HFMA | CMS Clarifies Three-Day Payment Rule Provisions

In a Medicare Update issued on Friday, June 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Media Affairs clarified provisions affecting the three-day payment rule in the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama also on June 25. The update states that the new law "clarifies Medicare's policy to be consistent with how hospitals have largely billed the program as far back as 1991." Under the policy, hospitals charge for all diagnostic and non-diagnostic services "related" to the inpatient stay that are provided within a three-day payment window.

AIS Health Daily | High-Risk Pools Under Reform Face Delays Despite States’ Efforts to Comply

Under the federal health reform statute, states were supposed to begin operating a temporary federal high-risk pool program by late June — 90 days after the law’s enactment. But the reality is that it is taking months longer for states to get going, even with what a Michigan official calls “an aggressive timetable.” The new federal program will cover people with pre-existing medical conditions who have been uninsured for at least six months. It will end in January 2014, when state-based health insurance exchanges begin and other major market reforms take effect.

AIS Health Daily | Grandfather Regs Under Reform, Rate Hike Put Insurers, Employers Between a Rock and a Hard Place

As long as employers don’t alter their benefit design or shift more costs on to workers in 2011, they will be able to offer the same coverage they offered this year, according to interim final rules released June 14 by HHS and the departments of Labor and Treasury. But a new study on likely rate hikes for 2011 could make it difficult for many employers to comply with the regulations. Industry observers contacted by HPW agree the new rules are more stringent than expected.

Kaiser Health News | Hospitals Hope To Improve Outlook By Turning For-Profit

For decades, the Detroit Medical Center and its network of eight hospitals have served as a safety net for thousands of poor patients throughout southeastern Michigan. So when its pending sale to a for-profit hospital system was announced in March, pediatrician James Collins began worrying whether the poor would still get the care they need. "People depend on us," says Collins, who has practiced at the DMC for more than 50 years. But Lori Brown, an intensive care nurse who has worked at the medical center for 17 years, was delighted at the news that Vanguard Health Systems of Nashville was buying the DMC. Finding money to purchase the latest technology or just to keep the facility operating properly has been a challenge "as long as I’ve worked here," Brown says. "Now, if something doesn’t work, we say, ‘When Vanguard gets here, this will be fixed.’" The two views reflect the fear and the hope as hospital merger-and-acquisition activity accelerates in Detroit and other cities across the country.

Washington Post | Education grants aim to bolster health-care ranks

It is a sign of the economic times: Nursing students at Howard University work part-time jobs and still cannot keep up with tuition. "We have experienced good students having to withdraw from the program because of lack of resources. When parents lose jobs, students can't continue," said Mary Hill, associate dean in the school's division of nursing. At the start of the month, the game changed. Howard received $1.5 million from the Obama administration to train student nurses and others in sciences such as radiology and occupational therapy. The award was a fraction of $96 million in grants doled out by the Department of Health and Human Services on July 1 to hundreds of health-profession programs at colleges and universities nationwide.

CBPP | Childless Adults Who Become Eligible for Medicaid in 2014 Should Receive Standard Benefits Package

Phoenix Business Journal | Radient Pharmaceutical buying Provista Diagnostics

Provista Diagnostics Inc., a Phoenix biotech company marketing blood tests for breast cancer and other diseases, has signed a letter of intent to be acquired by Radient Pharmaceutical Corp. of California. Radient (NYSE Amex:RPC) announced today its intent to acquire Provista in a stock-for-stock transaction. Provista has rights, patents and trademarks for diagnostic technologies that Radient believes will strengthen and complement its core business. Provista would become a subsidiary of Radient, subject to shareholder approval and due diligence by both companies. The companies have 60 days to complete due diligence and close the merger within the next 90 days.

Arizona Republic | Scottsdale Healthcare ranks among top in U.S.

