Hartford, CT-based Aetna plans to announce that it has opened a "representative office" in Shanghai, China. The move is the first step of a lengthy process for foreign companies interested in doing business in the country. Other insurers, such as UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint, have established such offices in China, and CIGNA has already hooked up with a Chinese company to sell supplemental health insurance there. U.S. insurers are fighting each other for members in their own nation's strained economy, and are searching for more growth opportunities and entering more countries around the world.
The World Health Organization has issued its first guidelines aimed at reducing complications and deaths from operations. The guidelines consist of a list of simple safety checks that the health organization said could halve the rate of surgical complications. The list is intended to improve anesthetic safety practices, avoid infections, and improve communication among members of surgical teams.
A report has found the higher death rate from colorectal cancer among U.S. minorities may be linked to socioeconomic, healthcare access, language, and cultural barriers that lead to less preventative screening among these groups. While 54% of those surveyed for the report received colorectal cancer screening, great disparities between ethnic and racial groups were apparent. These disparities disappeared, however, when researchers factored out demographics, socioeconomic status, language spoken at home, and healthcare access.
The U.S. House has overwhelmingly passed legislation that would void a 10.6% cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients. Under the legislation, the voided cuts would be paid for by trimming payments to private health insurers. The legislation passed despite a veto threat by President Bush and protests from the insurance industry. Payment rates are set to drop by 10.6% on July 1 as a result of a formula that calls for cuts when spending exceeds established goals.
Most New York doctors charged with misconduct by the state Health Department will have their names made public and all will have just one day to produce office records demanded by investigators under a patient safety bill agreement announced by Gov. David A. Paterson. The bill also expands infection-control training from doctors and physician assistants to those studying to work in those professions.
Birmingham, AL-based Brookwood Medical Center has filed an application for state approval of a $19 million, freestanding emergency department. The Certificate of Need application says the lack of hospital-level emergency care in the densely populated area of North Shelby County demands such a project. The expected growth of the region in the immediate future further highlights the need, said Brookwood representatives.