Monday 6 April 2009
Health Care News - 7th April 2009
We'd like to remind you about our latest website launched late 2008, Talk Medical (http://talk.news-medical.net). Here you can post news from your organization or company, post events you are involved in or feel would be of interest to the wider community, blog to your heart's content on current health issues or simply just share any interesting health stories you may have. Featured Posts Health of Women is Indeed Our Precious Wealth
W o r l d H e a l t h D a y 7 April 2009 Health of Women is Indeed Our Precious Wealth On this year's World Health Day, let us focus on addressing issues that can improve health status of women. A wide array of socio-economic, cultural and gender-based inequalities continue to aggravate risk for women. The latest effort in this direction was a symposium on ‘nutrition in women’ held in New Delhi . Its main aim was to draw attention to the very pertinent observations of a ‘Multi Centric Study on… Continue The Welcomed Medical Benefits Of Stem Cell Therapy Over 100 years ago, a Russian histologist suggested stem cells be applied for scientific research. They are the human body’s equivalent of a generator, as they can renew, regenerate, and replicate under the right conditions. The apex of cellular therapy and regenerative/reparative medicine has been reborn after an 8 year moratorium that basically halted federal funding for stem cell research with most states in the U.S. Now the NIH can award grants to scientists involved with biomedical resear… Continue Breastfeeding reduces risk of childhood obesity
Three decades ago, it was proposed that disease risk in human adults may be programmed by environmental influences acting on hormones, metabolites and neurotransmitters, during sensitive periods of early development. Since then, much supporting evidence for this hypothesis has… Continue |
Latest News
Improving U.S. hospitals' efficiency could save at least $4 billion, Thomson Reuters says
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47982
U.S. hospitals can improve patient care and save at least $4 billion by being more efficient, according to Thomson Reuters, Reuters reports.
CMS announces $35.8 million for state health insurance assistance programs
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47985
CMS on Friday announced that State Health Insurance Assistance Programs will receive $35.8 million to provide health insurance information to Medicare beneficiaries, CQ HealthBeat reports.
GAO official names first 13 members of HIT Policy Advisory Committee
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47986
Government Accountability Office acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro last week named 13 members to a policy committee on health care information technology established under the federal economic stimulus package, CongressDaily reports.
Lawmakers prepare for budget resolution conference committee, reconciliation likely will be sticking point
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47987
House Budget Committee Chair John Spratt (D-S.C.) on Thursday said he hopes the conference for the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution happens "as soon as possible" so that the appropriations process can begin quickly, CongressDaily reports.
Minorities more likely than others in California to be uninsured, families USA Survey finds
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47978
Minorities in California are more likely than others to be uninsured in the last two years, according to a Families USA survey released last week, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Georgia insurance commissioner launches inquiry into out-of-network payments
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47979
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine (R) has ordered 18 insurers that operate in Georgia to report how they establish reimbursement rates for out-of-network services, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Mississippi Medicaid fraud-prevention rule criticized for eliminating beneficiaries from program
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47980
Mississippi state lawmakers last week rejected efforts to repeal a state rule requiring Medicaid beneficiaries to show up in person to renew their enrollment each year, the AP/Miami Herald reports.
Getting the word out when the need for speed is critical to public health
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47883
When the need for speed is critical, how can a public health department communicate with doctors and hospitals, sending alerts to help prevent or stop a public health crisis? How can thousands of health-care providers be notified about disease outbreaks, illness from food borne contaminants or even a possible pandemic?
Congress approves budget resolutions
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47901
The House and Senate on Thursday approved their respective versions of the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution (HConRes85, SConRes13), both of which include deficit-neutral reserve funds for health care, CongressDaily reports (Sanchez/Friedman, CongressDaily, 4/3).
Senate unlikely to vote on Gov. Sebelius' nomination as HHS Secretary until later this month
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47902
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's choice for HHS secretary, "sailed through" a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday, but the Senate likely will not take up the nomination until later this month because of objections for an immediate vote by several Republican members, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 4/3).
Seattle not-for-profits awaiting stimulus funds to continue providing health care, other services to ethnic communities
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47894
Many Seattle not-for-profits that provide health care and other services to ethnic communities "are eagerly awaiting" the distribution of funds from the economic stimulus package, the Northwest Asian Weekly reports (Nguyen, Northwest Asian Weekly, 4/2).
