Spain’s Regional Extremadura Government Launches Electronic Prescription System With IBM

The Extremadura Regional Government of Spain and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have launched an electronic prescription system in 680 pharmacies in Extremadura, where health centres and pharmacies are now computerised and able to prescribe and dispense prescription medications electronically.

Electronic prescriptions make it easier for patients and doctors to monitor and control treatment. It also improves the quality of care as doctors have up to 30% more time for patient consultations, according to Extremadura Health Service.

Colorado House Kills Legislation To Build Single-Payer Health Care System

The Colorado House has abandoned legislation that would have laid the groundwork for a statewide single-payer health care system, the AP/Denver Post reports. State Rep. John Kefalas (D) said on Wednesday the bill was introduced to aid the estimated 800,000 uninsured state residents, as well as those who are underinsured. The bill would have established a central health care authority, headed by a 23-member board of directors, to create the single-payer system.

Colorado House Kills Legislation To Build Single-Payer Health Care System

The Colorado House has abandoned legislation that would have laid the groundwork for a statewide single-payer health care system, the AP/Denver Post reports. State Rep. John Kefalas (D) said on Wednesday the bill was introduced to aid the estimated 800,000 uninsured state residents, as well as those who are underinsured. The bill would have established a central health care authority, headed by a 23-member board of directors, to create the single-payer system.

ESI’s LaserMill Micromachining System Selected To Aid In The Battle Against Parkinson’s Disease

Electro Scientific Industries (Nasdaq: ESIO), a leading provider of world-class photonic and laser systems for microengineering applications, announced that Lund University in Sweden has selected ESI’s LaserMill micromachining system for use in a cutting-edge, scientific application. The system will be utilized by Lund University researchers in the production of micro-wires and circuitry used to combat the effects of Parkinson’s disease. It is believed that the wires and circuitry-which could eventually be implanted into the human brain-will conduct minute amounts of electrical current to specific areas of the brain to lessen the impairment of motor skills associated with Parkinson’s.

Obama Should Consider Canadian Health Care System ‘Hardships’ When Developing Overhaul Plan, Editorial States

President Obama and congressional Democrats last week took a “first step … toward government-run health insurance” with the enactment of a law to reauthorize and expand CHIP, but they should consider “Canada’s experience” before “proceeding further,” Nadeem Esmail, director of Health System Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

He writes, “Health care resources are not unlimited in any country … and must be rationed either by price or time,” and as a result, when “individuals bear no direct responsibility to paying for their care, as in Canada, that care is rationed by waiting.” Esmail cites several “constitutional challenges” filed by Canadian patients placed on waiting lists for health care that “share a common goal: to win Canadians the freedom to spend their own money to protect themselves from the inadequacies of the government health insurance system.”

Obama Should Consider Canadian Health Care System ‘Hardships’ When Developing Overhaul Plan, Editorial States

President Obama and congressional Democrats last week took a “first step … toward government-run health insurance” with the enactment of a law to reauthorize and expand CHIP, but they should consider “Canada’s experience” before “proceeding further,” Nadeem Esmail, director of Health System Performance Studies at the Fraser Institute, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

He writes, “Health care resources are not unlimited in any country … and must be rationed either by price or time,” and as a result, when “individuals bear no direct responsibility to paying for their care, as in Canada, that care is rationed by waiting.” Esmail cites several “constitutional challenges” filed by Canadian patients placed on waiting lists for health care that “share a common goal: to win Canadians the freedom to spend their own money to protect themselves from the inadequacies of the government health insurance system.”

American Veterinary Medical Association Urges Veterinarians To Support National Animal Identification System

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is showing its strong support for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) by urging veterinarians to actively participate in the system and utilize the new Veterinarian’s Toolkit.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (USDA-APHIS) Veterinarian’s Toolkit is an online resource developed by veterinarians for veterinarians. It provides a myriad of information including a detailed guide to how NAIS works and resources to help communicate its importance and benefits to producers.

Nursing Home Industry Questions New CMS Rating System

Some nursing home industry experts are questioning CMS’ new rating system that ranks U.S. nursing homes on a five-star scale, the AP/Denver Post reports. Ratings, which are updated quarterly and posted online, mostly were based on state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, such as how homes respond to a patient’s declining mobility, high-risk bed sores and pain. According to the AP/Post, about 22% of the nearly 16,000 nursing homes in the U.S. received the lowest rating and 12% received the highest rating.

Rep. Stark Says Lawmakers Might Not Vote On Legislation To Overhaul U.S. Health Care System Until Late 2009, 2010

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said a vote on health care overhaul legislation likely would not occur during the first 100 days of the new Congress and could be put off until late 2009 or 2010, The Hill reports. Congress has several smaller health care matters to address before it can consider an overhaul, according to Stark, who spoke during a conference call sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Future. However, he said that a comprehensive plan would have to be voted on by early 2010 at the latest, because waiting any longer would “put the campaign at risk of being caught up in the politics of the midterm congressional elections,” The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 12/17). Stark said that Congress likely will vote on legislation to expand SCHIP early in 2009 (CongressDaily, 12/17).

FDA Approves Boston Scientific’s Express(R) SD Renal Stent System

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Express(R) SD Renal Monorail(R) Premounted Stent System for use as an adjunct to PTRA (percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty) in certain lesions of the renal arteries. The Express SD System is the first low-profile, pre-mounted stent approved for use in renal arteries in the United States. It is the only FDA-approved renal stent designed to provide additional proximal end support.