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In Albany, some people are staging a protest because they are against mandatory shots and are warned to be fired in they will not get shots.

Richard F. Daines State Health Commissioner conducted a conference stressing the importance of getting vaccine shots and has supported new policies.

There are different reaction regarding the new policy and each of the local hospitals is sending their orders to their employees and even non-employees who have direct contact with the patient.

The policy have covered regular seasonal flu shots and will also cover the new H1N1 or popularly known as swine flu.  The vaccination will start on Monday for its first batch.

They (Health Quest) also have sent memorandum regarding the reference of the employment condition. That whoever did not comply with the new policy can be suspended or terminated from their job, said Howard Adams who is the corporate safety and emergency manager of the Poughkeepsie based nonprofit.

As for Health Centers in Poughkeepsie and Saint Francis they have not included any sanction to those who will not comply to the new policy according to spokesman Larry Hughes.

The policy is mandated by the state and whatever happens to these health care workers it is the responsibility of the state to do something about it.

A memorandum will be send to the hospital’s managers to relay the order to its staff, and have scheduled vaccine shots and up to now the shots are only for seasonal flu.

If we do not have health care or health care reform many people will have difficulty in healing themselves. This will also increase number of uninsured people who do not have enough funds to cater their health care needs.

In these findings by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, health care reform is really in danger after knowing that the debate is already long overdue and still the governments are discussing how they will help people with their health care insurance.

Worse scenario that might happen, uninsured people will possibly reach up to 66 million. With over 46 million people are currently do not have health care insurance documented by Census Bureau this not include those undocumented immigrants.

Over 790,000 up to more than 1 million people will be uninsured on the next 10 years, this rise of uninsured people was expected by the foundation project in Missouri. And in Kansas, the increase will reach from 360,000 or up to half a million people.

Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey stated that they have been hearing a lot concerning health care reform, but this will only cost a lot of people to be affected especially by the state governments, communities and above all, our neighbors and families.

The worse thing that might happen just like with the jobless rate still on the process of slow moving into its full employment for the last 5 years, earners are still in need of funds to provide comfortable life and an additional cost for health care is really beating a lot of people down.

Disney’ cost-sharing proposal is now having problem with labor dispute and resulted protest at D23 Expo in Anaheim last week.

And one of the workers, Jean Bustamante who is ranging on healthcare dispute is really very personal to her.

She has a 8-year old son with cerebral palsy and currently on a wheelchair. His son’s medication cost her $1,000 per month without having insurance.

As a single mother of 2 kids and working as a waitress at the Steakhouse 55 restaurant in Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, her job was her only source of income and the only way carry out medical expenses for her son. “But if the insurance is removed, then everything will go too”.

And as protest she joined noise protest at the Anaheim Convention Center last week which is also the first day of Disney’s D23 Expo. They created a nasty labor dispute and their main focus was on health benefits.

As to voice out their demands, they dressed as Mickey Mouse, Snow White and other Disney character that has staged a mass “sick in” which is at the same time Bob Iger Disney Executive speak at the convention center.

The protest is analytical on how quick healthcare costs have encouraged issues to the labor-management relations. Employees say that with low salary job is practically free healthcare under the Local 11 agreement.

Disney is finding ways on moving workers into a Signature plan, which is 75% of all premiums will be paid by the company and the rest will be deducted from the employee’s paycheck.

An insurance exchange was called in a House bill and was crafted free of gaps that resulted from a failure earlier this decade in the state. Will it get all the way through Congress without any hindrances?

There is no actually a difference between a government program that goes well and those that fails. Few comments here, excuses there, and you can turn a benefit from the consumer into a boon for large business.

This should be learn to fixed those who are in the frontal lobes on the Congress to work on the healthcare reform bill, and specifically the part of the reform puzzle which is the insurance exchange, it is the key part of the reform plan supported by the congressional Democrats and President Obama.

In California, they know all the downside of an exchange that does not work; this is all because of the established statewide version in 1992 and was ended in 2006. State Exchange which is originally known as Health Insurance Plan of California and was then known as PacAdvantage, which is planned to provide California’s small business to discuss with insurance for healthcare to lower down their premiums and set a standard to have in providing lower cost for health insurance.

Though it was a failure, its inheritance has left lawmakers do’s and don’ts on their next attempt.

