Increased Mortality Risk, Likelihood Of Hospital Readmission Following Heart Attack, Heart Failure

Increased Mortality Risk, Likelihood Of Hospital Readmission Following Heart Attack, Heart Failure

20 May 2013   

Heart attack or heart failure patients may have a high risk of death or re-admission for a month or longer after leaving the hospital, researchers said at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Scientific Sessions 2013. 

"The risks of death and re-hospitalization can extend well beyond 30 days after discharge, the time period used by the federal government for measuring hospital performance," said Kumar Dharmarajan, M.D., M.B.A., lead author of the study and a fellow in cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and visiting scholar at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. "Post-discharge care may be improved when aligned to the periods of greatest risk for patients." 

Researchers examined Medicare data on patients discharged for heart failure (878,963) and heart attack (350,509) and found:

• Within the first year, 41.8 percent of heart failure patients died and 70.3 percent were re-hospitalized.
• Within the first year, 25.9 percent of heart attack patients died and 50.5 percent were re-hospitalized.
• The risk of re-hospitalization after heart failure took more than a month (43 days) to decline 50 percent from its peak level after discharge.
• In the month after a heart attack, the likelihood of death is 21 times higher and the likelihood of hospitalization is 12 times higher than among the general Medicare-age population.
• In the month after hospitalization for heart failure, the likelihood of death is 17 times higher and the likelihood of hospitalization is 16 times higher than among the general Medicare-age population.

"In the weeks after hospital discharge, your risk of death, re-hospitalization and other complications is very high," Dharmarajan said. "If you feel ill, take it seriously and contact your healthcare provider."

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References:
American Heart Association meeting report: Abstract 329
Co-authors are Angela F. Hsieh, Ph.D.; Vivek T. Kulkarni, A.B.; Zhenqiu Lin, Ph.D.; Joseph S. Ross, M.D., M.H.S.; Leora I Horwitz, M.D., M.H.S.; Nancy Kim, M.D., Ph.D.; Lisa G. Suter, M.D.; Susannah M. Bernheim, M.D., M.H.S.; Elizabeth E. Drye, M.D., S.M.; Sharon-Lise Normand, Ph.D., M.Sc.; and Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., M.S.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute funded the study. Additional disclosures are on the abstract.
American Heart Association

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Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/260667.php.

Federal court interprets D&O policy to permit coverage for False Claims Act and qui tam actions - Lexology

Federal court interprets D&O policy to permit coverage for False Claims Act and qui tam actions - Lexology

Federal court interprets D&O policy to permit coverage for False Claims Act and qui tam actions

• Jenner & Block
• Matthew L. Jacobs and Jan A. Larson
• USA
• May 15 2013
• 

Author page »Author page »

The availability of insurance in connection with False Claims Act (FCA) and qui tam investigations and suits is a critical consideration for government contractors in nearly every industry, including the defense, construction, information technology, energy and health-care sectors. The cost to defend the company (and in some instances, its directors and officers) against FCA-related actions can be staggering. During the fouryear period from January 2009 through the end of 2012, the Department of Justice’s recoveries under the FCA exceeded $9.5 billion. A recent federal district court decision confirms the availability of coverage for actions alleging violations of the FCA and represents a significant victory for policyholders.

In Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. v. Omeros Corp., the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of policyholder Omeros Corp. (Omeros) regarding insurance coverage under the company’s Directors & Officers (D&O) coverage and Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage in connection with an employee’s allegations that the company had violated the False Claims Act (FCA).¹

Background

In 2009, Omeros’ former chief financial officer, Richard Klein, filed suit against the company. Klein alleged that he was wrongfully terminated after internally reporting various financial irregularities, including false reports to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concerning a federal grant that NIH supervised. Klein had reported his concerns to Omeros’ audit committee, who retained outside counsel to investigate the allegations. Klein was subsequently terminated. In his complaint, Klein claims that his termination constituted a retaliatory act in violation of the anti-retaliation provisions of the FCA.² In 2010, Klein amended his suit to add an additional qui tam claim in connection with the alleged violations of the FCA.