Critics say Louisiana proposal to penalize doctors not meeting standards provides wrong type of incentive
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47895
A Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals proposal to implement performance standards for physicians who care for low-income residents has come under criticism from child care advocates who say the program will lead doctors to stop participating in the state's CommunityCARE program, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.
About 500,000 Californians have lost health insurance during recession
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47896
About 500,000 working-age Californians have lost their health insurance since the economic recession began in November 2007, according to a report the University of California-Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education released Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Congressional progressive caucus issues letter stating majority of members will only support health reform that includes public plan option
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47900
A majority of members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will not support any health reform legislation that does not include a public plan option, according to a letter sent on Thursday by CPC co-chairs Reps. Lynn Woosley (D-Calif.) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, Roll Call reports (Bendery, Roll Call, 4/2).
Massachusetts spent $793.7 million in FY 2008 on health coverage for employees of large businesses, report finds
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47897
The cost of providing subsidized health coverage to Massachusetts residents and their families who work for large companies increased by 24.6% to $793.7 million in the last fiscal year, according to a state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy report released on Wednesday, the Boston Globe reports.
More large employers offer chronic disease management programs to reduce health care costs
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47899
Eighty percent of large U.S. companies this year are offering chronic disease management programs for workers in an effort to reduce health care costs, up from 51% last year, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, the Houston Chronicle reports.
One out of five Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within a month
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47812
When a patient is discharged from the hospital, just about the last thing he or she wants is to be back in again within the next month.
One of five hospitalized Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47751
One of five Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the hospital is readmitted within 30 days, and half of non-surgical patients are readmitted to the hospital without having seen an outpatient doctor in follow-up, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.
Compassion fatigue: Impact on healthcare providers of caring for the terminally ill
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47770
Compassion fatigue in nurses, doctors and other front line cancer-care providers significantly impacts how they interact with patients, with patient families, with other healthcare workers, and with their own family, according to analysis by Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute researchers published in the March issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.
What patients really think of intensive care unit follow-up services
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47729
Former patients believe that intensive care unit (ICU) follow-up services are important for their physical, emotional and psychological recovery.
Brightly coloured uniforms improve perceptions of hospital nurses among children and parents
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47734
Putting hospital nurses in brightly coloured, unconventional uniforms makes children more comfortable and parents more confident, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.
Hospital-to-hospital health information exchange begins
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47726
LifeBridge Health has begun an electronic exchange of health information between its two hospitals, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and Northwest Hospital, and Saint Agnes Hospital, a community hospital with an overlapping service area.
Higher hospital safety rating not associated with lower risk of in-hospital death
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47724
Hospitals that reported higher scores on measures of safe practices did not have a significantly lower rate of in-hospital deaths compared to hospitals that reported lower scores on these measures, according to a study in the April 1 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
U.S. Supreme Court denies request for emergency injunction to block healthy San Francisco employer contribution mandates
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47701
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Golden Gate Restaurant Association's request for a temporary order barring San Francisco from requiring restaurant owners to contribute toward workers' health care costs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/31).
California stimulus funding not enough to stave off cuts to some health care services
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47702
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday signed five bills into law that allow California to receive more than $17.5 billion in federal economic stimulus aid, but the funding will not be enough for the state to avoid $3 billion in tax increases and cuts to services to balance its budget, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Minorities underrepresented in New York state physician workforce, study finds
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47705
Few minorities in New York state are entering the health care field despite an increase in the number of minorities moving there, according to a study recently published by the University at Albany's Center for Health Workforce Studies, the Albany Times Union reports.
HHS report says health reform vital to U.S. economy as costs rise, quality of care worsens
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47696
Comprehensive health care reform is necessary this year because of rising costs and the declining quality of care, according to an HHS report released on Monday, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.
President Obama meets with house Democrats, links passage of budget with ability to move on health reform
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47695
President Obama on Monday met with House Democrats in closed-door sessions to discuss his fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, during which he linked the passage of his budget to the ability to act on major issues including health care reform, Politico reports.
Pennsylvania health system decreasing complications, costs with 'warranty' system emphasizing best practices
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47700
The Washington Post on Tuesday examined how Pennsylvania's Geisinger Health System has successfully improved outcomes for elective heart surgery patients through its 90-day warranty program, which charges a flat fee covering the cost of the procedure and any needed follow-up care. Geisinger operates its own insurance plan and has 41 clinics, three hospitals and 650 staff physicians.
