Design Studio8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDTGeorgia Pulsehttp://multibriefs.com/briefs/MAG/MAG.xmlenWith less than a year before state legislation must be in place to implement a critical part of national health care reform, Tennessee and Georgia, along with 18 other states, have not made substantial progress toward meeting federal deadlines, according to reports from several nonpartisan organizations. In states with conservative leadership, such as Georgia and Tennessee, the deadlines have put state leaders in a catch-22.8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a04cb5a0d1America may be a technology-driven nation, but the health care system's conversion from paper to computerized records needs lots of work to get the bugs out, according to experts who spent months studying the issue. Hospitals and doctors' offices increasingly are going digital, the Bipartisan Policy Center said in a recent report. There's been little progress getting the computer systems to talk to one another, exchanging data the way financial companies do.8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a159c2b202House and Senate negotiators are deadlocked over how to prevent a deep cut in Medicare payments to doctors who treat millions of Medicare beneficiaries, an impasse that could threaten broader legislation on a payroll tax cut. Lawmakers in both parties said they wanted to give doctors a small increase, but could not agree on how to cover the cost. The issue, which is being negotiated as part of the talks over maintaining a reduction in payroll taxes for 160 million Americans, pits health care providers against one another — doctors versus hospitals — in a type of conflict that is most likely to become more common as the federal government tries to throttle back the growth of Medicare costs. 8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a1c034f1e3A new report from actuarial consulting firm Milliman Inc. shows a provision of the health reform law intended to tax health insurance companies to help fund coverage expansions will be paid entirely by state Medicaid programs for the portion assessed to Medicaid managed care organizations, says PRNewswire. The report concludes the cost to states is greater than previously thought, with one-sixth of the total fee being paid by Medicaid health plans. 8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a22752faa4It started with the denial of a growing health crisis. Nearly 40 percent of Georgia's children are overweight or obese — the second-highest rate in the nation — yet 50 percent of Georgians don't consider child obesity a problem. What's more, 75 percent of parents of obese children don't think they have a problem on their hands, according to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the state's largest pediatric health care system. In response, Children's Healthcare crafted an ad campaign intended to highlight the roles of parents and caregivers in the widening epidemic. 8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f3279d175aba5Georgia's foster children are being over-medicated, often to sedate them or control their behavior rather than treat a medical condition, a new study confirms. The question is: What should Georgia do about it? One solution being considered by state legislators calls for oversight of medications given to adjust the mood or behavior of thousands of foster children in Georgia. The bill calls for written standards for the dosages and combinations of psychotropic drugs given to those children, as well as an independent clinical review to assess all such medications and related treatments twice a year. 8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f32812184ede6Key legislators want to rewrite Georgia law after the state Supreme Court struck down the General Assembly's last attempt to criminalize assisted suicides. "The Supreme Court has ruled, and now it is up to us," Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, said. "I certainly hope this would be something that we address this session." Sen. Bill Hamrick, R-Carrollton, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also said he hopes legislators can rewrite and pass a law this session that will stand up to court scrutiny.8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a27d973d37Every sphere of life, it seems, can be turned into a game — including the way physicians offer medical advice and build a public reputation. HealthTap, a startup based in Palo Alto, Calif., has brought the vocabulary and mechanics of games to medicine. 8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a35b3304b8Two St. Louis doctors are calling for pediatricians to respond to parents' concerns about the safety of vaccines with more understanding and empathy. In their review published in the journal for the Missouri State Medical Association, the doctors explained why some parents are fearful and how physicians have been dismissive in debunking those fears. 8 Feb 2012 16:36:20 CDThttp://multibriefs.com/ViewLink.php?i=4f31a3f88a10f9