Omeros submitted the original retaliation claim and the subsequent qui tam claim to its insurer, Carolina Casualty, who had issued both D&O and EPL coverage to Omeros on a claims-made basis. Carolina Casualty initially agreed to defend Omeros on both claims subject to a reservation of rights. The defense costs incurred in connection with the retaliation claim soon exhausted the $1M limit of liability in the EPL policy, leaving only the D&O coverage to potentially respond to thequi tam claim. Rather than continue to defend and indemnify the qui tam claim under the D&O policy, Carolina Casualty filed a declaratory judgment action against Omeros and sought a summary judgment ruling that the D&O coverage did not apply to the qui tam claim.

Significantly, Carolina Casualty did not contend that the qui tam claim fell outside the scope of the D&O coverage on the merits. Instead, it raised a late notice defense. The parties did not dispute that while the original retaliation claim was noticed during the policy period, the subsequent qui tam claim was not noticed until after the expiration of the policy period. Omeros argued that the later qui tam claim nonetheless fell within the coverage period pursuant to the policy’s “relation back” clause, which provided that “[a]ll Claims based upon or arising out of the same Wrongful Act or any Related Wrongful Acts . . . shall be considered a single Claim. Each Claim shall be deemed to be first made . . . when the earliest Claim arising out of such Wrongful Act or Related Wrongful Acts is first made."³ The policy also defined “Related Wrongful Acts” to include acts “which are logically or causally connected by reason of any common fact, circumstance, situation, transaction, casualty, event, or decision."⁴ According to Carolina Casualty, the two claims did not constitute a related, single claim first made at the time of the original notice. Even if they did, however, Carolina Casualty argued in the alternative that an Employment Relationship Exclusion nonetheless applied to the anti-retaliation claim and could be imputed to the qui tamclaim by virtue of their treatment as one claim.⁵

The U.S. District Court’s Decision

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington rejected each of Carolina Casualty’s arguments and denied its motion for summary judgment. The court found that the anti-retaliation claim and the qui tam claim arose from “Related Wrongful Acts,” to constitute a single claim. According to the Court, “Omeros’s alleged false reporting is a common event that logically connects the anti-retaliation and qui tam claims."⁶ Moreover, the court declined to accept Carolina Casualty’s attempts to distinguish the two claims, including an argument that the retaliation claim sought recovery for wrongs done to the former employee, Klein, while the qui tam claim addressed wrongs done to the United States. Looking to the plain language of the policy, the court noted that “the policy’s test for a related wrongful act is not whether there are differences between the acts, but whether there is any common fact, circumstance, situation, event or decision that logically connects the acts."⁷ The Court then applied the policy’s “relation back” clause and held that the qui tam claim would be considered first reported within the policy period at the time Omeros gave notice of the original anti-retaliation claim.⁸

The Court also rejected Carolina Casualty’s alternative argument to exclude coverage for the qui tam claim based on the Employment Relationship Exclusion. It held that the retaliation and qui tam claims should be treated as a single claim only in applying the notice provisions in the policy – not the exclusions.⁹ The court first determined that the policy language addressing the “relatedness” and “relation back” of claims resided in sections devoted exclusively to the provision of notice. Indeed, notice provisions that determine a datecertain for related claims made at different times are logical in claims-made coverage, which is intended to bring certainty to policyholders and insurers in the reporting of claims. Nothing in those sections of the Carolina Casualty policy, however, suggested their application to the exclusions found elsewhere in the policy. At best an ambiguity existed.¹⁰ In line with standard principles of policy construction, the court acknowledged that it must adopt any reasonable interpretation of the ambiguous provision that favors the policyholder, Omeros.¹¹ On that basis the court concluded that the “relatedness” and “relation back” provisions join claims only for notice purposes, but not in the application of the policy’s exclusions.¹² “[I]t is reasonable to construe exclusions that have nothing to do with the claims-made nature of the policy to apply individually to separate claims, even if the separate claims are considered a single claim for purposes of determining when they were made."¹³ By contrast, the court deemed Carolina Casualty’s interpretation unreasonable in that it would deny coverage to covered claims merely because they were accompanied by excluded claims.¹⁴ Insurer often seek to deny coverage for an entire group of claims merely because one claim may be excluded. Thus, this ruling will benefit policyholders in future, similar actions.

