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Here's The Latest in Health Care:

•  According to the American Cancer Society, less than five percent of cancer patients in the US participate in clinical studies, even though doing so could improve care and prolong their lives. There are several common barriers to pursuing clinical trial treatment, including restrictive enrollment parameters, fear of receiving placebos, and insufficient information. Clinical trial navigators who work to locate and help patients understand trial options can help increase the number of cancer patients involved in clinical trial programs and increase their odds of fighting the disease.  Read More

•  CMS is proposing updates to electronic prescribing standards that would ensure secure transmission and expedite prior authorizations by allowing clinicians to complete these transactions online. If and when these standards are finalized, all Medicare Part D plans would be required to support them. The new rule aims to reduce the amount of time it takes for physicians to complete transactions electronically and for patients to receive their medications.  Read More

•  The scientific community has long been working on treatment to counteract the effects of chronic pain. Although a solution may be a long way away, new research has revealed a protein expressed on the surface of nerve cells that could be targeted for drug treatment. Scientists have conducted successful experiments on laboratory mice that showed the potential for reducing neuropathic pain, pain triggered by chronic diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis.  Read More

•  New research from the University of Pittsburgh has ophthalmologists and engineers working to develop a neuromorphic vision system to capture visual information in a new way. Instead of the conventional frame-by-frame image sensing model, this neuromorphic system is based on timings of changes in dynamics of the input signals.  This model, inspired by the human brain, should benefit new technology such as neural prosthetics and self-driving cars. The improved approach will work more efficiently and enhance computational abilities to create technology that seemed impossible years ago.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, secure messaging, clinical communication, MIPS registry, and care navigation software.

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