Research

Half of Amputees are Under-Prescribed, Study Finds: In studying 267 lower-limb amputees, a professor at the University of Miami's School of Medicine in Coral Gables, Fla., discovered that 46 percent of these amputees received insufficient prosthetic devices. According to the study, although the proper prosthetic technology for amputees is available, the lack of an objective assessment tool to evaluate patients' needs often leads doctors to prescribe the cheapest solution rather than the most effective solution. “The result is that almost half of lower-limb amputees are using components that limit their function,” the Newport Beach, Calif.-based International Conference of Advanced Prosthetics said in a press release.

Government Recovers Billions from Medical Fraud: Since 1996, the Washington-based Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program has recovered more than $3 billion in health care judgements, settlements and administrative impositions, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' annual report. Nearly all of these recoveries have returned to the Medicare Trust Fund's coffers, prompting fund trustees to extend estimates of Medicare's financial life by 30 years, the report said.

Established to comply with a massive medical-reform law, the program — which is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department — has convicted more than 2,000 defendants for health care fraud-related offenses and has excluded more than 15,000 entities or individuals from participating in Medicare, Medicaid and other federally sponsored health care programs, the report continued.

In 2001, CMS collected $1.3 billion in fraud-related actions, which accounts for nearly half of CMS' total collections to date. CMS returned $1 billion of these recoveries to the Medicare Trust Fund, and the federal government retained the remaining $42.8 million as a share of Medicaid restitution, the report said.

According to CMS, these annual results justify federal spending to reduce fraud-and-abuse. “These continuing accomplishments of DOJ and HHS and other partners in the coordinated anti-fraud effort, as well as the extensive preventive activities, demonstrate that the increased funds to address health care fraud and abuse are sound investments,” the report concluded.

Obesity Makes Kids Sick, CDC Says: Obesity is putting children and adolescents in the hospital and keeping them there longer than ever, according to researchers at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 1977, the rate of obesity-related hospital stays among American children ages six to 17 has more than tripled, the CDC found. Not coincidentally, the researchers noted, the rate of pediatric obesity also has tripled.

In studying hospital-discharge data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the CDC also learned that the percentage of diabetes discharges among American children nearly doubled during the past two decades, from 1.43 percent to 2.36 percent. The number of obesity and gallbladder disease-related discharges tripled during the same period, from 0.36 percent to 1.07 percent, and 0.18 percent to 0.59 percent, respectively; and sleep apnea discharges increased fivefold, from 0.14 percent to 0.75 percent, the study said.

“These data may suggest that the increasing prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has led to increased hospital stays related to obesity-associated diseases,” the researchers concluded.

To read the CDC study, which appears in the May edition of the journal Pediatrics, go to www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/109/5/e81.

Regulatory

CMS Publishes Quarterly Changes: As promised, the Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued the first edition of its new quarterly publication that lists changes in Medicare or Medicaid regulations occurring during the previous quarter, or scheduled for the following quarter.

“The Quarterly Provider Update: The One Source for National Medicare Provider Information” is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/providerupdate.

Noteworthy

CMS Awards Computer Network Contract: The Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Md., to consolidate the agency's nationwide computer network. Under the terms of the contract, Lockheed will manage and operate CMS' mainframe and desktop computers, computer servers, voice communications infrastructure, help desk and other related services,” according to CMS.

HHS Launches Diabetes-Awareness Campaign: The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a “Take Time to Care About Diabetes” campaign to raise women's awareness about diabetes. Sponsored by HHS' Food and Drug Administration, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the campaign will include diabetes-related brochures, wallet-sized calendars and cards with recipes for nutritious meals to be distributed in grocery stores and pharmacies in 10 major U.S. cities. HHS estimates 9 million women have diabetes, including 3 million women who are unaware they have the disease. Additional information about the “Take Time to Care” campaign is available at www.fda.gov/womens/taketimetocare/diabetes.

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