Healthcare Innovation Council Calls Out CMS’ EHR Program as “Emperor Has No Clothes”

DALLAS -- 

An independent group of healthcare experts has called upon Congress to reconsider CMS’ “meaningful use” program to finance electronic health records (EHRs) for hospitals and physicians since it is not furthering Congress’ goal of improving patient care. The Healthcare Innovation Council submitted its commentary entitled “Let's Admit the Emperor Has No Clothes- It's Time to Redesign EHRs to Improve Patient Care” to U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander, Richard Burr, Tom Coburn, Mike Enzi, Pat Roberts and John Thune in response to an April 16, 2013 public invitation and report by such Senators that questioned the current EHR federal funding program and asked for public input.

Instead of improving patient care, the Council states that CMS’ EHR stimulus program is causing “a massive disruption of providers’ patient care focus as they chase ‘meaningful use’ dollars; increased burdens on physicians, nurses and clinicians since EHRs as currently designed require more, not less, of their time and effort; and an unprecedentedly huge expenditure by providers on EHR hardware and software at a time when providers are under severe financial pressures.” The Council states that there is a growing chorus of experts who are beginning to question whether CMS’ EHR program is misdirected and not likely to achieve its objectives within a reasonable period of time.

The Council’s commentary cites numerous examples about how the current breed of EHRs and the method they are being implemented are not improving patient care, as required by Congress when it approved $30+ billion of taxpayer monies for EHRs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Council recommends to the six U.S. Senators and the U.S. Congress that “it’s time to redo the ‘meaningful use’ EHR stimulus program to ensure that EHRs are designed and implemented in ways that help them improve patient care quality, safety and efficiency. It’s time to ‘reboot’ before all of the ‘meaningful use’ monies are spent and make that happen.” If that doesn’t happen, then the Council urges “Congress to halt CMS’ ‘meaningful use’ EHR program and spend the remainder of the ‘meaningful use’ funds on providing financial incentives for hospitals and other providers that demonstrate ‘meaningful improvements in patient care’ through whatever means they choose, and leave it to the healthcare providers, not our federal government, to choose the most effective means to improve patient care.” A copy of the Council’s commentary can be found at: www.antheliohealth.com/downloads/Council-EHR-commentary.pdf

WellCare Medicare Advantage Members Now Covered At Walgreens Take Care Clinics

• May 20, 2013, 8:30 a.m. ET

TAMPA, Fla. (May 20, 2013) - WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) recently entered into an agreement with Take Care Health Systems, a subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, Nasdaq: WAG), to offer its Medicare Advantage members access to the more than 370 Take Care Clinics located at select Walgreens stores in 19 states and Washington, D.C.  As of March 2013, WellCare serves more than 256,000 Medicare Advantage members in 14 states.

Take Care Clinics are staffed by board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants to treat patients 18 months and older. Services include treatment of common illnesses; assessment, treatment and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol; a wide range of immunizations; preventive health services; and administrative and camp physicals.

"This agreement is consistent with our commitment to expand our members' access to high-quality health care," said John Crowley, WellCare's Vice President of Corporate Network Contracting.

Take Care Clinics also offer Welcome to Medicare Preventive Visits and Medicare Yearly Wellness Visits. The visits are wellness services for Medicare beneficiaries that include screenings for a number of common conditions, as well as education and counseling to encourage wellness and prevent disease.

"We are pleased to welcome WellCare Medicare Advantage members to Take Care Clinics. Take Care Clinics provide a high-quality, cost-effective and convenient option for health care services," said Heather Helle, Divisional Vice President, Consumer Solutions Group at Walgreens. "Open seven days a week, with extended evening and weekend hours, we offer walk-in availability and same-day appointment scheduling, giving members convenient access to health care services."

Take Care Clinics are located in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.

WellCare Medicare Advantage members can visit www.takecarehealth.com or call 1-866-Take-Care (1-866-825-3227) to find the nearest Take Care Clinic location, schedule an appointment, learn about wait times and find a complete list of service costs.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides managed care services targeted to government-sponsored health care programs, focusing on Medicaid and Medicare. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare offers a variety of health plans for families, children, and the aged, blind, and disabled, as well as prescription drug plans. The company serves approximately 2.7 million members nationwide as of March 31, 2013. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com.