Scottsdale Healthcare is among the top 50 health systems in the U.S., according to a Thomson Reuters study published in last month's Modern Healthcare magazine. Top institutions in the study had lower mortality rates, fewer medical complications, fewer patient safety incidents, and shorter average hospital stays than peer organizations. "This recognition is a benefit for our community and a tribute to the teamwork at all levels of our health system, from the leading local citizens on our board or directors to our management, doctors, nurses, volunteers and other staff members in each of our hospitals," Scottsdale Healthcare President and CEO Tom Sadvary said in a statement. The study, "100 Top Hospitals: Health System Benchmarks Study," analyzed clinical quality and efficiency at 255 U.S. health systems with two or more hospitals. Analysts used data from the past three years taken from two public databases.

Yuma Sun | Health official: Voters should say no to medical marijuana

Arizona's top health official says voters should reject a ballot measure that would allow doctors to recommend marijuana to their patients. Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said there probably are some people who would benefit by being able to inhale the now-illegal substance. These include those who have nausea from chemotherapy and individuals who need an appetite stimulant to keep from wasting away. But Humble said health chiefs from other states with similar laws told him the vast majority of the “medical marijuana'' cards they issued were for people with “severe and chronic pain.'' Humble said that, at best, is subjective. More to the point, he said there is no evidence marijuana actually alleviates pain.

KVOA | Nationwide doctor shortage feared

Population boom and healthcare reform has the medical community concerned the nation wide doctor shortage will get worse, before it gets better. A significant impact is felt in Arizona because it's one of the fastest growing states. "Only recently have begun to ramp up," says Pima Co. Medical Society Executive Director Steve Nash, who says the industry is 30 years behind. "Until we catch up, we're going to be working very hard so you're going to have those four minute doctor visits. They're facing the challenge head on at Diamond Children's Medical Center where they're preparing future doctors to make up for the shortage.

The 49th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session Adjourned Sine Die on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:07 p.m.

37th Annual
Arizona Rural Health Conference
August 2 & 3, 2010
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
http://rho.arizona.edu/Events/2010rhc/37thAnnualAZRuralHealthConference.aspx

Medicare PHR Choice Information Sessions
A new program, Medicare PHR Choice, helps you build your own personal health record (PHR). Medicare and Arizona Health-e Connection, a non-profit organization specializing in healthcare information, are co-sponsoring a series of town-hall-style meetings to raise awareness of the benefits of Personal Health Records.
For more information and dates and locations: http://www.azhec.org/MedicarePHR.jsp

State Compensation Fund Arizona (SCF) provides safety seminars on the following topics:

1. OSHA Recordkeeping	7. Lockout/Tagout
2. Fall Protection	8. Forklift: Train the Trainer
3. Safety Management	9. Heat Stress Prevention
4. Electrical Safety	10. Back Injury Prevention
5. Scaffold Safety	11. Evacuation Safety
6. Construction Safety Management

For more information: http://www.scfaz.com/corporate/safety_seminars.php

AIS Health Daily | CMS Gives ‘Mixed Signals’ in New Physician Supervision Guidance

CMS has again put its pen to paper on the outpatient supervision requirement, this time fleshing out its expectations for supervising physicians’ competence and availability. In Medicare transmittal 128, which updates the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS), CMS adds a fair amount of new language on the physician and nonphysician practitioner (NPP) supervision requirement.

AIS Health Daily | Health insurers that sell limited benefit plans, also known as “mini-med” plans, will not be impacted by phased restrictions on annual benefit limits, according to regulations issued by the Obama administration June 22.

Mini-med products typically pay a fixed number of total dollars or a fixed amount per day for certain medical services and either put relatively low caps on or don’t cover other medical services. Some do not cover hospital facility fees or medications and have low limits on coverage for surgeries.

AIS Health Daily | Medicare Advantage Plans Fear CMS May Reject Bids Based on New Regulatory Powers, Past Performance

Medicare Advantage plans and their attorneys increasingly worry that CMS will use new powers under the health reform law to reject entire 2011 bids — perhaps without the option of appeal — something that hasn’t happened before. They also fear that CMS increasingly may not approve applications for new service areas or products based on past performance issues in one perhaps small part of the organization, even if those problems have been remedied. And connected with both concerns is a problem plans cite in not getting information about CMS’s qualms until too late in the process, often after applications have been submitted and networks contracted.

