Managed Care Weekly Digest

Finance - Standard Management reports Q2 2006 net operations income of 9 cents a share, sales up 407%

Finance - Streamline Health Solutions reports Q2 2006 revenues up 13% to $4,582,706 over year ago

Finance - Trimedyne reports revenues up; results improved in quarter, 9 months ended June 30, 2006

Finance - United Medicorp reports revenue in Q2 2006 down 59% to $286,420 compared to year ago

Finance - Zynex Medical Holdings reports net sales, rental income in Q2 2006 of $560,860

Fitness & Wellness - Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh asks football players and coaches to exercise caution

Fitness & Wellness - Great Britain's health minister to develop national fitness program looking to 2012 Olympics

Geriatrics - SecureHorizons Senior Security Study reveals health, well-being seniors' biggest concerns

Global Health - Health leaders from developing countries commit to launch health system action network

Healthcare Access - Cardiac surgeon referral patterns for white and black patients are studied

Healthcare Access - Health plan delivery system organization affects healthcare clinical quality

Healthcare Access - SwedishAmerican Hospital joins CIGNA HealthCare managed care network

Healthcare Costs - Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy offers advice for managing drug expenses

Healthcare Costs - Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans' anti-fraud savings and recoveries increased 11% in 2005

Healthcare Costs - Body mass is linked to increased medical claim costs in diabetes and heart disease

Healthcare Costs - New tool from Aetna enables employees to compare costs of dental plans

Healthcare Costs - Physician reimbursement strategies are associated with diabetes care processes

Healthcare Coverage - Advocacy group holds rally to stress elected officials' accountability in healthcare crisis

Healthcare Coverage - America's Health Insurance Plans makes a statement on the U.S. Census Bureau's uninsured report

Healthcare Coverage - American insurers say President's executive order advances quality healthcare

Healthcare Coverage - Blue Cross and Blue Shield proposes options to reduce the number of uninsured Americans

Healthcare Coverage - California health plans see value in Choice Administrators' defined contribution model

Healthcare Coverage - Catholic Health Association comments on the latest Census Bureau's report on U.S. uninsured

Healthcare Coverage - CIGNA International will acquire an interest in Thai Charoen Insurance

Healthcare Coverage - Definity praises executive order for transparency, but says it's not enough

Healthcare Coverage - Guardian introduces dental maximum rollover benefit to small business groups

Healthcare Coverage - Intracorp certified by Texas Department of Insurance as workers' comp provider

Healthcare Coverage - New initiative may reduce nursing home use by frail Medicaid beneficiaries

Hearing Loss - Inventor Vinton Cerf partners with Better Hearing Institute in hearing loss education effort

Heart Failure - Aurora St. Luke's cardiac team implants artificial heart

Hospitals & Health Networks - Alliance unites caregivers and hospital management

Hospitals & Health Networks - University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System and Humana announce agreement

Information Technology - Beneficial Administration Co. selects Healthaxis' third party administrator solution

Information Technology - Healthcare industry accelerates wireless adoption; spending on telecom approaches $43B

Information Technology - HMA selects IntelliDOT's handheld bedside scanning technology for 55 hospitals

Information Technology - Indiana Heart Associates selects Allscripts for electronic health records

Information Technology - Riverside Physician Network selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record

Information Technology - Technology may eliminate long waits at the orthodontist's office

Legal Issues - University of Southern California files lawsuit to terminate Tenet Healthcare agreement

Market Analysis - Carolinas try contrasting Medicaid experiments

Market Analysis - German pharma industry under price constraints, government-imposed methods, report says

Mergers & Acquisitions - Crawford & Company to acquire Broadspire Services from Platinum Equity

Mergers & Acquisitions - Dental equipment company Young Innovations completes acquisition of Microbrush

Mergers & Acquisitions - Guardian to sell equity stake in PHCS to MultiPlan

Mergers & Acquisitions - Health benefits and wellness companies combine in Meritain Health's acquisition of Weyco

Personnel - Aetna executive to serve on URAC's advisory committee

Personnel - Amacore Group retains Sheldon J. Cohen as executive consultant of operations

Personnel - CareGuide elects William C. Stapleton to board of directors

Personnel - Caroline "Caz" Matthews named president of WellPoint Foundation

Personnel - CRH Medical appoints new CEO

Personnel - Hoag Hospital appoints Jack L. Cox, MD, chief quality officer

Personnel - IMedica Corporation names Cindy Barnett vice president of implementation services

Personnel - Independence Blue Cross promotes Brett Mayfield to vice president sales

Personnel - MedeFile International expands board with naming of Anthony Paquin as independent member

Personnel - Merge Technologies announces departure of Brian E. Pedlar from company and subsidiaries

Personnel - Spheris appoints Robert Z. Hensley to board of directors

Personnel - Susan Cummins Caputo promoted to president, Home and Continuing Care, by N.Y. health system

Personnel - Sysmex America names Robert E. Degnan vice president of sales

Personnel - UTC names J. Michael McQuade, PhD, senior vice president of science and technology

Personnel - Yung Cho, MD joins southern Nevada-based Desert Radiologists

Pharmacology - Survey shows 91% of pharmacists unaware they dispense unapproved prescription drugs

Philanthropy - Fiskars introduces limited edition products to support American Heart Association

Philanthropy - United Health Foundation gives 3-year grant to build community health center in New Orleans

Preventive Medicine - Nonprofit organization launched to promote CPR and Heimlich training for parents, caregivers

Professional Education - Johns Hopkins nursing school poll shows two-thirds of entering students already hold degrees

Quality Assurance - Patients at risk for atrial fibrillation-associated stroke are undertreated with warfarin

Sexual & Reproductive Health - Oral contraceptives/surgical therapy prove cost-effective for dysfunctional uterine bleeding

Staffing - MSSI receives option year renewal from Beale Air Force Base, California

Stroke - Minnesota health insurer report finds stroke increasing in middle-aged women

Depression - New findings in depression described from the United States and Canada

Diabetes - Researchers' work from the United States and Brazil adds to diabetes body of knowledge

Surgery - Researchers' findings from the United States advance surgery research