Couples retiring this year need $240,000 to cover medical expenses
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47697
65-year-old retired couple this year would need $240,000 on average to cover medical expenses, according to a recent study by Fidelity Investments, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
CMS announces new rules for Medicare Advantage plans that aim to protect sick beneficiaries from high out-of-pocket costs
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47698
CMS on Monday announced that insurers looking to offer Medicare Advantage plans this year must cap out-of-pocket charges and that the agency will eliminate MA plans that have 10 or fewer beneficiaries, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Retention is part of the answer to the nursing shortage
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47638
A new research study, published in the March/April issue of the journal Nursing Economics, has determined what factors can help keep new nurses from leaving their jobs and - in doing so - save health systems money.
Low-income families with sick children often enrolled in high-deductible health care plans
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47641
High-deductible health plans are increasingly used by healthy people who are unlikely to incur high medical expenses.
Disease/Infection News Update from News-Medical.Net - 7th April 2009
We'd like to remind you about our latest website launched late 2008, Talk Medical (http://talk.news-medical.net). Here you can post news from your organization or company, post events you are involved in or feel would be of interest to the wider community, blog to your heart's content on current health issues or simply just share any interesting health stories you may have. Featured Posts Health of Women is Indeed Our Precious Wealth
W o r l d H e a l t h D a y 7 April 2009 Health of Women is Indeed Our Precious Wealth On this year's World Health Day, let us focus on addressing issues that can improve health status of women. A wide array of socio-economic, cultural and gender-based inequalities continue to aggravate risk for women. The latest effort in this direction was a symposium on ‘nutrition in women’ held in New Delhi . Its main aim was to draw attention to the very pertinent observations of a ‘Multi Centric Study on… Continue The Welcomed Medical Benefits Of Stem Cell Therapy Over 100 years ago, a Russian histologist suggested stem cells be applied for scientific research. They are the human body’s equivalent of a generator, as they can renew, regenerate, and replicate under the right conditions. The apex of cellular therapy and regenerative/reparative medicine has been reborn after an 8 year moratorium that basically halted federal funding for stem cell research with most states in the U.S. Now the NIH can award grants to scientists involved with biomedical resear… Continue Breastfeeding reduces risk of childhood obesity
Three decades ago, it was proposed that disease risk in human adults may be programmed by environmental influences acting on hormones, metabolites and neurotransmitters, during sensitive periods of early development. Since then, much supporting evidence for this hypothesis has… Continue |
Latest News
California HIV/AIDS group launches web-based program aimed at MSM
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47972
The Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert AIDS Project has launched an Internet-based education and prevention program aimed at men who have sex with men, the Desert Sun reports. The program was launched ahead of the area's White Party Easter weekend, according to the Sun.
Inter Press service examines research into PrEP
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47973
Inter Press Service last week examined how researchers are investigating the use of antiretroviral drugs as a possible method of pre-exposure prophylaxis. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition's Executive Director Mitchell Warren recently said that such efforts are "a pivotal moment in HIV/AIDS research."
Ugandan First Lady calls for increased efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47974
Uganda's first lady Janet Museveni recently called for increased efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in the country, Uganda's New Vision reports.
Cambodia aims to decrease HIV/AIDS prevalence to 0.6% by 2010
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47975
Cambodia aims to decrease its HIV/AIDS prevalence to 0.6% by 2010, compared with a prevalence of more than 0.7% in 2008 and 0.9% in 2006, Xinhuanet reports.
First Lady Obama to partner with French First Lady Bruni-Sarkozy on global HIV/AIDS efforts
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47976
First lady Michelle Obama and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on Friday in Strasbourg, France, agreed to collaborate on efforts to address HIV/AIDS worldwide, AFP/Google.com reports.
Partner behavior better predicts STD risks
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47938
Risky behaviors such as not using condoms or having sex with multiple people put young adults at risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases, but perhaps not as much as the characteristics of their sexual partners, University of Florida researchers say.
Locking parasites in host cell could be new way to fight malaria
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47930
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that parasites hijack host-cell proteins to ensure their survival and proliferation, suggesting new ways to control the diseases they cause.
Experts discuss disease-fight dollars for developing world
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47915
The debate over how to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked to fight AIDS and other killer diseases in developing countries will come under the spotlight at a meeting of international experts.
UNITAID reaches deal with travel agencies to raise donations for HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47889
UNITAID on Wednesday announced that it has reached an agreement with three travel reservation systems that will allow users to make voluntary $2 donations to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria efforts, AFP/Google.com reports.