AIS Health Daily | ACO Conundrum: Everybody Wants in the Game, but Nobody Knows the Rules

Preparations among would-be participants in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) under the health reform law now are at a critical but semi-impossible stage, based on comments at a major conference June 7-9. The potential participants know they need to gear up now since the program starts Jan. 1, 2012, under the reform law, but the preparations are dependent on rules and clarifications that have not yet been issued and may not be for many months.

Kaiser Health News | Dell Puts Hope in Health-Services Unit

Dell is hoping to capitalize on its purchase of health technology firm Perot Systems by providing services to new clients such as the 2,600-doctor Methodist Hospital System in Houston. Dell has contracted to create an electronic medical records system for Methodist, a new foray into IT services for the hardware-focused firm. "If successful, the strategy would help Dell combat a slowdown in its core computer business that has pushed it from being the world's largest computer maker to No. 3, behind Hewlett-Packard Co. and Acer Inc." The move into health IT services is well timed. "Spending on medical IT is expected to boom because of the Obama administration's overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, and Dell is hoping to get a big chunk of it. Spending on health-care IT by hospitals and doctors' offices will likely rise to $13 billion by 2013, up 25% from last year, according to estimates by data tracker IDC".

Kaiser Health News | COBRA, Medicaid Subsidies Still Loom Over Congressional Agenda

Democrats left Washington for the July 4 recess without passing key parts of their health care agenda. Earlier this year, party leaders hoped to extend subsidies so newly laid off workers could afford health insurance under the COBRA program. And, with states hit hard by the recession, an extension of extra Medicaid funds also seemed likely. Also, while Congress passed legislation averting a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians, it was for just six months, instead of the two or more years many Democrats had envisioned. But House and Senate leaders found themselves mired in a contentious debate, with conservative Democrats and Republicans opposing programs that could add to the deficit. Finally, both houses reached an accord on a short-term Medicare doctor payment fix. The Medicaid and COBRA subsidies are still in limbo.

Phoenix Business Journal | Arizona's pre-existing condition health coverage kicks in

Arizona is one of 21 states electing to have the federal government run a new pre-existing condition insurance plan. The plan will offer coverage to uninsured Americans who have been unable to obtain health coverage because of a pre-existing health condition. Administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the plan will provide a new option for Americans who have been uninsured for at least six months, have been unable to get coverage because of a health condition and are a U.S. citizen or are living in the U.S. legally. This is a transitional program until 2014 when insurers will be banned from discriminating against adults with pre-existing conditions as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Phoenix Business Journal | Valley hospitals touting national recognition in local advertising

Valley hospitals are in stiff competition for cardiac patients, and they are using billboards and other advertisements to tout their placement in national quality rankings. From Thomson Reuters and U.S. News & World Report to HealthGrades and the federal government’s Hospital Compare, more organizations are looking for ways to rank hospitals based on quality and outcome measures. Thomson Reuters, for example, is viewed primarily by hospital management, while most other lists focus on providing information to consumers.

Phoenix Business Journal | Heart attack in the Valley: Local surgeons waging war on heart disease

The Valley is home to nearly two dozen cardiovascular programs, where top heart doctors are on the cutting edge of technology and innovations ranging from heart transplants to artificial hearts. These doctors travel around the world, lecturing and sharing their best techniques and discoveries with other cardiologists and heart surgeons at medical conferences. Many serve multiple roles, caring for patients at the bedside as well as researching new techniques and technologies. With cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes on the rise, these doctors are waging a war against devastating diseases.

Arizona Republic | Arizona struggling to keep doctors in state

Thomas Striegel has two families: one at home in Iowa and another at Maricopa Medical Center. But Striegel, an emergency-department resident, had to choose. He's returning to Iowa today to practice medicine. After spending three years at his top-choice program, he said it won't be easy to leave. A new batch of medical residents begins training at hospitals across Arizona today, but getting enough to stay to offset the state's physician shortage remains a challenge. Despite efforts to expand residency programs and increase retention rates around Arizona hospitals, more than a third to nearly half of the medical residents like Striegel are expected to leave eventually to practice elsewhere.

The 49th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session Adjourned Sine Die on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:07 p.m.

