan is to combine national Medicare and private health plan claims data and then use the data for public reporting of physician performance on quality and cost measures. Reporting in select areas is set for 2010.

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A new survey finds that 70 percent of Americans support a bill in Congress that would add $35 million in new funding to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but some observers say that public support is not strong enough to change the minds of lawmakers who back President Bush’s veto of the measure.

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Massachusetts has launched a statewide public awareness campaign to address and reduce the stigma associated with addiction.

The campaign promotes a new website, TalkAboutAddiction.org, which launched Sept. 1 to coincide with Recovery Month, according to Michael Botticelli, Director of the state’s? Bureau of Substance Abuse Services? in the Department of Public Health.

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Washington — The nation’s public health system is much better positioned to respond to emergencies than it was five years ago, say local administrators. But they fear recent federal funding cuts will undermine their gains.

Officials point to funding increases that arrived in the post-9/11 era as a big reason for the improvements. Events in the fall of 2001 served to highlight the role public health plays in defending the United States, but departments nationwide struggled to meet the challenge and resorted to such tactics as shifting personnel from disease control to contend with anthrax-tainted letters.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

The latest issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review is out. There are a few interesting pieces I have linked below on both the non-profit and for profit world. The first story on the HealthStore Foundation has been well covered by NextBillion, I am actually dissapointed that SSIR did not select another model to profile as HealthStore is by now very well known. There are a few other interesting pieces as well (see link above to see what articles are free):

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Popularity: 4% [?]