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PDM Healthcare offers another NEW INNOVATIVE SERVICE that improves pharmacy experience for hospice agencies and its patients! HospiCare Rx allows a hospice patient to use any pharmacy they choose as HospiCare Rx has contracts with pharmacies nationwide. They have contracts with over 69,000 pharmacies nationwide so your patients can continue to use almost any pharmacy they choose. HospiCare Rx generally saves its Hospice Agencies 15-20% over their current arrangements, money that can go to providing better care. Start taking advantage of this NEW service from PDM. We take great pride in providing you with the best service and cost savings to you! White House to Limit Health Insurance Rate Hikes New government power to prevent excessive health insurance rate increases will be included in proposed health care reform legislation by President Barack Obama. Under the bill, the health and human services secretary would have authority to review and forbid premium increase by private insurers. In addition, a new Health Insurance Rate Authority would prepare an annual report outlining reasonable rate increases based on market conditions. The White House said the seven-member rate board would include consumer representatives, a physician, an insurance industry representative and others such as health economists and actuaries. The move to control health insurance rate increases comes in response to recent news of large premium hikes in a number of states. Source: Associated Press, February 22, 2010 Hospital Stays May Spur Brain Decline in Seniors According to a study, elderly people who have been hospitalized have an increased risk of cognitive decline. Researchers who analyzed data on 2,929 people, aged 65 and older. During an average follow-up of 6.1 years, 1,287 were hospitalized for a non-critical illness and 41 were hospitalized for a critical illness, while 1,601 of the participants were not hospitalized. Among those hospitalized for one or more non-critical illnesses, there were 228 cases of dementia and among those hospitalized with one or more critical illnesses, there were five cases of dementia. There were 146 cases of dementia reported among the participants who were not hospitalized during the study period. After adjusting for various factors, the researchers concluded that patients hospitalized for a non-critical illness were 40% more likely to develop dementia than those who were not hospitalized. Seniors hospitalized with a critical illness also had a higher risk of dementia, but the result was not significant, because of the small number of people in that group. Dr. William Ehlenbach, of the University of Washington, Seattle, stated, “The mechanism of this association is uncertain. These results also could suggest that factors associated with acute illness, and to a greater degree with critical illness, may be causally related to cognitive decline.” There are a number of possible mechanisms through which critical illness could contribute to cognitive decline, including hypoxemia, delirium, low-blood pressure, glucose dysregulation, inflammation, and sedative and analgesic medications. The researchers concluded, “Further studies are needed to better understand the factors associated with acute and critical illness that may contribute to cognitive impairment.” Source: Health Day News, February 23, 2010 |
Rise in Premiums for Medicare Advantage Plan A study by the data analysis firm Avalere Health, says millions of older Americans face large increases in their premiums for private health plans through Medicare. It says premiums for Medicare Advantage plans that offer medical and prescription drug coverage rose an average of 14.2% in 2010, compared with 5.2% rise in 2009. Lindsey Spindle, a vice president of Avalere Health, said, “These premium increases fit within a broader trend of increased financial pressure on the insured. We see very large premium increases and a continued upward creep in how much out-of-pocket expenses beneficiaries are expected to pay, such as copayments.” About 8.5 million elderly and disabled people are enrolled in the plans. Source: Health Day News, February 19, 2010 Seniors Sharpen their Minds When they Tutor Children A 2009 study by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found children who received Experience Corps tutoring had much greater reading comprehension and ability to sound out words compared to kids who were not tutored. Also, it is not only the children who are reaping the benefits. A recent study found that among seniors, tutoring might help delay or even reverse some of the signs of aging in the brain. After six months of tutoring, functional MRIs of the brains of volunteers showed improvements in regions of the brain involved in thinking and the ability to organize multiple tasks. Michelle Carlson, an associate professor in the department of mental health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said, “By engaging in this high-intensity volunteer service with children, seniors may actually be boosting their own executive function and ability to coordinate multiple tasks. The next step is to think about if this kind of service may buffer them against risks for Alzheimer’s disease.” The fact that participating requires substantial effort, both mental and physical, on the part of the seniors may be one of the keys to its success. There are plenty of studies that show staying physically active, socially active and taking part in activities that stimulate the mind can help forestall some age-related declines. Many studies suggest one of the best ways of going about this is volunteering. Many of the studies on volunteering and aging are based on surveys that ask seniors about how active they are in a given period. Carlson, stated, “Experience Corps is about more than just getting out and being social. Seniors are problem-solving and working with teachers. Many of them say it clears the cobwebs out. They have a routine in which they have to get up and out in the morning, so there’s a physical activity component as well.” Source: Associated Press, February 19, 2010 Diabetes Drug Harms Heart According to confidential government reports that recommend the drug Avandia be removed from the market, hundreds of people taking the drug needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month. The reports say that if every diabetic now taking Avandia were instead given a similar pill named Actos, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be averted every month because Avandia can hurt the heart. Avandia is known as rosiglitazone and was linked to 304 deaths during 2009. Avandia is intended to treat Type 2 diabetes. Source: New York Times, MSNBC, February 20, 2010 |
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