Volume 380, Issue 9848, Pages 1133 – 1134, 29 September 2012
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Volume 379, Issue 9828
The US Food and Drug Administration is calling for greater reliance on global partners to improve the safety of America’s foreign imports. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington, DC.
Medicare Combats Fraud With Billing Statements That Beneficiaries Can Understand
Susan Jaffe | March 7, 2012 | KAISER HEALTH NEWS produced in collaboration with 
In the latest effort to enlist seniors in the fight against Medicare fraud, federal officials have overhauled Medicare billing statements to make it easier to find bogus charges without a magnifying glass. ….And for those who might need an incentive to scour their bills, the new statements promise a reward of up to $1,000 for a tip that leads to uncovering fraud.[Continued here.]…
During open enrollment season, seniors can get help picking a Medicare drug plan
By
Three weeks after suffering a heart attack, Bernie Hollander came to a recent meeting at Leisure World in Silver Spring with his wife, Rose, to learn about the Medicare drug plans being offered next year. “I’m a heart patient, I’m a diabetic – I have a lot of problems,” said Hollander, 81, who lives in the retirement community. But getting the expensive medications he needs isn’t one of them. e was at the meeting to get updated advice from Leta Blank, head of the Montgomery County Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).
Although drug coverage is optional, millions of Medicare beneficiaries enroll in a plan, and choosing the right one can be tricky. Seniors who want drug coverage must sort through dozens of policies covering different drugs from different pharmacies at different prices. Federal SHIP counselors can help untangle the details. [Continued on The Washington Post and Kaiser Health News, view video]…
Doctors skittish about health technology despite promise of big federal bucks
By Susan Jaffe | Center for Public Integrity | July 7, 2011
The goal is to bring the last outposts of the nation’s health care system into the computer age, linking medical providers so that they can 
coordinate and improve patient care and — in the process—reduce unnecessary health care spending. But convincing everyone to use electronic health records has not been easy. …Neither reward nor punishment has 
persuaded some small practice doctors — a troubling omen for the Obama administration, which believes that conversion of paper records to electronic form is a crucial step toward health care reform. [Continued]
…Medicare Steps Up Efforts To Monitor Seniors’ Prescriptions
By Susan Jaffe | KAISER HEALTH NEWS | March 23, 2010
This story was produced in collaboration with
Irene Mooney survived four heart attacks and still copes with high cholesterol, persistent indigestion and heart problems. Recently, she developed some dangerous new symptoms – suspicious bruising all over her body and severe fatigue. “I could barely put one foot in front of the other,” she says. A pharmacist discovered the culprit: Some of the very medications Mooney was taking to manage her medical conditions.
The pharmacist met with Mooney, examined her 13 medications and then contacted her doctor, who cut the dosage of one drug and replaced another, reducing her risk of uncontrollable bleeding. Mooney, 82, one of the devoted card players at her seniors’ complex, soon noticed the change. “I’ve been so much better,” she says.
The help Mooney got – called “medication therapy management” – was provided by Senior PharmAssist, a Durham, N.C., non-profit group that makes sure seniors use the right prescription drugs and take them correctly to prevent harmful side effects or drug interactions.
Now, medication management is coming to nearly 7 million seniors and disabled Americans enrolled in Medicare drug plans. [Continued at Kaiser Health News and USA Today
…