Month: July 2011

After weeks of deadlock on debt-ceiling negotiations, yesterday a group of Senators known as the “Gang of Six” released a bipartisan plan to raise the debt ceiling coupled with a spending cut of $3.7 trillion from the US debt during…

Low health literacy is associated with poorer health outcomes and poorer use of health care services, according to recently published data in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Approximately 80 million Americans have limited health literacy, or the ability to understand…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced steps it is taking to encourage the creation of consumer-operated and oriented Plans (CO-OPs) — new private nonprofit, consumer-governed health insurance plans designed to help increase competition and give consumers and…

Nationwide, private-sector employees with single coverage contributed 21% of the cost of their health insurance and employees with family coverage paid 27%, according to data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.…

The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund (OPAF) and the First Clinics are seeking artwork in orthotics and prosthetics (O&P). As part of the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association National Assembly meeting in Las Vegas this fall, OPAF will feature art…

Advanced Arm Dynamics held an open house for their new Northeast Center of Excellence located in Philadelphia. Advanced Arm Dynamics also has patient care facilities in Portland, Ore., Dallas and Minneapolis. The Philadelphia Center of Excellence, which officially opened on…

To protect patients and help educate clinicians about minimum expectations of safe care, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday released a new, concise guide and checklist specifically for health care providers in outpatient care settings such as…

In an open letter to the Board of Certification/Accreditation International’s (BOC) certificants, accredited facilities and other key stakeholders, Sharon Nichelson, COF, CMF, chairwoman of BOC’s board of directors and Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, president and chief executive officer, emphasized the…

In its continuation of expanding product support resources for clinicians, WillowWood has hired Wayne Fichtel, CP, as its national account manager. For the past 2 years, WillowWood has successfully conducted a product education program at clinical facilities throughout the United…

SAN DIEGO — Lace-up braces can reduce the occurrence of acute ankle injuries in high school basketball players regardless of their previous history of an ankle injury, according to a presentation at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic…