Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

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Q&A with AMDIS Award winner Peter Basch

Recently, the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) held their annual awards to recognize leaders in healthcare IT. Among those recipients was Peter Basch, MD, MACP, Senior Director for IT Quality and Safety, Research and National Health IT Policy at MedStar Health.

Senators ask CMS to remove drug abuse treatment from IMD exclusion in Medicaid

In an effort to fight the rise in opioid abuse, 29 U.S. Senators are asking CMS to change Medicaid rules to allow substance treatment facilities with more than 16 beds to be reimbursed when they treat Medicaid beneficiaries over the age of 22.

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Racism leads to proportionally poor mental health for its victims

Exposure to racist or discriminatory behaviors over a lifetime can be harmful to overall mental and physical health, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health. Such health detriments are disproportionately heaped upon ethnic and racial minorities (especially people of color in Western countries), because they are more likely to be the subjects of such behaviors.

Period-tracking apps leave women vulnerable to data mining

Technology has seeped into nearly aspect of life, including health, which means millions of women use apps to track their menstrual cycles just as they use them to track train schedules. 

Louisiana shows pent-up demand for health coverage

The overwhelming response to Louisiana’s expanded Medicaid program is an illustration of how many people have been waiting a chance to get health insurance, especially in states where politicians have resisted the Affordable Care Act, writes Noam Levey of the Los Angeles Times.

CDC: Average American is 15 pounds heavier than 20 years ago

A new data analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Americans’ average weight in 2014 had increased for both men and women compared to 1994, while average height remained the same, a sign of the increase in obesity among the entire population.

NIH Zika vaccine starts human trials among news of US transmissions

Just days after the news surfaced that Zika is being transmitted in the continental U.S., the National Institutes of Health announced the start of a phase I human trial for one Zika vaccine. 

Survey asks seriously ill patients: ‘What’s worse than death?’

Bowel and bladder incontinence was described as equal to or worse than death by a majority of seriously ill patients participating in a survey published in JAMA.

Around the web

If passed, this bill would help clinician-led clinical registries explore Medicare data for research purposes. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American College of Cardiology both shared public support for the bipartisan legislation. 

Cardiologists and other physicians may soon need to provide much more information when ordering remote patient monitoring for Medicare patients.

Why are so many cardiovascular devices involved in Class I recalls? One possible reason could be the large number of devices hitting the market without undergoing much premarket clinical testing. 

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