37th Annual
Arizona Rural Health Conference
August 2 & 3, 2010
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
http://rho.arizona.edu/Events/2010rhc/37thAnnualAZRuralHealthConference.aspx

Medicare PHR Choice Information Sessions
A new program, Medicare PHR Choice, helps you build your own personal health record (PHR). Medicare and Arizona Health-e Connection, a non-profit organization specializing in healthcare information, are co-sponsoring a series of town-hall-style meetings to raise awareness of the benefits of Personal Health Records.
For more information and dates and locations: http://www.azhec.org/MedicarePHR.jsp

State Compensation Fund Arizona (SCF) provides safety seminars on the following topics:

1. OSHA Recordkeeping	7. Lockout/Tagout
2. Fall Protection	8. Forklift: Train the Trainer
3. Safety Management	9. Heat Stress Prevention
4. Electrical Safety	10. Back Injury Prevention
5. Scaffold Safety	11. Evacuation Safety
6. Construction Safety Management

For more information: http://www.scfaz.com/corporate/safety_seminars.php

NY Times | Preparing More Care of Elderly

With a nudge from the new health care law and pressure from Medicare, hospitals, doctors and nurses are struggling to prepare for explosive growth in the numbers of high-risk elderly patients.
More than 40 percent of adult patients in acute care hospital beds are 65 or older. Seventy million Americans will have turned 65 by 2030. They include the 85-and-older cohort, the nation’s fastest-growing age group.

eweek.com | Humana, EHSI Unveil Different Mobile Health Apps for iPhone

Health care provider Humana delves into the mobile health market with its Colorfall iPhone mind game. Humana also plans to offer more iPhone health apps later this year. Meanwhile, Emerging Healthcare Solutions introduced a mobile app for 911 calls.

The Boston Globe | FDA urges limited use of antibiotics in meat

The Food and Drug Administration, responding to public health concerns, is urging meat producers to limit the amount of antibiotics they give animals.
The FDA said antibiotics in meat pose a “serious public health threat’’ because the drugs create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect humans who eat it. The agency is recommending that producers limit their use unless they are medically necessary and use them only with the oversight of a veterinarian.

Health Business Daily |Existing Insurance Exchanges Jockey for Position as Linchpins of Health Coverage Reform

Existing health insurance exchanges tell AIS they are starting to jockey for position under a reformed marketplace in which the Obama administration expects 16.9 million Americans to choose coverage options through newly created exchanges in 2014, their first year of operation. By 2019, the national enrollment in these individual and small-employer-group exchanges is expected to climb to 31.6 million Americans.

The Commonwealth Fund | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally, 2010 Update

Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently underperforms on most dimensions of performance, relative to other countries. This report—an update to three earlier editions—includes data from seven countries and incorporates patients' and physicians' survey results on care experiences and ratings on dimensions of care. Compared with six other nations—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives. Newly enacted health reform legislation in the U.S. will start to address these problems by extending coverage to those without and helping to close gaps in coverage—leading to improved disease management, care coordination, and better outcomes over time.

AIS Health | Medicare Advantage Enrollment on the Rise

As of June 1, Medicare Advantage plan enrollment was 11.7 million members, a gain of 29,500 from May 1, and 613,172 more than June 1 last year, according to CMS data released June 7 for the period ending May 7.

AIS Health | New CMS Regulations Raise Enforcement and Financial Risks for Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans

As CMS attempts to rebalance its status as a regulator and a business partner of Medicare Advantage and Part D organizations through new rules, one industry insider says sponsors may confront major financial challenges from this changing regulatory environment.

AIS Health | Account-Based Health Plans Will Thrive, Become More Complex Due to Economy and Reform Rules

Several provisions included in the health reform law (e.g., removal of lifetime benefit caps, coverage of dependent children to age 26 and first-dollar preventive coverage) will lead to higher premiums, health plans say. And industry observers tell AIS that those inevitable rate hikes — combined with a still-struggling economy — are pushing more employers to consider lower-cost account-based health plans for the upcoming fall open-enrollment period. But, they warn, some provisions of the reform law will make health accounts more complex.

AIS Health | Creating Jobs and Increasing the Number of Primary Care Providers

In an effort to increase the number of physicians, nurses and other medical providers, HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius said June 16 that the agency will make $250 million in new investments.