Medicare Advantage outshines fee-for-service model in study

May 20, 2013 | Chris Anderson - Contributing Editor

A new analysis of more than 3 million claims for Medicare patients found that patients enrolled in a managed Medicare Advantage (MA) plan had better health outcomes than those senior enrolled in the traditional fee-for-service Medicare model.

The report “Alternative Payer Models Show Improved Health-Care Value” from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) measured outcomes on three quality measures: (1) single-year mortality, (2) recovery from acute episodes of care requiring hospitalization and (3) sustainability of health over time.

According to the report, what distinguishes the managed MA plans from other Medicare plans are the use of three separate mechanisms designed to both improve care coordination and reduce costs. Those mechanisms are:

• a selective network of providers;
• financial incentives that are aligned with clinical best practices; and
• active care management that emphasizes prevention.

“Our findings demonstrate that more managed plans do not compromise quality. Just the opposite: They deliver higher-quality care at a lower cost than fee-for-service medicine and thus do a better job of improving healthcare value,” said Jon Kaplan, a BCG partner and lead author of the study, in a press release. “Payers, providers and policymakers have a lot to gain by more broadly aligning incentives and delivering strong care management, similar to that utilized by the Medicare Advantage plans.”

These findings continue to shift the current in the direction of managed care, not just in MA plans but across the industry. Managed care has often been linked directly to the failure of past capitation models, such as HMOs of the 1990s.

“In the past, there were widespread concerns, especially on the part of the general public, that cost savings came at the expense of quality of care. In the 1990s, for example, HMOs came in for major criticism for denying medically necessary services to patients, ostensibly in order to control costs,” the report noted.

Findings of the claims analysis showed:

• Single-year mortality rates were 1.8 percent in the three progressively managed delivery models versus 6.8 percent in the traditional fee-for-service sample. The lowest rates and the greatest performance were seen in HMO plans with global capitation. Patients in the three managed models studied all exhibited lower single-year mortality rates within the first year of enrollment.
• Patients in the MA plans had average stays in the hospital that were, on average, 19 percent shorter than those in fee-for-service sample.
• Patients in the managed plans were more likely to receive preventive care and less likely to suffer from disease-specific complications.

“We've found that U.S. private insurers have created an operating model that can deliver better care at a lower cost and have a major role to play in the ongoing national efforts to improve healthcare quality,” said Stefan Larsson, coauthor of the report, in a prepared statement. “Quite simply, we’ve found that the more aligned the care, the better the quality delivered.”

Aetna Inc. : Aetna Launches Patient-Centered Medical Home Program in New York

05/20/2013| 12:55pm US/Eastern

-- Rewards Primary Care Physicians for Improved Patient Care Coordination --

Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today the launch of its Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program in New York. The program recognizes primary care physicians (PCPs) who more actively coordinate and manage their patients' care across the health care system. By strengthening the role of PCPs, the PCMH program aims to improve patient health outcomes.

"Patient-centered care is something Aetna has always advocated. Our PCMH program rewards PCPs who focus on the patient's entire health needs, not just a single condition," said Elizabeth Curran, head of National Network Strategy and Program Development for Aetna. "As a result, members may experience better health, fewer hospitalizations, improvements in transitions of care, and greater engagement. The PCMH program is one more way we are moving from a system that rewards the quantity of procedures to a system that rewards quality outcomes."

Primary care providers who participate in Aetna's networks, who have been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a PCMH, and who are not participating in other quality incentive programs with Aetna were considered for the PCMH program in New York. Recognized providers will receive a quarterly Coordination of Care payment for each commercial (non-Medicare) Aetna member in their care. The NCQA-recognized PCMH practices are recognized for providing a number of services, including:

• Improved access to care, such as the ability to reach health professionals outside normal business hours;
• Proactive and planned preventive care (screenings, physicals, labs);
• Improved access through e-mail, web or telephone visits; and
• Access to nurses and other health care professionals, allowing more focused physician visits.

