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Florida health care transparency efforts measured

Florida health care transparency efforts measured

Transparency is a health-care catchphrase in the Florida Legislature this year, with lawmakers taking a closer look at how to beef up the state’s data collection and dissemination. With the 2019 legislative session starting Tuesday, members of the State Consumer Health Information and Policy Advisory Council were given updates on two of the state’s health care websites: Florida HealthFinder and Florida HealthPriceFinder. More from and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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» DeSantis wants more transparency for Florida's health care

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Brain cancer and immunotherapy treatment

Researchers at the University of Florida say they’ve made a discovery that could lead to an effective immunotherapy for brain cancer. Read the full story here and see more in our series below:

» Combination cancer treatments are the most successful

Florida ranks near bottom in services for babies, toddlers

Florida finished in the bottom 25 percent nationally in a new report on how well the state provides for babies and toddlers. The “State of Babies Yearbook 2019” cited Florida’s higher than national average numbers in several key metrics, including infant mortality rate, babies with low birth weight and uninsured low-income babies, for the ranking. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

'Miraculous' stem cell therapy has sickened people in 5 states

Over the past year, at least 17 people have been hospitalized after being injected with products made from umbilical cord blood, a little-known but fast-growing segment of the booming stem cell industry, according to state and federal health officials and patient reports. Sold as a miracle cure for a variety of intractable conditions, the injections have sickened people in five states, including Florida. [Source: ]

Moffitt survey: Too many doctors don’t know enough about their LGBTQ patients

Researchers from Tampa's Moffitt Cancer Center are working with two Florida universities to educate oncologists about better serving LGBTQ patients. A recent Moffitt-led survey revealed that many oncologists around the country do not know enough about the health needs of these patients. [Source: ]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Laser Spine Institute shuts down, lays off 500 nationwide
A Tampa-based medical institute has closed its doors abruptly, laying off more than 500 employees nationwide. The company opened in 2005 and advertised minimally invasive spinal procedures, performing nearly 100,000 procedures for neck and back pain.

› Publix and Flagler Health+ collaborate to improve care
Publix Pharmacy and Flagler Health+ announce an exclusive collaboration to improve the delivery of health care to the residents of St. Johns County, Florida. The collaboration initially includes three Flagler Health+ branded telehealth sites at Publix locations throughout St. Johns County and an on-site Publix Pharmacy at Flagler Hospital.

› Florida Health Department review shows no significant increase in rare cancer cases in Fort Pierce area
State health officials studying glioblastoma diagnoses in the Fort Pierce area through 2017 found no significant increases in the cancer. Glioblastoma is a form of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord. Residents in Fort Pierce believe there could be a cancer cluster there.

› USF St. Petersburg to launch a nursing program this fall
The University of South Florida St. Petersburg will debut a new nursing program this fall after a unanimous vote by the City Council that will give the program a temporary home. An agreement with the city grants USF a two-year lease on the downtown Port Terminal Building.