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Dying for Relief: Reckless doctors go unchecked

By hdcoadmin | December 30, 2012

“Law enforcement officials and medical regulators could mine the data for a different purpose: To draw a bead on rogue doctors. But they don’t, and that has allowed corrupt or negligent physicians to prescribe narcotics recklessly for years before authorities learned about their conduct through other means, a Times investigation found.”

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Rising painkiller addiction shows damage from drugmakers’ role in shaping medical opinion

By hdcoadmin | December 30, 2012

“A closer look at the opioid painkiller binge — retail prescriptions have roughly tripled in the past 20 years — shows that the rising sales and addictions were catalyzed by a massive effort by pharmaceutical companies to shape medical opinion and practice.”

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Do teachers’ absences affect student learning?

By hdcoadmin | December 30, 2012

Seventy-three Western Pennsylvania public school districts paid nearly $25 million for substitute teachers to cover classes when full-time educators were not in the classroom during the last school year, according to records for 17,000 teachers reviewed by the Tribune-Review.

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For-Profit Nursing Homes Lead in Overcharging While Care Suffers

By hdcoadmin | December 30, 2012

“Thirty percent of claims sampled from for- profit homes were deemed improper, compared to just 12 percent from non-profits, according to data Bloomberg News obtained from the inspector general’s office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services via a Freedom of Information Act request.”

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IRE & NICAR Office Holiday Schedule

By hdcoadmin | December 29, 2012

Most of our staff will be in and out of the office during the holidays from Thursday 12/20 through Wednesday 1/2. If you need assistance, please e-mail or leave a voice mail and your call will be answered as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience during this time.

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Brain-injured kept in nursing homes with inadequate care

By hdcoadmin | December 28, 2012

Bloomberg News reports that more than 244,00 Americans with injuries are consigned to nursing homes, where patient lawyers say they are warehoused with inadequate care. In many cases, they are housed in institutions designed for geriatric care, not the specialized care they need, and in some cases they are in facilities graded poorly on measures…

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When children accidentally shoot siblings, parents rarely prosecuted

By hdcoadmin | December 27, 2012

After a couple of recent cases invovling children accidentally shooting their siblings after finding loaded weapons in the house, Minnesota Public Radio analyzed state court data and found that prosecuting parents for leaving guns around kids is rare, but not unprecedented in Minnesota. MPR found that since 2001, 85 such cases have been prosecuted.

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USA Today investigation prompts review, potentially freeing wrongly imprisoned

By hdcoadmin | December 26, 2012

U.S. Justice Department review, triggered by a USA Today investigation, has identified 175 prisoners who must be released or resentenced because they were improperly imprisoned. In June, USA Today reported that those prisoners should not have been imprisoned because they had not committed a federal crime, and others received longer sentences than the law allows.

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WSJ finds websites base varying prices, offers on user data

By hdcoadmin | December 26, 2012

Consumer websites offer their users different prices and deals based on what data they have about the user, according to a Wall Street Jounal investigation. The Journal identified several companies, including Staples, Discover Financial Services, Rosetta Stone Inc. and Home Depot Inc., that consistently adjusted prices and product offers based on user characteristics they discovered, such…

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Prognosis: Profits, The rising fortunes of Charlotte hospitals haven’t always helped patients

By hdcoadmin | December 24, 2012

“In the latest installment of their ongoing investigation into nonprofit hospitals, the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday that N.C. patients are likely to pay more for routine health care if their doctors are employed by a hospital.”  

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