When it comes to daily health activities such as diet and exercise, Americans and their doctors may not always see eye to eye. According to the new GE Better Health Study conducted with Cleveland Clinic and Ochsner Health System, 92 percent of healthcare professionals (HCPs) surprisingly give Americans far lower grades, “C” or lower, on managing their personal health than Americans give themselves. As the first in a series that will examine healthy living attitudes and behaviors, the study is part of GE’s healthymagination initiative, which seeks to provide better health for more people through technology and innovation. more»

As an American living abroad for ten years, I’ve been watching the commonalities between the U.S. and Europe around healthcare. Europeans have done a remarkable job in adopting technology within primary care, and the Americans have done an equally good job within acute care. There have been many lessons learned on both sides of the Atlantic — and we have more to learn as our continents converge to improve healthcare and reduce its cost. more»

Expanding its global healthcare capability, the Centre of Excellence will help IBM healthcare clients design and create healthcare and life sciences solutions that improve care delivery, predict and prevent disease and enable smarter individual health and wellness. more»

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 21, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) Chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams today appeared before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee to suggest a set of priorities for reforming the health care delivery system and to encourage Congress to implement a number of successful private-sector innovations on a wider scale to benefit the entire population. more»

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM - News) – Humana Military Healthcare Services (HMHS), TRICARE contractor for the South Region, will partner with Broward Navy Days to hold Fleet Week 2009 Port Everglades, April 27 - May 2, 2009. This annual event brings together men and women of the maritime services and the south Florida community. more»

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced today that Jonathan Lord, M.D., Humana’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer, has been named chief executive officer of Navigenics, Inc., a Foster City, Calif.-based personal genomics company that uses DNA testing and analysis to determine an individual’s genetic predisposition for various health conditions with the goal of improving health outcomes in individuals across the population. more»

Pittsburgh, Pa. and Chicago, Il., April 5, 2009 — dbMotion, a leading provider of health interoperability and intelligence solutions, and Allscripts, the clear leader in software, services, information, and connectivity solutions for physicians and hospitals, today agreed to create tightly integrated connectivity solutions that allow physician communities to see a more holistic view of their patient’s clinical record and to collaborate with providers throughout their community. more»

NEW YORK, NY — April 3, 2009— ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®) today announced that it has rolled out an innovative solution that couples its disease management (DM) program with a value-based insurance design (VBID) incentive. When individuals with chronic conditions engage in disease management nurse coaching, they are eligible for reduced co-payments on their medications. The new program, currently in place at a large, national employer, is designed to improve clinical outcomes by encouraging targeted individuals to participate in nurse coaching and removing a financial barrier to medication compliance. more»

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 24, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) Chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams today appeared before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee to outline the critical components of needed health care reform and to signal Aetna's readiness to work with Members of Congress to create and implement practical solutions. more»

NEW YORK, NY, February 19, 2009 — Today, The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, announced the formation of the Alliance Healthcare Initiative, a collaborative effort with national medical associations, leading insurers and employers to offer comprehensive health benefits to children and families for the prevention, assessment, and treatment of childhood obesity. more»

NEW YORK, NY — January 6, 2009— ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®), today announced new portability options for members with the ActivePHR personal health record. Members who have ActivePHR through their employer or health plan will now be able to transfer their health information to the consumer version of ActivePHR or to Microsoft® HealthVault™, a Web-based consumer health platform. These new options allow members to create a lifelong record of their valuable health information even if they change jobs or health plans. more»

NEW YORK, NY — December 8, 2008— ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®) today announced that it will be expanding its clinical alert offerings to include patient safety alerts based on FDA safety alerts. Communicated through the ActivePHRSM personal health record, the patient safety alerts will inform members about potential problems with a medication, including risks associated with combining certain drugs, and encourage them to contact their doctor if certain symptoms occur. more»

Improving quality and bargain prices are luring U.S. patients to developing countries for increasingly sophisticated procedures. more»

With the presidential election almost upon us, it is time to consider how the next president and Congress can reform America’s healthcare system in the midst of a stumbling economy. Rather than using our economic challenges as an excuse for inaction, we should use them as a catalyst for change and move towards a system in which everyone can have access to healthcare at the right time, receive the appropriate care at an affordable cost and achieve the best health outcome. more»

Americans should be required to buy health insurance, bringing healthier people into plans that will help bring down costs, Ron Williams, chairman and CEO of Aetna, told a Detroit audience. Williams said he favors plans similar to those adopted by some states that require everyone to have health insurance: either through a workplace plan or through a plan consumers buy on their own, with help from state subsidies for those who can't afford it. A mandatory system would help bring down costs and end the problem of enrolling healthy applicants and rejecting those with prior medical problems because costs and risks would be spread over a larger group of people, Williams said. more»

As chief executive of Aetna, one of America's big health insurance companies, Ron Williams is at the centre of one of the country's most contentious political issues.

Unlike many of his corporate peers, he has become an outspoken supporter of healthcare reform - though Mr Williams, 58, is careful not to endorse the specific plan of any candidate or political party. more»

Recently the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund called attention to the declining state of health care in the U.S. despite leading the world in spending. The conclusion was that Americans squander money on wasteful administrative costs, illnesses caused by medical error and inefficient use of time. more»

Manipal Cure and Care (MCC) was graced by the presence of Muhammad Yunus, the Noble Peace Prize awardee of 2006 accompanied by Vidar Jorgensen - President Grameen America. more»