Aetna serves 880,000 commercial members in New York. More than 200 physician practices are currently part of the growing program.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 44 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.

Aetna

Media Contacts:
Susan Millerick, 860-273-0536
MillerickS@aetna.com
or
Tammy Arnold, 860-273-8553
arnoldtd@aetna.com

Infographic: Analytics Is the Nervous System of IT-Enabled Healthcare

New iHT2 report provides strategies for managing sophisticated analytics tools in the health care industry. 

The Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT2) has released their latest report entitled, “Analytics: The Nervous System of IT-Enabled Healthcare,” to help executives from hospitals, health systems, and other provider organizations identify and understand models for innovative uses of data that can enable them to reduce costs, improve gaps in care, stratify patient populations, improve quality, and provide more accessible care.

“Analytics is the backbone and the nervous system and the learning center of the health IT-enabled healthcare system,” says Jonathan Weiner, a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of the university’s Center for Population Health Information Technology.

A 2011 McKinsey report estimated that the healthcare industry can potentially realize $300 billion in annual value by leveraging patient and clinical data. With healthcare providers transitioning from a volume-based to value-based reimbursement, a new healthcare delivery model is emerging. In order to succeed in this new environment, healthcare providers are:

• Accountable care organizations forming (ACOs) to improve care coordination
• Preparing for bundled payments  for acute and post-acute care, as well as Medicare penalties for avoidable readmissions
• Restructuring their care delivery systems

Areas of focus the report includes are creating a nervous system and solid infrastructure foundation that leverages storage, processing, analysis, and data management to make better, evidence based business and clinical decisions.

“The healthcare industry must identify and establish proven strategies and best practices to manage data and to conduct the advanced analysis necessary to generate real insights that can benefit the health system. Those healthcare organizations focused today on gathering patient and clinical data, decoupling the data from siloed applications and solutions, and determining which data points to measure will be well positioned for the evolving future state of the healthcare landscape,” said John P. McDaniel, National Practice Leader—Provider Market at NetApp Healthcare.

The report also includes the following infographic shown below that summarizes the key findings:

Background

• Chad Brisendine, VP & CIO, St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network
• Jeffrey L. Brown, CIO, Lawrence General Hospital
• Charles DeShazer, MD, Chief Quality Officer, BayCare Health System
• John McDaniel, National Practice Leader, US Healthcare Provider Market, NetApp
• Jonathan Weiner, DrPH, Professor of Health Policy & Management and Health Informatics; Director Center for Population Health Information Technology, Director PhD Program in Health Services

Each year, the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT²) hosts a series of events & programs which promote improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology.

Forward Schedule:

• Health IT Summit in Fort Lauderdale - June 12-13, 2013
• Health IT Summit in Denver - July 24-25, 2013
• Health IT Summit in Seattle - August 21-22, 2013
• Health IT Summit in New York - September 17-18, 2013
• Health IT Summit in Beverly Hills - November 6-7, 2013
• Health IT Summit in Austin - December 11-12, 2013

The Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT²) 2012-2013 Online Thought Leadership Series is comprised of 60-minute interactive, sponsored Webinars covering current issues and industry trends for healthcare IT executives.

Wireless Pill Bottle Wins Healthcare Innovation World Cup

 

AdhereTech receives $50,000 grand prize in global diabetes innovation challenge funded by Boehringer Ingelheim

