Health Care

Health care insurance enrollment here is near top of exchange

Spokane County sign-up numbers rival Snohomish

April 10, 2014

Washington State Health Benefit Exchange is one of the national leaders among states in enrolling participants in qualified health plans, and Spokane County is one of the top counties for enrollment in the state, based on preliminary data compiled by the

Sacred Heart Children's Hospital attains top designation

Facility is second in state to be tabbed

March 27, 2014

Lucas Thayer

The neonatal intensive care unit at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital has received the American Academy of Pediatrics' level IV designation, which the AAP describes as the highest level of care for premature and critically ill newborns. Sacred Heart s

Rockwood Clinic to open new south Valley office

Location to house primary care and family medicine

March 27, 2014

Katie Ross

Rockwood Clinic PS, of Spokane, has started renovating a 4,800-square-foot space in a strip mall in Spokane Valley and plans to open a primary care clinic there, Rockwood Chief Operating Officer Greg Repetti says. The total cost to renovate the space, lo

Startup aims at reducing waste of medical products

Website is marketplace for users to buy, sell, trade

February 27, 2014

Katie Ross

Spokane startup e-business H-Source LLC, which is promoting its website at www.h-source.com as a marketplace for hospitals and medical providers to buy, sell, and trade medicines and equipment, is pursuing funding to help it to expand the website and attr

Many employers hanging tough with dental coverage

But third of state residents lack oral-health insurance

February 13, 2014

Staff Report

The beginning of the New Year brought a lot of change in our health care system. Business owners and employees had many decisions to make. The changes in medical coverage from the Affordable Care Act and the challenges with enrollment were overwhelming-

Next-generation pathology is close to being reality

Digital review, genomic medicine among changes

February 13, 2014

David C. Hoak

When I was young, my father would take me to the lab on weekends. He would look at smears of blood under the microscope, place samples on circular blood plates to allow bacteria to grow, and type out biopsy and pap test reports by himself on a typewriter

Small-employer health insurance to evolve in '14

Cost, affordability to remain top of mind

February 13, 2014

Bill Akers

The last few months of news have not been kind to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Implementation of the Exchange has been smooth in Washington state compared with the badly flawed rollout of healthcare.gov nationally. But, regardless of

Noninvasive prenatal testing shows potential

Simple blood test can ID risk factors in pregnancy

February 13, 2014

Matt Tschirgi

There is a new blood test that is taking the world of prenatal diagnosis by storm: noninvasive prenatal testing. It can be performed on a pregnant woman as early as 10 weeks gestation, perhaps even before she has announced to family and friends that

Heart disease prevention program might delay memory loss

Practitioner says system could help deter dementia

February 13, 2014

Linn Parish

A heart-attack prevention method developed in Spokane and now used throughout the U.S. might be useful in staving off dementia as well, says one Spokane physician who is using the system. Dr. Jeff Emery, a prevention specialist with Spokane-based Northwe

Using software to treat rheumatoid arthritis

Company, practice here join to invent, market app

February 13, 2014

Katie Ross

Discus Analytics LLC, which launched in Spokane in May 2011, has collaborated with doctors here to invent and begin marketing a software application designed to help better treat rheumatoid arthritis and its progression. The company worked with physici