Healthcare News Update

Talk Medical (http://talk.news-medical.net). 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. Feature Blog Post The next health tsunami: Non-communicable diseases The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) called today on the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health. Read More

Latest News

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Obama continues pressing health reform, but softens on the deadline
President Barack Obama in remarks on Monday called out critics of his push for health reform and softened his timeline talk, The Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Obama-continues-pressing-health-reform-but-softens-on-the-deadline.aspx

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Steele assails "experimentation" in Obama's health reform effort
"The chairman of the Republican Party on Monday accused President Barack Obama of conducting 'risky experimentation' with his health care proposals, saying they will hurt the economy and force millions to drop their current coverage, The Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Steele-assails-experimentation-in-Obamas-health-reform-effort.aspx

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Key Senate panel struggles to reach consensus
"The Senate Finance Committee, which is seeking a bipartisan compromise, has failed to reach an agreement" on health care reform, Bloomberg reports, "even as two House committees and a Senate panel cleared their versions of the legislation with only Democratic approval."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Key-Senate-panel-struggles-to-reach-consensus.aspx

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House face-off looms over sweeping health bill
House Democrats, who last week touted their health overhaul bill after it passed two of three committees have fight on their hands this week.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/House-face-off-looms-over-sweeping-health-bill.aspx

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Obama readies stronger hand on health reform, plans meetings with players
The next two weeks of a health reform fight may prove pivotal for President Barack Obama's image and his ability to use his popularity to get things done, The Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Obama-readies-stronger-hand-on-health-reform-plans-meetings-with-players.aspx

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Taking positions: Some docs, businesses cheer while others oppose effort
As advocacy groups with a stake in health reform take positions in the health reform debate, their battle lines don't necessarily observe the boundaries of a given sector, industry or professional affiliation. "Business is far from unified in its lobbying efforts for health-care reform," McClatchy/Chicago Tribune reports. "The disparity dilutes its power and may contribute to a plan no faction wants -- or no plan at all."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Taking-positions-Some-docs-businesses-cheer-while-others-oppose-effort.aspx

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Obama administration silent on San Francisco health insurance ordinance
"As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider a restaurant group's challenge to San Francisco's health coverage ordinance, one voice is noticeably silent: the Obama administration's," The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Obama-administration-silent-on-San-Francisco-health-insurance-ordinance.aspx

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Insurers join public debate with new ad campaign
The insurance industry so far has "stayed at the bargaining table and held its fire in the ad wars," but "now, the industry is speaking up, not with an attack but with a seven-figure, national cable TV ad buy starting Monday in favor of affordable bipartisan health reform that can cover everyone," Politico reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Insurers-join-public-debate-with-new-ad-campaign.aspx

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Small businesses, doctors voice concerns about health reform
"Small business is suddenly playing a big role in negotiations over health care," NPR reports. "Supporters and opponents of various plans to overhaul the system are all trying to paint themselves as champions of mom and pop entrepreneurs."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Small-businesses-doctors-voice-concerns-about-health-reform.aspx

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One doctor's view: Electronic medical records work well
In an essay in the Los Angeles Times, Rahul Parikh writes about his own experience at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Northern California where they implemented an electronic medical record system in 2006.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/One-doctors-view-Electronic-medical-records-work-well.aspx

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Advocates push to end Medicare's two year wait for disabled
There are 1.8 million disabled Americans who wait two-years to enroll in Medicare. Many say that waiting period can be devastating.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Advocates-push-to-end-Medicares-two-year-wait-for-disabled.aspx

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Americans living with no insurance, or less insurance, during recession
Decisions about forgoing care because of the cost for the long-term uninsured have been a way of life, "but for a sizable group, being without a job and insurance is a new, deeply distressing condition," The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Americans-living-with-no-insurance-or-less-insurance-during-recession.aspx

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California budget could force seniors to nursing homes, drive up costs
NPR reports that California's $26.3 billion budget deficit is marginalizing seniors who rely on California state-provided health care and service to help them manage their lives.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/California-budget-could-force-seniors-to-nursing-homes-drive-up-costs.aspx

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Efforts to 'fix' Medicare payments at center of reform
The Wall Street Journal reports: "A plan to end a program that would cut government payments to doctors is emerging as the flash point in the debate over whether President Barack Obama's effort to overhaul the health system would increase the federal budget deficit.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Efforts-to-fix-Medicare-payments-at-center-of-reform.aspx

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Health overhaul issues fill the Sunday talk shows
The Associated Press reports: "President Barack Obama's advisers are urging critics of their health care overhaul to wait for Congress to finish writing legislation before issuing verdicts. They also signaled they are willing to wait longer than their White House-imposed August deadline for action if it means they can sway wary lawmakers.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Health-overhaul-issues-fill-the-Sunday-talk-shows.aspx

