Despite the Obama Administrations recent good fortune in Virginia concerning the legal standing of the individual mandate included in the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Pennsylvania U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner disagreed in the case of Goudy-Bachman v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Healthcare spending in the U.S. reached $2.6 trillion in 2010, however, only 5.5 percent, or $140.5 billion, of that was spent on evaluating new treatment options and research, according to a Sept. 8 report put forth by Research! America.

Proton irradiation can preserve some vision and prevent eye removal in patients with tumors adjacent to the optic disc, according to a study published online Sept. 13 in Archives of Ophthalmology.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) National Coordinator for Health IT, Farzad Mostashari, MD, has granted awards of $8.5 million to 85 community health center programs, located in 15 of the 17 Beacon Communities throughout the U.S.

In an analysis of Medicare data, researchers determined that hospitals faced lower financial risks for treating patients with hip fractures and joint replacements in a pilot program on bundled payment, which also assessed congestive heart failure and stroke. Increasing the episode length captured more costs and readmissions but did not add an equivalent amount of financial risk, they concluded in a study published in the September issue of Health Affairs.

Treating some lung cancer patients with concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy significantly increased five-year survival rates vs. waiting to treat patients with radiation therapy after completing chemotherapy, according to a study published Sept. 8 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A nationwide takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in eight cities has resulted in charges against 91 defendants, including doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $295 million in false billing.

Referencing a recent report published in Nursing2011, the FDA recommended a number of precautions related to audible ventilator alarmssuch as familiarizing staff with ventilator features and following established protocolsin a recent safety notification published on its website.