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Urgent care centers, the walk-in clinics where people can go when they have a cold or a sprained ankle, have been popping up in strip malls and on street corners across the country.

Preventive health services are key to ensuring people seek care before their conditions are critical or urgent in nature. As healthcare services for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries expand under the Affordable Care Act, so will the need for professionals who can administer certain preventive measures.

Wade M. Aubry, MD, associate clinical professor, University of California, San Francisco, continues discussions saying that comparative effectiveness research (CER) and the evolution of evidence-based medicine can facilitate innovations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), especially with the inclusion of value-based insurance design (VBID).

Pharmacists should solidify their place within the patient-centered medical home. Here is an early model that achieves better health outcomes through comprehensive medical management and a team-based approach.

A new analysis from HealthPocket of Medicare drug plans reveals that in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans, consumers face various hurdles in accessing their medications.

Affordable Care Act funds 'navigators' to aid consumers, but advocates say new state laws could hamper their effectiveness

In an effort to offset cost increases associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Obama administration intends to expand hospitals' access of the 340B discount drug plan. While the expansion may sound promising to some, many others worry that the program will threaten the quality of care, as increased participation risks higher potential for abuse. Even worse, the 340B program will likely rise the cost of cancer care.

Findings published this month in The American Journal of Managed Care suggest that a more cost-effective solution may be possible through option pricing. This call options tool may resolve many payers' concerns about entering shared saving contracts with providers.

For patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinomas, the histological pattern of the tumor predicts the risk of recurrence and might help guide surgical decisions.

Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) out to identify improper payments made on claims for Medicare beneficiaries

Older members of Congress and those who smoke, like Speaker John A. Boehner, could be facing much higher health insurance premiums under a new official interpretation of President Obama's health care law.

Dr Farzard Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will be leaving his post after 2 years of service.

The announcement Aug. 6 that Farzad Mostashari, MD, would be stepping down from his job as national coordinator for health information technology this fall led much praise about his passion for the work, and his many achievements.

The Obama administration hopes to attract more than 2.5 million young, healthy people to enroll through the health insurance exchanges that open on Oct. 1.

This fall, Dr Farzad Mostashari will step down as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology after two years in the position.

A provision of the Affordable Care Act went into effect on August 1st that will require physicians and medical companies to disclose their financial relationships.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center held an Open Door Forum on Aug. 1 to announce some modifications to the application for the Comprehensive ESRD Initiative, or renal-specific Accountable Care Organization demonstration.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday that some state reports blaming Obamacare for sharply higher health insurance premiums next year were factually incorrect.

The effort to drive quality-based performance in physicians is now evident in the provision of preventive medicine.

Mr. Shopenn, 67, an architectural photographer and avid snowboarder, had been in such pain from arthritis that he could not stand long enough to make coffee, let alone work. He had health insurance, but it would not cover a joint replacement because his degenerative disease was related to an old sports injury, thus considered a pre-existing condition.

Medicare will levy $227 million in fines against hospitals in every state but one for the second round of the government's campaign to reduce the number of patients readmitted within a month, according to federal records released Friday.

While states like Colorado, Connecticut and California race to offer subsidized insurance to their citizens, Missouri stands out among the states that have put up significant obstacles.

Delaying the employer insurance mandate until 2015 has cost the government an estimated $12 billion in fees. This coming after an assessment conducted by The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) on the impact the delay will have on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation.

On July 8, 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two major Medicare proposed rules impacting payment for physician and hospital outpatient services in 2014. ASH will submit comments to CMS on the proposed rules by the September 6 deadline and would like to incorporate feedback from the Society's practice-based members.

What health information technology professionals really need is training in informatics, said William Hersh, MD, chair of Oregon Health & Science University's Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology.

Increasing enrollment in health insurance is one of the primary goals of the health reform law. The CMS took a major step to achieve that this week by signing agreements with five Web-based insurance broker firms to help enroll Americans in the insurance exchanges in the 35 states where the federal government will run them.

At the heart of Washington, government workers are concerned about what healthcare reform will mean for them. A mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will require Congress members and their aids to obtain health insurance coverage through the state exchange marketplace.

Most health IT professionals are probably more focused on implementing or maintaining systems than they are tracking larger healthcare trends, such as the pace at which hospitals and practices are being bought and sold.

It was the late C. Everett Koop, a former U.S. surgeon general, who once famously said: Drugs don't work in patients who don't take them. That's a simple way to look at a costly and complex problem - medication non-adherence - where the failure to take drugs on time in the dosages prescribed is both dangerous for patients and costly to the health care system.

Oncologists have a reputation to maintain - and according to the latest report from ZS Associates, when it comes to fortifying against pharmaceutical sales representatives, the specialty remains characteristically hardboiled for the second year in a row.