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Governors question Medicaid expansion while some states do more with CHIP
The New York Times reports that "The nation's governors, Democrats as well as Republicans, voiced deep concern Sunday about the shape of the health care plan emerging from Congress, fearing that Washington was about to hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without money to pay for them.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Governors-question-Medicaid-expansion-while-some-states-do-more-with-CHIP.aspx

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Can pen and paper help make electronic medical records better?
The results of a new study of the pen and paper workarounds employed by healthcare providers who use an electronic medical record system may help make electronic medical records even more useful to health-care providers and the patients they serve.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Can-pen-and-paper-help-make-electronic-medical-records-better.aspx

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e-Health revolution will give Australian patients access to their health records
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) which represents than 27,000 doctors across Australia has criticised the government's plans for 'e-health' medical records reform.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/e-Health-revolution-will-give-Australian-patients-access-to-their-health-records.aspx

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European agreement on injuries to health workers caused by 'sharps'
Unions and hospital employers have signed a Europe-wide agreement to set minimum standards for preventing injuries to health workers caused by 'sharps', including needles.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/European-agreement-on-injuries-to-health-workers-caused-by-sharps.aspx

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Software improves patient satisfaction at discharge from hospital
When hospitalists use discharge communication software, patients and the outpatient doctors who carry out the care have better perceptions of the quality of the discharge process, according to new research published in the August issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Software-improves-patient-satisfaction-at-discharge-from-hospital.aspx

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With pressure building, Baucus, Reid weigh in on timeline
Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Thursday that it is possible his committee could have a bipartisan deal by the end of the day, Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal reports (Yoest, 7/16).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/With-pressure-building-Baucus-Reid-weigh-in-on-timeline.aspx

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Senate panel advances health-care overhaul, but battle lines sharpen
"President Obama's ambitious drive to overhaul the nation's $2.3 trillion health-care system cleared a key Senate committee yesterday. But the administration was promptly buffeted by criticism from some of the industry players and moderate Democrats it has courted for months, calling into question the prospects for a bipartisan landmark bill," The Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Senate-panel-advances-health-care-overhaul-but-battle-lines-sharpen.aspx

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House Committees prepare for votes on health reform bill
Votes are planned Thursday in the House Education and Labor and Ways and Means committees on a $1.5 trillion plan to overhaul the nation's health care system, The Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/House-Committees-prepare-for-votes-on-health-reform-bill.aspx

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Obama presses lawmakers on health reform
In President Obama's push for health reform, "new fault lines are opening up everywhere you look. Liberals are worried that Obama is going squishy on including a strong, government-run 'public option' among the health-care choices available to Americans.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Obama-presses-lawmakers-on-health-reform.aspx

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Massachusetts hospital sues state over cost of universal care
"A hospital that serves thousands of indigent Massachusetts residents sued the state on Wednesday, charging that its costly universal health care law is forcing the hospital to cover too much of the expense of caring for the poor," according to the New York Times.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Massachusetts-hospital-sues-state-over-cost-of-universal-care.aspx

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Cost of health care reform emerges as 'lightning rod' issue
The cost of health care reform has emerged as a key battle in overhaul efforts. Attention is being paid to how costs will affect specific groups including the middle class and businesses.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Cost-of-health-care-reform-emerges-as-e28098lightning-rode28099-issue.aspx

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Senators seek $100 billion for health reform from insurers
"Key senators say they want to force the health insurance industry to pay as much as $100 billion toward the 10-year cost of the health care overhaul sought by President Obama," CQ Politics reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Senators-seek-24100-billion-for-health-reform-from-insurers.aspx

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Proposals may limit health insurance choices and squeeze some middle earners
"President Obama and leading Democrats have stressed that people who like their employer-sponsored insurance would be able to keep it, under a health care overhaul. But they haven't emphasized the flip side: That people who don't like their coverage might have to keep it," Kaiser Health News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Proposals-may-limit-health-insurance-choices-and-squeeze-some-middle-earners.aspx

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Lawsuits allege some medical device companies gave kickbacks to surgeons
Whistleblowers allege in lawsuits unsealed Wednesday that some medical device companies gave kickbacks to heart surgeons to get the doctors to use their products to treat a heart condition, The Wall Street Journal reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Lawsuits-allege-some-medical-device-companies-gave-kickbacks-to-surgeons.aspx

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Lobbyists elbow for attention as health reform votes loom
The conservative message on health care is that President Obama's revamp of the health care system in America will produce a costly government-run program that limits patient choice, The Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Lobbyists-elbow-for-attention-as-health-reform-votes-loom.aspx

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Obama administration proposes big changes in Medicare payment oversight
Determined to cut Medicare costs, the White House unveiled a plan that would shift much of the power over Medicare payment rates from Congress to the executive branch.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Obama-administration-proposes-big-changes-in-Medicare-payment-oversight.aspx