By HITLAB; Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

HITLAB; Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

Last modified: 2013-05-16T15:03:28Z

Published: Thursday, May. 16, 2013 - 8:02 am

Copyright 2013 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

NEW YORK, May 16, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Developers of a pill bottle that wirelessly transmits data, measures medication and sends patient reminders have emerged as grand prize winners in the Healthcare Innovation World Cup, the international diabetes innovation challenge funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and organized by HITLAB.
Winning team members Josh Stein, John Langhauser and Mike Morena of Team AdhereTech from the United States will receive $50,000 in prize money. They earned the top spot by demonstrating the exceptional impact, innovation, feasibility and financial sustainability of their idea, and for engaging with community members via social media.
AdhereTech received its honors at the Healthcare Innovation World Cup finals event on Friday, May 10 at the German Center for Research and Innovation in New York City. Judges selected Team IITKgp for second place, Team SmartSense for third place, and Team EndoGoal as the fourth-place finalist.
First-place AdhereTech has created wireless pill bottles to help improve medication adherence. According to AdhereTech, the bottles measure the exact number of pills in the bottle in real-time, wirelessly send this HIPAA-compliant data into the cloud, and remind patients to take their medication via automated phone call or text message. The devices also record and send adherence data with an unprecedented level of granularity. This summer, AdhereTech, which is based in New York, NY, will begin a trial with The Walter Reed Army Medical Center to test its full-service solution for type 2 diabetes patients. According to Josh Stein, CEO of AdhereTech, there are both issued patents and patents pending for the devices. The company has secured funding, and is actively seeking additional investors. Visit www.adheretech.com for more information.
"We are impressed with AdhereTech's prototype and the feasibility of their business model, and believe the solution has merit in supporting medication adherence," said Klaus Wilgenbus, SVP, PM business development and licensing strategy at Boehringer Ingelheim and Healthcare Innovation World Cup judge. "All of the finalists demonstrated outstanding quality and ingenuity in developing their solutions. It is evident that they are committed to creating innovations with the potential to make a real difference in the lives of people with diabetes and their families."
The three other finalists were:

• Team IITKgp, second place winners of $10,000; members Praful P. Pai, Pradyut Kumar Sanki, Satyabrata Sarangi. Team IITKgp is developing a non-invasive blood glucose measurement device, based on photoacoustic spectroscopy, to enable painless, sample-free and accurate glucose measurement for diabetics. Initial measurements performed on tissue have provided an accuracy of nearly 70% compared to reference measurements. The team is working to improve this accuracy and developing a portable prototype device for wide-scale use and commercialization. IITKgp operates from the Department of Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
• Team SmartSense, third place winners of $5,000; members Dr. Mayur M. Sadawana, Dr. Rohit Srivastava, and Dr. Yogesh Patil. SmartSense is a multianalyte sensing device for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). It is being developed to sense all the metabolites necessary for management of the condition with a single prick. According to team members, it is designed to reduce the pain and economic burden faced by patients with DKA. The developing team of SmartSense is based at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
• Team EndoGoal; members Dr. Jennifer Shine Dyer (Twitter's @EndoGoddess), and Jeff Harper, DuetHealth. EndoGoal is a mobile and web-based rewards program for people with insulin-dependent diabetes who track daily glucoses. Rewards include weekly prepaid visa cards and a virtual pet, and are based on a social business model. Revenue comes from users' family-and-friend 'sponsors.' For more information about the Columbus, Ohio-based initiative, visit www.endogoal.com.

"Considering the caliber of these finalists – as well as many other participants in this competition – the future of diabetes innovation is exceptionally bright. We anticipate big achievements for all four finalists, and are excited to follow their trajectories in the healthcare industry," said Cole Manship, director of the Healthcare Innovation World Cup and manager of new programs and initiatives at HITLAB. "We hope this competition serves as a solid platform for their ongoing success."
All four teams received $2,500 each for reaching the final round of the competition. Overall, more than 100 teams representing 20 countries around the globe submitted diabetes innovations for the Healthcare Innovation World Cup, which awarded a total $75,000 in prizes to semifinalists and finalists. For more information about the competition and judges, visit www.healthcareinnovationworldcup.com.
About the Healthcare Innovation World Cup
The Healthcare Innovation World Cup challenges entrepreneurs and innovators in healthcare and information technology to tackle global public health issues. In 2013, the competition invited participants worldwide to propose solutions for improving diabetes prevention and management, offering $75,000 in total prize money and opportunities to showcase their work. www.healthcareinnovationworldcup.com
About HITLAB
HITLAB is a cross-disciplinary public health teaching and research organization that studies and educates others about the impact of healthcare information and communications technology on public health. Based in New York, NY, the Lab's team includes faculty, scientists, research scholars and students from top universities around the world. www.hitlab.org

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/16/5425784/wireless-pill-bottle-wins-healthcare.html#storylink=cpy