Research Evaluates Government Funding Processes, Healthcare Technology & Service Providers

BOSTON–(Business Wire)–Hypatia Research, LLC today released a report entitled “What Healthcare CIOs Need to Know About ARRA & EHR: Healthcare Technology Solutions & Service Providers” outlining current developments, major adoption challenges, business case justification and an assessment of more than 30 EHR vendors that meet government standards for certification and funding programs.

The comprehensive 50+ page report, complete with client case studies, and figures delves into:

Benefits of Electronic Records: Efficiency and Access

Beyond the obvious value of centralized access to patient data, Hypatia Research discerned that electronic records systems provide health providers with multiple benefits:

1. ACCURACY& ERROR-CHECKS: Automated alarm systems notify physicians if drugs prescriptions are contraindicated for patients

2. REPORTING: EHRs Healthcare professionals may compile & analyze data to spot trends

3. MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE-BASE: Advanced EHRs allow physicians and nurses to stay abreast of medical protocols, and in key developments

4. NEAR-TIME ACTIONABLE INSIGHT: Intelligent health records systems (IEHR) that exploit natural language processing [NLP] or semantic analytics to aggregate & analyze unique clinical data

Select Cost Savings & Improvements in Patient Care Efficacy

Hypatia Research interviewed dozens of healthcare providers and found that EHR supported significant improvements in patient care. However, according to senior analyst and co-author Sue Hildreth, “EHR isn’t a cure-all for the healthcare industry’s ills. While the upfront costs of adoption are significant, EHR does have the potential to significantly reduce paperwork and administrative overhead, as well as improve the speed and accuracy of both medical care and medical claims processing.” Hildreth added, “The key to attaining EHR benefits is through successful user adoption–which is heavily dependent on selecting the right EHR solution and training hospital employees adequately.”

About

Hypatia Research, LLC http://www.HypatiaResearch.com delivers high impact market intelligence, industry benchmarking, best practice, and vendor selection research for how businesses use technology and service providers to capture, manage, analyze and apply customer intelligence to enhance performance and to accelerate growth. Since its inception by co-founder Leslie Ament in 2001, clients have relied on us for industry insight, expertise and independent research for guidance in assessing various technology and service options.

DALLAS, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — For the second consecutive year, Baylor Health Care System has been named among the 100 best places to work in healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine.

“I find our employees deeply engaged in their jobs, knowing they have the tools and training to provide safe, quality, compassionate care to everyone who comes to our facilities,” says Joel Allison, president and CEO, Baylor Health Care System.  “I’m proud to say that I work for Baylor Health Care System and it is a great honor and tribute to our healthcare team to receive this national recognition.”

Three-hundred and seventeen (317) healthcare companies participated in this year’s healthcare workplace listing, which is a 34% increase over 2008.

Modern Healthcare partnered with Best Companies Group, a PA-based firm that administers “best places to work” programs nationwide. Modern Healthcare conducted this program to recognize outstanding employers in the healthcare industry on a national level. From economic development to employee retention, being named one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare benefits individuals, organizations and the healthcare industry.

The program collected information from both the employer and employees and was open to all companies (providers, suppliers, payers, associations, etc.) with at least 25 employees. Employers completed a survey detailing company policies, practices, benefits and demographics. Employees were asked an in-depth set of questions that resulted in an analysis in 8 core areas: leadership and planning, culture and communications, role satisfaction, working environment, relationship with supervisor, training and development, pay and benefits and overall satisfaction.

Baylor Health Care System, which began in 1903 as a small East Dallas hospital, has evolved into a comprehensive network of facilities in North Texas.  The system is comprised of 15 hospitals –including a preeminent academic medical center — 6 short-stay surgical hospitals, more than 100 primary and specialty care clinics, a network of physician practices, a dozen rehabilitation clinics, 4 senior health centers and 18 ambulatory surgery centers.  More than one million patients annually seek care at Baylor institutions to preserve or restore health. Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is the flagship hospital for the Baylor system. In addition to providing quality care and serving as one of two, adult level one trauma centers in North Texas, Baylor Dallas prepares doctors, nurses and medical specialist for their careers.  Annually, approximately 200 interns, residents and fellows enroll in the training programs at Baylor Dallas and 18 pursue the Baylor Family Medicine Residency Program at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.

Baylor also has been named among the “Best Places to Work” four times since 2006 by the Dallas Business Journal.

Baylor employs approximately 19,500 people in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Ellis, Denton, and Terrell counties and has more than 3,000 physicians on active medical staff. In fiscal year 2008, Baylor reported $446 million in community benefit to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System’s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas or Baylor Health Care System.