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Insurer, tech vendor plan major 'telehealth' network
A major health insurer, UnitedHealth, and a computer networking company, Cisco Systems, are teaming up to create "a network of virtual clinics to make medical care available in offices, stores and rural areas around the country," Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Insurer-tech-vendor-plan-major-telehealth-network.aspx

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Families struggle in low-, middle-income countries to pay for health care, study shows
IRIN examines a Health Affairs report that found "one in four families living in the world's poorest countries borrows money or sells assets in order to afford health care" (7/15).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Families-struggle-in-low-middle-income-countries-to-pay-for-health-care-study-shows.aspx

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American Nurses Association stands with Obama in calling for healthcare reform now
American Nurses Association (ANA) members joined President Obama today at a White House press conference, sending a strong message to Congress that the country no longer can wait to reform health care as rising costs threaten the financial stability of families and their ability to access health care services.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/American-Nurses-Association-stands-with-Obama-in-calling-for-healthcare-reform-now.aspx

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Obama on health reform: transcript
President Barack Obama spoke today in the Rose Garden on health care reform. The White House released his remarks.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Obama-on-health-reform-transcript.aspx

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Obama continues to press the importance of health reform
"Praising and prodding Congress at once, President Barack Obama on Wednesday said a vast reform of the nation's health insurance system is required to head off instability to families, industry and the government itself." He gave his remarks from the White House Rose Garden, where he was surrounded by nurses "to make his point," the Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Obama-continues-to-press-the-importance-of-health-reform.aspx

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Senate HELP Commitee completes health bill
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee "has passed legislation to revamp health care, becoming the first congressional committee to act on President Barack Obama's goal of overhauling the system this year," the Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Senate-HELP-Commitee-completes-health-bill.aspx

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House Democrats' health bill would tax rich to finance insurance expansion
House Democratic leaders Tuesday unveiled their bill to reform America's health care system - and insure an additional 37 million Americans over the next 10 years - to the tune of more than $1 trillion, funded mostly through an up-to-5.4 percent surtax on income for the wealthiest Americans, The Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/House-Democrats-health-bill-would-tax-rich-to-finance-insurance-expansion.aspx

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Despite some progress, key senators say August deadline a longshot
One day after President Obama told lawmakers to speed up their pace, three key Finance Committee senators expressed doubts about meeting the President's August deadline for passing a reform proposal, Politico reports. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he doesn't "see how" his colleagues can confirm the new Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, and pass a health bill in the time left before the August recess.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Despite-some-progress-key-senators-say-August-deadline-a-longshot.aspx

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Obama may settle for Democrat-only support to pass health reform
"President Barack Obama may rely only on Democrats to push health-care legislation through the U.S. Congress if Republican resistance doesn't eventually give way, two of the president's top advisers said," Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Obama-may-settle-for-Democrat-only-support-to-pass-health-reform.aspx

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New Hampshire's Medicaid program almost out of money
"Rising unemployment and spiking Medicaid and welfare caseloads have put [New Hampshire's] most recent budget to the test just two weeks after its adoption," New Hampshire Public Radio reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/New-Hampshires-Medicaid-program-almost-out-of-money.aspx

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Two major companies could join Wal-Mart in backing employer mandate
Target, the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, and Kelly Services, a temporary worker agency, said "they may support Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s call for mandatory medical insurance by large companies as part of a proposed overhaul of U.S. health care," Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Two-major-companies-could-join-Wal-Mart-in-backing-employer-mandate.aspx

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Economy squeezing access to health care
As unemployment rises, many Florida women are "turning to federally subsidized mammograms and pap smears, and county health officials are worried they could be overwhelmed," The Orlando Sentinel reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Economy-squeezing-access-to-health-care.aspx

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How much health care for $1 trillion?
USA Today asks what the additional $1 trillion cost of a health care overhaul (over 10 years) will actually buy. "Although the eye-popping price tag would help boost insurance coverage to 95% or more of the public, it's not enough to do everything advocates initially want.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/How-much-health-care-for-241-trillion.aspx

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Women veterans don't always get privacy at VA clinics
Veterans Affairs hospitals and outpatient clinics under review are not always complying fully with federal privacy requirements, often exposing women when they bathe or receive exams, according to government auditors, The Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Women-veterans-dont-always-get-privacy-at-VA-clinics.aspx

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Massachusetts' budget forces retreat from universal coverage
"The new state budget in Massachusetts eliminates health care coverage for some 30,000 legal immigrants to help close a growing deficit, reversing progress toward universal coverage just as Congress looks to the state as a model for overhauling the nation's health care system," the New York Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Massachusetts-budget-forces-retreat-from-universal-coverage.aspx