U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS, malaria initiatives represent 'new approach' to foreign aid, opinion piece says
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47892
In her book "Dead Aid," author Dambisa Moyo comes to "disastrously wrongheaded conclusions" regarding U.S. foreign aid, columnist Michael Gerson writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.
Doctors identify patients at high risk of Clostridium difficile
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47773
Doctors have developed and validated a clinical prediction rule for recurrent Clostridium difficile ( C. difficile ) infection that was simple, reliable and accurate, and can be used to identify high-risk patients most likely to benefit from measures to prevent recurrence.
Self-collection of samples in sex workers works best when screening for STIs
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47747
Researchers at the University of Westminster have used a simple and convenient method for screening female commercial sex workers (CSW) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) without the need for them to attend clinics.
Need for more African American HIV/AIDS researchers
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47748
African Americans, who make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, are disproportionately affected by AIDS, accounting for nearly 49 percent of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases nationwide.
A magic bullet for superbugs
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47741
Attaching an antimicrobial drug, which is activated by light, to a peptide that binds to bacteria and stops them making toxins, produced a "magic bullet" that was highly effective at killing the superbug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Insecticide spraying targeted at mosquito larvae can help control malaria in urban areas, study says
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47704
The use of insecticide to kill mosquitoes during the larval stage of development can control malaria effectively in urban areas when combined with existing malaria interventions, such as insecticide-treated nets, according to a study published Tuesday in PLoS One, ANI/Thaindian News reports.
Somali religious leaders increase efforts to reduce stigma, discrimination for people living with HIV/AIDS
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47692
Islamic religious leaders in Somalia are increasing efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive people in the country, IRIN/Plus News reports. Religious leaders in the predominantly Muslim country are encouraging people to treat HIV-positive people with respect and are becoming involved in HIV prevention efforts, according to IRIN/Plus News.
Teacher-student relationships in Kenyan province places girls at increased risk for HIV, education official says
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47693
An increasing number of sexual relationships between teachers and students in Kenya's Nyanza province is placing girls at increased risk of HIV/AIDS, Geoffrey Cherongis, Nyanza's provincial director of education, said recently, IRIN/Plus News reports. Cherongis said that some HIV-positive teachers engage in sexual relations with female students and spread the virus to "young girls who hardly know the kind of thing they are getting into."
Funding HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria 'smart investment,' U.N. Secretary General Ban says
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47690
Funding programs aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is a "smart investment," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday in a video message to a meeting in Cacares, Spain, to call on donors to fund United Nations-supported efforts against the three diseases, Xinhuanet reports.
Health officials in Canadian province develop communications strategy to address increase in HIV cases
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47691
Health experts are developing plans to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in response to the virus' rising incidence in the province, Moira McKinnon, Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, said recently, the Regina Leader-Post reports.
'Compassion,' 'sense of justice' could 'motivate' Washington, D.C., to 'do more' for HIV-positive people, opinion piece says
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47694
"[C]ompassion and a sense of justice can motivate" the Washington, D.C., community "to do more" for people living with HIV/AIDS in the district, Patricia Wudel -- executive director of Joseph's House, which provides hospice services for HIV-positive people -- writes in a Washington Post opinion piece in response to an earlier opinion piece by columnist Courtland Milloy (Wudel, Washington Post, 3/29).
Community spread of trachoma could be stopped by treating all household members
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47625
All members of the household need to be treated for trachoma in order to prevent rapid re-infection, according to a new study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Regular handwashing more important than isolation in controlling MRSA infection
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47631
Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors did more to prevent the spread of the MRSA superbug than isolating infected patients.
Intestinal parasites significantly reduce immune response to the cholera toxin
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47636
Cholera patients also infected with parasitic intestinal worms have a significantly reduced immune response to the cholera toxin, according to a report published March 31st in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
River blindness under control in Escuintla, Guatemala
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47611
An international team of researchers led by Rodrigo Gonzalez of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala reports that the transmission of onchocerciasis or river blindness has been broken in Escuintla, Guatemala, one of the largest endemic areas in the Western Hemisphere to date to stop the transmission of the parasitic disease.
AHF lauds 'Lancet' editorial criticizing Pope on condoms and HIV
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47616
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today lauded the respected British medical journal, 'The Lancet,' for its strongly-worded editorial criticizing Pope Benedict XVI for his public remarks early last week suggesting that condoms are fueling the spread of AIDS in Africa.
AP/Google.com examines efforts to address drug-resistant tuberculosis in China, other countries
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=47606
The AP/Google.com on Monday examined efforts to prevent and control the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China and other countries.
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