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers in some U.S. states are laying the groundwork to potentially block national healthcare reform at their borders, as the federal government’s plan to create a new system steams forward in the U.S. Congress.

Several states are considering amending their constitutions to prohibit any law or rule requiring people or employers to participate in any healthcare system.

“There’s going to be a significant number of states that will at least consider these types of resolutions in the legislatures in 2010,” said Michael Boldin, founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, a think-tank on the proper role of the federal government.

“Whether they pass and the next step — whether they get approved by voters in the next year — is another story.”

On Wednesday, Democratic U.S. Senator Max Baucus unveiled a 10-year, $856 billion healthcare overhaul that would set up state insurance plan exchanges and mandate prescription drug coverage under the Medicaid program for the poor jointly administered by the federal government and states.

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states.”

For some states, a national healthcare plan steps over the division of power inherent in the amendment.

So far, Arizona lawmakers have put an amendment on the November 2010 ballot for voter approval, while similar measures are under consideration in Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Louisiana, according to Boldin.

Oklahoma State Representative Mike Ritze, a Broken Arrow Republican, said on Tuesday he was readying a resolution to give voters in his state the ability to protect and preserve their existing healthcare coverage.

“We feel like the federal government does not have any jurisdiction over healthcare to begin with,” he said.

“We hope that no matter what the Congress tries to enact, we as a state can have some common sense out of this nonsense and allow our people to decide what they want,” said Ritze, who is also a physician and surgeon.

This so-called nullification process is not new for states.

Most recently, 18 states refused to follow the REAL ID Act of 2005, a federal standard for driving licenses, which are issued by states.

Michael Bird, legislative counsel for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said that when passing laws that involve the states, the federal government will usually include sections that “puts pretty large chips on the table,” to convince them to comply.

“States don’t have to do the REAL ID act, however there is a sanction imposed if they don’t,” he said. “And that sanction is that drivers’ licenses that are not compliant with the REAL ID regulatory requirements won’t be recognized for boarding aircraft, entering federal buildings or trying to get into nuclear facilities.”

Former President George W. Bush granted those states extensions to comply with the law, which expire next month.

It is too early to tell how states may raise the banner of nullification in the healthcare debate, Bird said, as many issues have yet to be settled.

For Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Nathan Daschle, the recent interest in nullification is coming from those who may want to run as the next Republican presidential candidate and are working to prove to conservatives that they oppose the healthcare plan.

“I think it’s absolutely a political thing,” he said. “This is brought on by governors who are looking for a national platform for 2012.”

The Republican Governors Association did not respond to requests for comment. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a potential GOP contender, reportedly brought up the possibility of invoking state’s rights to avoid federal healthcare reform during a conference call sponsored by the Republican governors group last week.

His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ATLANTA (MyFOX ATLANTA) – The H1N1 flu has doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta very busy. Over the last few weeks, the number of pediatric emergency visits doubled at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s three emergency rooms. Hospital officials are now telling some visitors to stay away for now.

Pediatricians at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta say the surge in cases started the week after school began. One doctor said most children will do fine having their flu symptoms treated at home, but many parents are on edge.

Four-year-old Angelica Maio was feeling so miserable Wednesday, it was painful just to sit up. Maio’s mother, Amanda, said she took the West End Pre-K student to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egelston’s emergency room after the child developed a headache, sore throat and 103 degree fever.

“I saw the fever and I said we’re going to the hospital. I can’t take a chance with my baby,” said Maio.

Emergency physician Dr. Dallen Randolph said the hospital was swamped with young flu patients.

Dr. Randolph said it wasn’t uncommon to have parents lining the walls of the emergency department worried.

Children’s Healthcare’s three emergency rooms each usually treat an average of 150 children a day. For the last month, they’ve been seeing double that number, about 300 to 400 kids a day. About 70 percent of the young patients complain of flu symptoms.

To try and slow the spread of the H1N1 virus, Children’s Healthcare officials are now restricting who can visit the hospitals.

Now, no visitors under 12 are allowed and hospital staff is asking parents of patients to keep health children at home. The hospital is also limiting visitors to immediate members.

Dr. Jim Fortenberry, Children’s Healthcare’s pediatrician in charge, said the restrictions will help protect both patients and family members.
“We wanted to protect the children in the hospital who have the flu,” said Dr. Fortenberry.