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Iowa lawmakers discuss reform and increased coverage for children
An overhaul of the U.S. health care system would probably help maintain improvements already made in Iowa, Gov. Chet Culver and other health advocates said Tuesday, according to the Des Moines Register.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Iowa-lawmakers-discuss-reform-and-increased-coverage-for-children.aspx

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Minnesota delegation wary of proposed health care reform
"Here's a little secret you might not know about the health care reform being debated in Washington: Minnesota might not want it," Minnesota Public Radio reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Minnesota-delegation-wary-of-proposed-health-care-reform.aspx

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Medicare fraud taints California device maker and New Jersey clinic
A California device maker settles a Medicare fraud case while a New Jersey doctor and his office manager are accused in a Medicare fraud scheme.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Medicare-fraud-taints-California-device-maker-and-New-Jersey-clinic.aspx

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Uninsured account for 20% of U.S. ER visits
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released new data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample -- the largest, all-payer emergency department database in the United States.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Uninsured-account-for-2025-of-US-ER-visits.aspx

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eHealth record system a step closer
The introduction of a national eHealth record systems appears to be progressing with delegates at the Australian Health Ministers' Conference agreeing to establishing a secure national system.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/eHealth-record-system-a-step-closer.aspx

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KHN's Eric Pianin discusses the House health overhaul bill
House Democrats released their health care reform bill called "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009." Kaiser Health News Correspondent Eric Pianin discussed the bill with Jackie Judd.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/KHNs-Eric-Pianin-discusses-the-House-health-overhaul-bill.aspx

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House Democrats unveil 1,000 page health bill, complete with surtaxes on wealthy
"House Democrats unveiled ambitious legislation Tuesday to remake the nation's health care system and called on medical providers, businesses and the wealthiest Americans to pick up the tab for President Barack Obama's top domestic priority," the Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/House-Democrats-unveil-1000-page-health-bill-complete-with-surtaxes-on-wealthy.aspx

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Details emerge as House Democrats plan to release health bill
"House Democrats are preparing on Tuesday afternoon to unveil a full draft of their sweeping health care legislation, including an income surtax on the country's highest wage-earners to help pay the 10-year, roughly $1 trillion cost of the measure," the New York Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Details-emerge-as-House-Democrats-plan-to-release-health-bill.aspx

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Senate Finance Committee under pressure to produce health bill
President Obama told Sen. Max Baucus that he wants a Senate Finance Committee health overhaul bill by the end of the week, The Associated Press reports. "These officials said Obama made his wishes known directly to Baucus, D-Mont., at a White House meeting Monday attended by administration officials and senior Democratic lawmakers."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Senate-Finance-Committee-under-pressure-to-produce-health-bill.aspx

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House Democrats to unveil health care bill details
"After a series of false starts, House Democrats are finally expected to unveil the details of a sweeping reform measure on Tuesday that would drastically revamp the country's health care system," Politico reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/House-Democrats-to-unveil-health-care-bill-details.aspx

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Obama urges lawmakers to move quickly on health bills
"After a weeklong overseas trip that pushed him to the fringes of Washington's health care debate, Mr. Obama moved aggressively to reclaim control," the New York Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Obama-urges-lawmakers-to-move-quickly-on-health-bills.aspx

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Mentally ill immigrants have slim chance at getting care when arrested
Many mentally-ill illegal immigrants get only limited mental health care, if any, while they are in jail or prison, advocates for them say, according to The Dallas Morning News.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Mentally-ill-immigrants-have-slim-chance-at-getting-care-when-arrested.aspx

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Support for health overhaul slipping
A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that "most Americans say it's important to overhaul health care this year," but "they are less enthusiastic about some of the proposals to pay for it," USA Today reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Support-for-health-overhaul-slipping.aspx

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Schwarzenegger fires three California Nursing Board members
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced most members of the state Board of Registered Nursing on Monday, citing the unacceptable time it takes to discipline nurses accused of egregious misconduct," The Los Angeles Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Schwarzenegger-fires-three-California-Nursing-Board-members.aspx

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Debate surrounds Federal system that rates nursing homes
A new federal rating system to track quality gives nursing homes mixed reviews. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the Nursing Home Compare Web site, which compares the nation's 15,600 homes. There were complaints that the old site was unmanageable.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Debate-surrounds-Federal-system-that-rates-nursing-homes.aspx

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Healthcare costs for U.S. companies seen rising nine percent
"Healthcare costs for U.S. businesses are seen rising by 9 percent in 2010, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers PWC.UL survey, which showed that employers will expect workers to pay more of the bill," Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Healthcare-costs-for-US-companies-seen-rising-nine-percent.aspx