AIS Health | Medicare Fraud Prevention Strategies

A June 15 Government Accountability Office report names five strategies to prevent Medicare fraud and reduce improper payments.

Phoenix Business Journal | Small businesses, legislators fight 1099 tax rule in health care law

Small businesses and Arizona lawmakers want to repeal a little-known tax provision nestled in federal health care reforms that require businesses to file 1099 forms for all purchases over $600.
The new rule has nothing directly to do with Obama administration-backed health reforms approved in March, but was part of the final bill. The tax rule goes into effect in 2012.

Arizona Republic | Banner Health and Mayo Clinic rank in top 10 health systems

Banner Health and Mayo Clinic both ranked among the nation's top 10 health systems based on measures of clinical performance, according to a study by Thomson Reuters. The report compared 255 health systems across the nation based on eight clinical measures of quality and efficiency. Thomson Reuters found significant differences among top- and lower-ranked health systems on measures such as mortality, medical complications, patient safety, length of stay and readmission rates. The survey was based on data reported to the federal agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid. It also included information from a patient survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Arizona Republic | Health program that aids kids gets $40,000

The Jewish Family and Children's Service received a $40,000 grant for its children's behavioral-health program, the organization announced recently. The grant, awarded June 21 by the Child Abuse Prevention License Plate Program, will help fund Creating Peaceful Families, a JFCS program that aims to prevent substance abuse, child abuse and bullying, and to educate elementary- and middle-school children about character development and healthy ways to cope with stress and anxiety.

The 49th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session Adjourned Sine Die on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:07 p.m.

37th Annual
Arizona Rural Health Conference
August 2 & 3, 2010
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
http://rho.arizona.edu/Events/2010rhc/37thAnnualAZRuralHealthConference.aspx

Medicare PHR Choice Information Sessions
A new program, Medicare PHR Choice, helps you build your own personal health record (PHR). Medicare and Arizona Health-e Connection, a non-profit organization specializing in healthcare information, are co-sponsoring a series of town-hall-style meetings to raise awareness of the benefits of Personal Health Records.
For more information and dates and locations: http://www.azhec.org/MedicarePHR.jsp

State Compensation Fund Arizona (SCF) provides safety seminars on the following topics:

1. OSHA Recordkeeping	7. Lockout/Tagout
2. Fall Protection	8. Forklift: Train the Trainer
3. Safety Management	9. Heat Stress Prevention
4. Electrical Safety	10. Back Injury Prevention
5. Scaffold Safety	11. Evacuation Safety
6. Construction Safety Management

For more information: http://www.scfaz.com/corporate/safety_seminars.php

NY Times | Senate Passes Plan to Stop Medicare Pay Cuts to Doctors

With lawmakers worried that older Americans relying on Medicare could begin losing access to health care, the Senate on Friday approved a six-month plan to prevent a steep cut in doctors’ fees paid by the federal health program. The $6.4 billion measure would reverse a 21 percent cut in physician payments that was to kick in Friday, raising the possibility that some doctors might begin to turn away those covered by Medicare. The legislation, known on Capitol Hill as the doc fix, was approved without a roll-call vote after leaders of both parties agreed to pull it out of a stalled package of tax changes and safety-net spending.

eweek.com | Intel Telehealth System Helps Heart Failure Patients

In a joint study, 164 out of 315 Aetna Medicare subjects suffering from chronic heart failure (CHF) were able to avoid some hospital stays by using Intel's telehealth system called Intel Health Guide. The preliminary results of the study were released June 9 in Las Vegas. The final results are due later this year. The service combines the company's PHS6000 in-home patient device with its Health Care Management Suite, an online platform that allows clinicians to monitor patients and manage care remotely via videoconferencing.

The Boston Globe | Partners rebuts AG’s findings

In a 14-page analysis Partners released yesterday, former state public health official Paul Dreyer said that the attorney general’s staff used flawed methodology to reach conclusions in its 77-page report, and that a major reason the cost of health care has soared in Massachusetts is that hospital quality overall has improved — not because influential providers have demanded higher fees. The attorney general’s office issued a statement yesterday saying that it stood by its findings, and that “nothing in the Partners report’’ calls those conclusions into question. Two health care specialists at the Harvard School of Public Health also took aim at Dreyer’s report, saying that some of his conclusions are flawed and that others actually support the attorney general’s findings.

