SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 4, 2013 -- According to the White House, the U.S. spends $2.2 trillion each year in health care, and Americans spend more on health care than on food or housing.  An upward trend in health care cost is projected over the period of 2015-2021 at an average rate of 6.2 percent annually, reflecting the net result of the aging of the population, several provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and generally improving economic conditions reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  

SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2013 -- Ninety percent of Americans don't know when the new health insurance exchanges will open, according to a new survey released today by InsuranceQuotes.com.

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2013 -- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), in conjunction with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), International Oncology Network/AmerisourceBergen, and the US Oncology Network, issued a joint statement on the crippling effects of sequestration cuts to cancer drugs and services which began April 1, 2013.  The organizations also sent letters to Health and Human Services (HHS), the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.  Sequestration cuts will apply not only to services physicians and others provide, but also to the fixed, pass-through costs of chemotherapy and related cancer-fighting drugs.  Community cancer care providers are struggling to survive in this unsustainable environment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule outlining standards that Navigators in federally-facilitated and state partnership marketplaces must meet, clarifying earlier guidance about the Navigator program.

A viewpoint published by the Journal of the American Medical Association covers the opportunities and barriers of big data in healthcare.

“Doctors are not excited about EMRs but they are enthusiastic about speech recognition,” said Adem Arslani, BSN, RN, MS, director of information systems and clinical informatics at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Chicago. Success requires a large investment in training, knowledge and information constantly, he said. “You can’t do it without the right resources. You can tell a lot about an organization by their training.”

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. (April 3, 2013) – Today marks the 40th anniversary that organizations united to adopt a universal way to conduct business using GS1 Standards. Beginning with a U.P.C. (Universal Product Code) barcode, the GS1 System of Standards has set the foundation for a technological revolution that has changed the way companies, from manufacturers to retailers, conduct business around the world. Now, more than five billion GS1 barcodes are scanned every day.

Columbua, Ohio, April 3, 2013 -- The connection between Ohio's economic future and Technology in Healthcare will be the focus of discussions with legislators at the Ohio Statehouse by advocates of Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) on April 11.