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Abortion issue could derail health reform
Nineteen Democrats have written House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promising not to vote for a health bill that includes funding for abortion, igniting a debate that has the potential to derail a health care overhaul, NPR reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Abortion-issue-could-derail-health-reform.aspx

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Upcoming health IT decisions could spell success or failure
"An unprecedented effort to computerize the nation's hospitals and physician offices could be the key to reducing crippling health care costs - or a giveaway to technology vendors whose sales will be subsidized by taxpayers," the Dallas Morning News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Upcoming-health-IT-decisions-could-spell-success-or-failure.aspx

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Divisions emerge among Democrat lawmakers, business groups
As the health care debate intensifies, divisions among lawmakers, competing lobbies and interest groups are increasingly tense.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Divisions-emerge-among-Democrat-lawmakers-business-groups.aspx

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Republicans test public plan supporters' will
Congressional Republicans are pushing an idea unlikely to garner much traction that would force members of Congress who vote for a government-run public plan for health insurance coverage to enroll in it, Politico reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Republicans-test-public-plan-supporters-will.aspx

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Obama announces Regina Benjamin as Surgeon General pick
Dr. Regina Benjamin is President Obama's pick for surgeon general. The Alabama family physician has been an advocate for universal care, and is expected to have a role "at the table" in health reform, which would be an unusual degree of influence over policy for a surgeon general. Obama said Benjamin "represents what's best about health care in America."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Obama-announces-Regina-Benjamin-as-Surgeon-General-pick.aspx

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Senate panel looks to health insurers for health savings
"U.S. health insurers were in talks with the Senate Finance Committee Monday to discuss how to save the Medicare program $100 billion over a decade, a source familiar with the talks said," Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Senate-panel-looks-to-health-insurers-for-health-savings.aspx

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Key Democrats summoned to White House meeting
"The White House summoned two lawmakers critical to President Barack Obama's hopes for health care overhaul to a private meeting Monday as the timetable for a comprehensive bill continued to slip," the Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Key-Democrats-summoned-to-White-House-meeting.aspx

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Obama taps Alabama doctor to serve as Surgeon General
The Obama Administration signalled on Monday that Dr. Regina Benjamin is its nominee for the office of Surgeon General. "President Barack Obama turned to the Deep South for the next surgeon general, a rural Alabama family physician who made headlines with fierce determination to rebuild her nonprofit medical clinic in the wake of Hurricane Katrina," the Associated Press reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Obama-taps-Alabama-doctor-to-serve-as-Surgeon-General.aspx

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Obama's focus on health care crucial to reform
"After a week of international diplomacy, President Obama returns to Washington this week facing an even greater diplomatic challenge: nudging the large and controversial health-care reform package toward consensus on Capitol Hill," The Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Obamas-focus-on-health-care-crucial-to-reform.aspx

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House seeks to pay for reform with new tax on wealthy
House Democrats are expected to begin marking up a health reform bill this week that members of the Ways and Means committee said "would cost less than $1 trillion over 10 years, [and would be] paid for chiefly by a combination of spending reductions in the health care system and a surtax on wealthy taxpayers," CQ Politics reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/House-seeks-to-pay-for-reform-with-new-tax-on-wealthy.aspx

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Investigation finds problem nurses stay on job amid nursing shortage
A new market emerges for special end-of-life care that is inpatient and offers quiet rooms, home-like settings and high-tech alternatives.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Investigation-finds-problem-nurses-stay-on-job-amid-nursing-shortage.aspx

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Philadelphia area increases inpatient hospice care
A new market emerges for special end-of-life care that is inpatient and offers quiet rooms, home-like settings and high-tech alternatives.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Philadelphia-area-increases-inpatient-hospice-care.aspx

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Lobbying groups prepare for reconciliation process, step up fight on bill features
Lobbyists are beginning to consider how their clients would fare if health reform moves to a reconciliation process to pass legislation, Roll Call reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Lobbying-groups-prepare-for-reconciliation-process-step-up-fight-on-bill-features.aspx

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Federal program cracks down on Medicare fraud in Houston
A federal program targets Medicare fraud in the Houston area as news of three cases representing at least $35 million in false claims emerged within the past week.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Federal-program-cracks-down-on-Medicare-fraud-in-Houston.aspx

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Health reform stalled in Congress by busy schedule, divided lawmakers
"Lawmakers from both parties are telling the White House they will go on vacation next month and leave behind - and incomplete - President Barack Obama's health care overhaul," the Associated Press reports. The White House had long pushed lawmakers to complete their proposal by the recess, a target that now appears unlikely.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Health-reform-stalled-in-Congress-by-busy-schedule-divided-lawmakers.aspx

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Small business: The hunt for affordable health insurance
"For entrepreneurs trying to start or run a business, the obstacles are huge. But few loom as large as one: health care," the Wall Street Journal reports. "At some businesses, in fact, health care is the highest expense after salaries - with devastating consequences.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Small-business-The-hunt-for-affordable-health-insurance.aspx

