Illinois' Medicaid program has decided to cover a genetic test for the first time. The state will now pay for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene tests and genetic counseling for low-income women considered at high risk of developing hereditary breast or ovarian cancer. The test identifies mutations on the BRCA genes that significantly increase a woman's chance of getting cancer.
Cigna has launched a set of free online courses, games, and podcasts about health issues that can be found on the popular social networking site Facebook as well as on iTunes. The goal is to take confusion out of healthcare and help people make confident healthcare decisions, said Cigna representatives. Cigna also offers interactive charts about the healthcare plans of the Republican and Democratic parties, and how they might affect individuals.
BayCare, Tampa Bay, FL's largest hospital group, has biometric information that can be used to identify patients every time they step into a BayCare facility. Those include the hospitals of Morton Plant Mease, St. Joseph's, St. Anthony’s, and the Bardmoor Outpatient & Surgery Center in Largo. BayCare is among the first healthcare providers stepping into biometrics—technology that is spreading everywhere, from airport security to Walt Disney World.
Navigenics Inc., a gene-testing startup, is responding to criticism that the tests could spur bad healthcare choices by teaming up for a broad study of how the results affect behavior. Navigenics charges customers $2,500 to analyze their DNA to assess their risk of developing more than 20 diseases. Several public health officials have said the science on which the tests by Navigenics and other companies are based is too new to be used for making serious medical decisions. Critics fear that some consumers will use positive results to seek treatments they might not need. Negative results, critics say, could inspire others to be less cautious than they should be about lifestyle choices or preventative care. Navigenics is now joining with the Scripps Translational Science Institute in San Diego in hopes of showing those fears are unfounded.
Auburn, CA-based Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital plans to install a solar energy system in early 2009 that will supply about 50% of the hospital's power needs, hospital officials said. The 736-kilowatt system will include elevated solar panels in an employees parking lot and a ground-mounted tracking system on nearby property to follow the sun throughout the day. Hospital officials said the new system will provide savings on energy costs and more predictable rates than the volatile energy market.
The risk and number of errors during biopsy analysis can be drastically reduced by instituting labeling systems for specimen bottles, according to a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic. The Clinic is now proposing that busy labs add radio-frequency identification tags to track and automate identification of biopsy specimens taken during gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. RFID tags can be applied to or incorporated into an object so that it can be identified by using radio waves.