Managed Care Weekly Digest

Healthcare Coverage - Habersham County Medical Center inks new contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia

Healthcare Coverage - Lighthouse1 partners with HealthcareBank to launch an integrated HSA solution

Healthcare Coverage - National specialty pharmacy, ivpcare, added to Harvard Pilgrim's Specialty Pharmacy Program

Healthcare Policy - American Physical Therapy Association applauds signing of HR 6111

Healthcare Policy - ASA applauds President Bush's signing of Combating Autism Act

Healthcare Policy - Congress supports long-term care through expanded Health Savings Accounts

Hematology - Sangart reports phase 2 study results on trial of Hemospan in orthopedic surgery published

Hospitals & Health Networks - Community Hospital of Los Gatos RNs vote to join California Nurses Association

Information Technology - Harborview Medical Center chooses LYNX Medical emergency department coding solution

Information Technology - Hawaii Medical Service Association chooses Zynchros.com to manage drug formulary databases

Information Technology - Health Dialog participates in rebuilding Louisiana healthcare infrastructure

Information Technology - Medical group's claim rejections decrease with EnterprisEDI

Injury Prevention - Research from National Violent Death Reporting System leads to prevention efforts, partnerships, awareness

Malaria - American Red Cross expands fight against malaria

Market Analysis - Choice, equity of access to healthcare services is U.K. NHS priority but still hard for some

Market Analysis - Comprehensive New Jersey Health Care Almanac finds imbalances, variations in health care delivery

Market Analysis - Market research is most common tool for portfolio management, Cutting Edge study shows

Market Analysis - Medical devices market in Hungary remains buoyant

Market Analysis - Though businesses aware of pandemic flu threat, many not prepared, Deloitte-ERIC survey finds

Market Analysis - Verispan report says about half of physicians satisfied with number of drug sales reps

Medical Devices - Medtronic reports first surgeries using DIAM spinal stabilization system in European study

Medical Devices - Ventracor reports British Standards Institute's approval of CE Marking for implantable blood pump

Medical Errors - Clinical simulators can find the source of miscommunications during medical treatments

Medicare - Abiomed announces positive reimbursement recommendation at Medicare meeting

Medicare - Analysis shows Medco's Medicare Part D drug plan saved seniors $1,519 on drugs in first year

Medicare - Georgia Medicare raises coverage of Maretek's urea breath test kit for H. plori bacterium

Medicare - UPMC Health Plan earns rating of excellence for Medicare product from NCQA

Mental Health - Cognitive training has long-term effect on mental skills of seniors, published study shows

Mergers & Acquisitions - Assured Pharmacy purchases remaining 49% interest in its first two pharmacies

Mergers & Acquisitions - Health Care REIT announces completion of merger with Windrose Medical Properties Trust

Mergers & Acquisitions - Osmetech announces disposal of Critical Care Division to IDEXX for $44.9 million in cash

Mergers & Acquisitions - PHC, Inc. announces 10-year, $80 million contract for Harmony Healthcare subsidiary

Mergers & Acquisitions - Tenet completes sale of Parkway Regional Medical Center for pre-tax $35 million

Mergers & Acquisitions - Thermo Fisher Scientific buys sample extraction, liquid chromatography equipment provider

Mergers & Acquisitions - TriPath Imaging stockholders approve merger with Becton, Dickinson and Company

Mergers & Acquisitions - WebMD acquires provider of healthcare decision support software Subimo for $69 million

Mergers & Acquisitions - Windrose Medical Properties Trust shareholders approve merger with Health Care REIT, Inc.

Nosocomial Infections - VHA Inc. convenes meeting of industry leaders to address hospital-acquired infections, MRSA

Patents - Russian, Ukraine patent offices grant Hythiam patents for PROMETA to treat alcoholism

Personnel - Alan Rabinowitz resigns as Patient Safety Authority administrator

Personnel - BioMereux board names Stephane Bancel chief executive officer

Personnel - Centene announces key management appointments

Personnel - CFO Lori Copeland elected to healthcare business developer Aegis' board of directors

Personnel - Conseco announces management changes

Personnel - Cymetrix names Al Franklin as COO

Personnel - Marsha Shotley and Joan Cleary to head Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation

Personnel - MEDecision, Inc. elects Paul Blondin and Elizabeth Dow to board of directors

Personnel - Michael J. Sicilian promoted to president of Managed Health Care Associates

Personnel - Sonic names Robert W. Miller, Cherie M. Fuzzell to board, Richard V. Scott as marketing VP

Personnel - Strategic Diagnostics announces resignation of chief financial officer Anthony J. Simonetta

Personnel - Tecan appoints Matthew Robin and Carl Severinghaus to Tecan Group Executive Committee

Personnel - UnitedHealth board elects Eric S. Rangen chief accounting officer

Personnel - USHEALTH Group CEO Benjamin Cutler elected board member of MIB Group, Inc.

Philanthropy - AIDS Healthcare Foundation receives donation of CD4 testing machines

Philanthropy - Health Net donates $2500 to Newport Hospital Foundation

Philanthropy - The Rite Aid Foundation gives $1.6 million in 2006 to nonprofit healthcare, family charities

Product Safety - U.K. regulatory agency issues safety warning about LifeScan blood glucose meters

Quality Assurance - Cheap, simple, and low-tech steps create safer ICUs

Translation Services - Indian River Medical Center selects Language Access Network for interpretative services

Health Insurance - Study results from Human Sciences Research Council provide new insights into health insurance

Health Insurance - Study results from Institute for Health in the area of health insurance published

Managed Care - Reports outline managed care study findings from RTI International

Orthopedics - Studies from the United States and Netherlands add new findings to orthopedics body of knowledge