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For doctors in Congress, little harmony on health care
"In the struggle to overhaul the nation's health care system, 16 physicians have ended up in ringside seats - as members of the House and Senate. But they have taken different lessons from their experiences in medicine, and they do not agree on what a bill should look like," The New York Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/For-doctors-in-Congress-little-harmony-on-health-care.aspx

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Slumping economy hurts health system, but stimulus provides some relief
The receding economy has dragged down Michigan's health care system, "offering a preview of how a lingering recession could corrode Americans' hospitals, savings and health," the Wall Street Journal reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Slumping-economy-hurts-health-system-but-stimulus-provides-some-relief.aspx

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Australian national health system on the waiting list
Any hope of a truly national health system as promised by Kevin Rudd in the run up to the last election now appears to have stalled, at least for the time being.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/Australian-national-health-system-on-the-waiting-list.aspx

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President Obama says health care doable but 'hard'
"President Barack Obama said Friday as he left an international summit in L'Aquila, Italy, that he believes a health-care bill will pass Congress this year, but said 'special interests who profit from the existing system' are actively 'scaring people,'" Politico reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/President-Obama-says-health-care-doable-but-hard.aspx

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Administration faces challenges from Democrats on health proposals
President Obama has asked Congress to deliver a bill by October that would "cut healthcare costs and provide medical coverage to most of the 46 million uninsured Americans," a goal that may no longer be realistic as members of the president's own party move to stall efforts, the Reuters/The Washington Post reports (Allen, 7/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Administration-faces-challenges-from-Democrats-on-health-proposals.aspx

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Tales of health insurance plights highlight overhaul efforts
Analysts say many in America take jobs they otherwise wouldn't simply for the health insurance coverage, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Tales-of-health-insurance-plights-highlight-overhaul-efforts.aspx

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Senate weighs new taxes to fund reform
"Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) presented his members Thursday with more than a dozen ways to pay for health care legislation, ranging from new fees on industry to an income-tax hike on couples making more than $1 million a year," Politico reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Senate-weighs-new-taxes-to-fund-reform.aspx

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New Medicare data compare hospitals based on readmissions
New data regarding hospital readmission rates have emerged "amid a national debate over how to reduce" these numbers, "which cost the federal government billions of dollars a year in Medicare reimbursements," the New York Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/New-Medicare-data-compare-hospitals-based-on-readmissions.aspx

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Health, business groups continue staking out reform positions
Reuters reports that the National Retail Federation has come out against mandated employer coverage for health care for their employees, a stance that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, supports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Health-business-groups-continue-staking-out-reform-positions.aspx

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Twenty people arrested in California Medicaid fraud case
Twenty people in California were arrested on Thursday "in a $4.6-million Medi-Cal fraud scheme that law enforcement officials allege used unlicensed individuals to provide in-home nursing care for disabled patients," The Los Angeles Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Twenty-people-arrested-in-California-Medicaid-fraud-case.aspx

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Medical staff cut down on hospital-acquired infections
CNN reports on Alfonso Torress-Cook and his efforts to eliminate fatal infections at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, California: "Torress-Cook is part of a growing movement in medicine that no longer accepts hospital-acquired infections as inevitable complications. Every year, such infections sicken 1.7 million and kill 99,000 people in the United States."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Medical-staff-cut-down-on-hospital-acquired-infections.aspx

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No Shriners hospitals closing; some may be outpatient-only
"All 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children will stay open, but some eventually might become outpatient-only surgery facilities, the system that offers free specialty pediatric care said Thursday," CNN reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/No-Shriners-hospitals-closing3b-some-may-be-outpatient-only.aspx

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Health insurance exchanges gain attention
Kaiser Health News reports on health insurance exchanges, a concept now being considered in the context of Congress's health overhaul proposals.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Health-insurance-exchanges-gain-attention.aspx

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Experts urge revamping of long-term Medicare funding mechanisms
Health policy experts see a major revamp of the long-term Medicare funding mechanisms as a critical part of health reform.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Experts-urge-revamping-of-long-term-Medicare-funding-mechanisms.aspx

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Many Washington State hospitals skimp on required charity care
"As the recession has cost more people their jobs and their health insurance, local hospitals have seen more patients show up with no way to pay," reports KUOW, a Washington State public radio station.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Many-Washington-State-hospitals-skimp-on-required-charity-care.aspx

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Democrats divided as Congressional health overhaul efforts stall
Senators working feverishly to pass health reform ahead of Congress' August recess raised doubts Wednesday on whether they will be able to pass reform on schedule, The Boston Globe reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Democrats-divided-as-Congressional-health-overhaul-efforts-stall.aspx