Wall Street Journal | U.S. Fights Challenge to Health Law

The federal government formally responded to the most serious legal challenge to the health-care overhaul, invoking its powers under the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce and impose taxes. At least 20 state attorneys general, most of them Republicans, have filed suit against the government. The attorneys general, led by Republican Bill McCollum of Florida, say the Constitution doesn't grant Congress the power to require that all Americans carry insurance. Under the health-care law, nearly all legal residents who don't carry insurance will pay a penalty starting in 2014 that gradually increases to at least $695 per person annually or 2.5% of income. In a filing late Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the Justice Department said the penalties in the law were justified because people's decisions about how to pay for health care in the aggregate affect interstate commerce.

Health Leaders Media | Senate Again Fails to Approve Fix to 21% Cut; Payment Reductions to Begin

Thursday was significant because it was the last day that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' contractors would hold claims so that the 21% reduction would not be removed from payments made to physicians for service claims provided on and after June 1. (June 1 was the deadline for the previous extension of the doc fix by Congress. While CMS is expected to cut 21% on fees starting with Friday claims, providers can expect to eventually get that cut amount back if Congress approves a sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix that is retroactive to June 1. CMS also is expected to release guidance on whether it will be giving physicians permission to waive small beneficiary co payment amounts linked with a retroactive fix.

AIS Health Daily | Insurers Cite Operational, Not Financial Hurdles in Adding Young Adults to Health Insurance Coverage

Phoenix Business Journal | Health Care Heroes finalists selected

The finalists have been named for the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2010 Health Care Heroes awards. Winners will be honored at the annual breakfast bash Aug. 19 at Arizona Biltmore Resort with a special pullout section published in the following day’s edition of the Phoenix Business Journal.

Arizona Republic | Peoria in talks to create biotech incubator with TGen

Peoria may have found the catalyst to diversify its economy. City economic developers are in talks to create a biotech incubator with downtown Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute, referred to as TGen, and the Core Institute, which specializes in orthopedics. Councilwoman Cathy Carlat described the news as "the thing we've been waiting for all along." City officials were reaching out to "just about anybody that has a pulse" to find a strategic alliance for biotech and bioscience because these are "industries of the future," Economic Development Director Scott Whyte said. On July 6, the City Council is expected to consider a letter of support for a proposed partnership with TGen to help get a federal grant. The federal money would "bring considerable resources to make this possibility a reality," Whyte told the City Council this week.

Arizona Republic | Mayo's 'concierge' plan gives patients 24/7 access to doctors

The program, which began in April, has signed up 235 people so far, with a goal of 1,500 patients within two to three years. The idea, says Dr. Scott Gorman, vice chairman of the executive operations team at Mayo Clinic of Arizona, is to "operate in a more intense fashion" in providing care. Gorman said the program tries to improve patient health by creating an extended relationship between patient and doctor.

Phoenix Business Journal | CEO Shacknai talks about Medicis changes

The 49th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session Adjourned Sine Die on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 11:07 p.m.

37th Annual
Arizona Rural Health Conference
August 2 & 3, 2010
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
http://rho.arizona.edu/Events/2010rhc/37thAnnualAZRuralHealthConference.aspx

Medicare PHR Choice Information Sessions
A new program, Medicare PHR Choice, helps you build your own personal health record (PHR). Medicare and Arizona Health-e Connection, a non-profit organization specializing in healthcare information, are co-sponsoring a series of town-hall-style meetings to raise awareness of the benefits of Personal Health Records.
For more information and dates and locations: http://www.azhec.org/MedicarePHR.jsp

State Compensation Fund Arizona (SCF) provides safety seminars on the following topics:

1. OSHA Recordkeeping	7. Lockout/Tagout
2. Fall Protection	8. Forklift: Train the Trainer
3. Safety Management	9. Heat Stress Prevention
4. Electrical Safety	10. Back Injury Prevention
5. Scaffold Safety	11. Evacuation Safety
6. Construction Safety Management

For more information: http://www.scfaz.com/corporate/safety_seminars.php