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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Health Care Reform Articles - December 15, 2011

As Doctors Use More Devices, Potential for Distraction Grows




Hospitals and doctors’ offices, hoping to curb medical error, have invested heavily to put computers, smartphones and other devices into the hands of medical staff for instant access to patient data, drug information and case studies.
But like many cures, this solution has come with an unintended side effect: doctors and nurses can be focused on the screen and not the patient, even during moments of critical care. And they are not always doing work; examples include a neurosurgeon making personal calls during an operation, a nurse checking airfares during surgery and a poll showing that half of technicians running bypass machines had admitted texting during a procedure.


Wonkbook: Paul Ryan and Ron Wyden want to bring Obamacare to Medicare

By Thursday, December 15, 8:14 AM

Back in February 2010, I sat down with Rep. Paul Ryan to talk about health-care reform. Ryan had his own bill back then: the Roadmap, which was, in many ways, a precursor to the budget he crafted for the Republicans earlier this year. But he was open to some other ideas, too. At one point, I asked him about Sen. Ron Wyden's Healthy Americans Act. "If I were a Democrat, it’s the bill I’d be on," Ryan replied. "He’s got more mandates than I’d like. But if Ron Wyden and I were in a room, we could hammer out a deal by tomorrow."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/wonkbook-paul-ryan-and-ron-wyden-want-to-bring-obamacare-to-medicare/2011/12/15/gIQAj0CnvO_print.html




Obama administration wins plaudits from healthcare law critics

Some of the business community's toughest critics welcome efforts to ease requirements as the law is implemented. But advocates for patients and consumers voice frustration.

By Noam N. Levey, Washington Bureau
7:44 PM PST, December 14, 2011
Reporting from Washington



Posted: December 15
Updated: Today at 7:19 AM

LePage's Medicaid cuts stoke passions, protests

About 500 rally for a 'moral decision' to help the vulnerable, but others say the state can't afford it

By Susan M. Coverscover@mainetoday.com
MaineToday Media State House Writer

AUGUSTA — Dan Nichols has multiple sclerosis and is worried that his home, the Portland Center for Assisted Living, will be closed next year.




Posted: December 15
Updated: Today at 11:31 PM
 

Letters to the editor, Dec. 15, 2011
MaineCare cuts will cost more later

In a time where diabetes is becoming epidemic, Gov. LePage's recommendation to eliminate podiatry from MaineCare to help fix the budget shortfall will only hurt Mainers and create more spending.


Crowds pack State House to oppose MaineCare cuts



Pat Wellenbach | AP
Dozens join in a rally voicing their concerns about proposed budget cuts in the Medicaid system, during a rally at the State House in Augusta on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.
Posted Dec. 14, 2011, at 12:36 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Hundreds of people lined the halls of the State House Wednesday to speak out about proposed cuts to MaineCare that would eliminate health coverage for 65,000 residents.


Berwick: Don’t Blame Medicare, Medicaid. It’s The Delivery System

DEC 12, 2011
Dr. Donald Berwick, who oversaw Medicare and Medicaid until earlier this month, defended the programs Monday, but said they are trapped in a U.S. health system that promotes wasteful spending and inefficient care.


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