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Washington State insurers impose double digit rate hikes, again
"In what is becoming an annual ordeal for policyholders, Regence BlueShield is raising premiums for 135,000 individual health-plan members in Washington [state] by an average 17 percent on Aug. 1," the Seattle Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Washington-State-insurers-impose-double-digit-rate-hikes-again.aspx

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Administration officials take health reform reins in Obama's absence
White House staff and administration officials are trying to maintain their visibility on health care reform this week with public events and meetings as President Obama travels, Roll Call reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Administration-officials-take-health-reform-reins-in-Obamas-absence.aspx

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Payment reform: A trend in White House thinking
White House health reformers have pressed over the last month for payment reforms that would reward doctors and hospitals for spending less and delivering higher quality care, rather than simply providing a higher volume of services.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Payment-reform-A-trend-in-White-House-thinking.aspx

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Healthcare reform gets boost from hospital groups
"In the face of mounting Republican opposition to its healthcare agenda, the Obama administration received a boost Wednesday, winning a preliminary agreement with leading hospital groups to cut federal payments to the industry over the next decade," The Los Angeles Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Healthcare-reform-gets-boost-from-hospital-groups.aspx

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Health care overhaul ignores illegal immigrants
"As Congress wrangles with overhauling the health care system, there is one population not being discussed. No proposal for a national health plan would cover the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants," NPR reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Health-care-overhaul-ignores-illegal-immigrants.aspx

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States undergo a variety of health care policy developments
Connecticut: The Associated Press/Hartford Courant reports, "Gov. M. Jodi Rell has vetoed two health insurance bills he said were "well-intentioned" but "would cost the state billions of dollars before any economic recovery is complete."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/States-undergo-a-variety-of-health-care-policy-developments.aspx

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Disease News Update

Talk Medical (http://talk.news-medical.net). 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. Feature Blog Post The next health tsunami: Non-communicable diseases The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) called today on the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health. Read More

Latest News

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Clinton says U.S. will work with India to address health challenges, hunger
The U.S. will work to address the health challenges facing India among other countries and will aim to improve maternal and child health care services through comprehensive dialogue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday after visiting a Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) trade outlet in Mumbai, India, PTI/Yahoo! News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Clinton-says-US-will-work-with-India-to-address-health-challenges-hunger.aspx

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South Africa launches HIV/AIDS vaccine trial
"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/South-Africa-launches-HIVAIDS-vaccine-trial.aspx

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MSM HIV infection rates in some African countries significantly higher than general population rates, study says
HIV infection rates among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in "some African countries are 10 times that of the general male population, and stigma, poor access to treatment or testing are to blame," according to a Lancet study published online on Monday, AFP/China Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/MSM-HIV-infection-rates-in-some-African-countries-significantly-higher-than-general-population-rates-study-says.aspx

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IAS Conference begins, report says economic crisis forcing Africans living with HIV/AIDS off life-saving medications
At a news conference opening the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa, Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, expressed disappointment that the "G8 ignored the HIV-AIDS issue at its annual summit this month," which was "just four years after pledging at the 2005 Gleneagles [G8] summit to fight for universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010," the Globe and Mail reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/IAS-Conference-begins-report-says-economic-crisis-forcing-Africans-living-with-HIVAIDS-off-life-saving-medications.aspx

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New swine flu resource online
A new interactive website providing accurate, bang-up-to-date information on swine flu to the general public launches today.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/New-swine-flu-resource-online.aspx

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Gene variants associated with survival advantage in African Americans with HIV
From the start of the HIV epidemic, it appeared that some of the people who were infected with the virus were able to ward off the fatal effects of the disease longer than others.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Gene-variants-associated-with-survival-advantage-in-African-Americans-with-HIV.aspx

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Airlines blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu) has killed around a total of 430 people and as health officials worldwide grapple to deal with rapid rise in the number of cases, airlines in Britain are blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Airlines-blocking-travellers-suspected-of-having-swine-flu.aspx

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Swine flu jab may be available sooner
The Australian government is planning to spend $44 million over a four year period on extra vaccinations for seasonal flu - this will provide enough vaccinations for another 2.2 million people which will be available from January 1st next year.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Swine-flu-jab-may-be-available-sooner.aspx

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Researchers discover how flu damages lung tissue
A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090719/Researchers-discover-how-flu-damages-lung-tissue.aspx

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New perspectives in the treatment of disease
The team, led by Professor Matthias Mann of Novo Nordisk Center for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen and the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany, have detected 3,600 acetylation switches in 1,750 different proteins.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/New-perspectives-in-the-treatment-of-disease.aspx

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Fewer births in states such as California rates shifting rotavirus epidemics
Fewer births in states such as California may be delaying the annual onset of a common intestinal virus in the southwest, according to epidemiologists. The timing of infectious outbreaks in other locations such as the northeast remains more or less unchanged.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Fewer-births-in-states-such-as-California-rates-shifting-rotavirus-epidemics.aspx

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Polio update in Nigeria July 2009
In 2009, the northern states of Nigeria have experienced a large polio outbreak due to wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) with 258 cases, compared to 32 cases for the same period in 2008. WPV3 from northern Nigeria has this year spread internationally to Niger.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Polio-update-in-Nigeria-July-2009.aspx

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Majority of Americans' believe serious outbreak of H1N1 coming in fall/winter
As part of a series about Americans' response to the H1N1 flu outbreak, the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health is releasing a national poll that focuses on Americans' views and concerns about the potential for a more severe outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) in the fall or winter. The polling was done June 22-28, 2009.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Majority-of-Americans-believe-serious-outbreak-of-H1N1-coming-in-fallwinter.aspx

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AIDS Healthcare Foundation sues L.A. County to require condom use in pornography
In response to the County's inaction regarding the latest HIV outbreak and thousands of reported sexually transmitted diseases in LA's porn industry, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a press conference tomorrow, Friday, July 17th at 10:30 AM Pacific to announce the filing of a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) to require condom use in the production of pornography.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/AIDS-Healthcare-Foundation-sues-LA-County-to-require-condom-use-in-pornography.aspx

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South American health ministers gather in Argentina to discuss H1N1 preparedness
The health ministers of six South American countries gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday to "coordinate defenses against" the H1N1 (swine flu) virus which has killed nearly 200 people in the region," the AFP/Google.com reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/South-American-health-ministers-gather-in-Argentina-to-discuss-H1N1-preparedness.aspx

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IRIN examines efforts to improve sleeping sickness dectection
IRIN examines the efforts of the Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to develop less costly surveillance equipment to improve the ability to detect the parasitic disease trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in endemic countries.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/IRIN-examines-efforts-to-improve-sleeping-sickness-dectection.aspx

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Genome sequencing of schistosomiasis parasites could promote drug development
Researchers have sequenced the genomes of two parasites that cause bilharzia or schistosomiasis - a disease transmitted by water-borne snails that affects more than 200 million people worldwide - "revealing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by drug developers," Nature reports (Smith, 7/15).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Genome-sequencing-of-schistosomiasis-parasites-could-promote-drug-development.aspx

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WHO gives up counting swine flu cases
In its latest briefing on the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu), the World Health Organisation (WHO) says the unprecedented speed of the spread of the virus means reporting requirements and the data needed for risk assessment, both within affected countries and at the global level, are changing.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/WHO-gives-up-counting-swine-flu-cases.aspx

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Discovery of new transmission patterns may help prevent diarrhea-causing disease rotavirus
New vaccines have the potential to prevent or temper epidemics of the childhood diarrhea-causing disease rotavirus, protect the unvaccinated and raise the age at which the infection first appears in children, federal researchers reported in a study today.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Discovery-of-new-transmission-patterns-may-help-prevent-diarrhea-causing-disease-rotavirus.aspx

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Swine flu warning issued to pregnant women
Health officials are warning pregnant women to be extra careful in the midst of the current swine flu pandemic after three pregnant patients in New South Wales are in intensive care after contracting the novel H1N1 influenza virus.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Swine-flu-warning-issued-to-pregnant-women.aspx

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NPR examines Obama's 'broad' global health strategy; maternal health in Afghanistan discussed at congressional briefing
NPR reports on President Obama's "broad global health strategy," which would increase the amount of funding for family planning, maternal and child health programs to about a "half billion dollars" next year. According to NPR, "the U.S. has committed $230 million [over the next five years] directly to health in Afghanistan, whose government has already built 2,000 health facilities since the collapse of the Taliban regime" (Wilson, 7/15).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/NPR-examines-Obamas-broad-global-health-strategy3b-maternal-health-in-Afghanistan-discussed-at-congressional-briefing.aspx

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GlaxoSmithKline pledges $97 million investment in AIDS drugs for Africa, allows South African drugmaker to produce generic second-line treatment
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Tuesday announced plans to invest $97 million over 10 years "to improve research, development and access to AIDS drugs in Africa," Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/GlaxoSmithKline-pledges-2497-million-investment-in-AIDS-drugs-for-Africa-allows-South-African-drugmaker-to-produce-generic-second-line-treatment.aspx

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Review of Brazil's HIV/AIDS treatment programs shows importance of generic drugs, researchers say
"Brazil has been successful in its nearly 20-year effort to treat people living with" HIV/AIDS, and generic medicines have been "a large part of the solution," according to a recent Health Affairs review, UPI reports (UPI, 7/14).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Review-of-Brazils-HIVAIDS-treatment-programs-shows-importance-of-generic-drugs-researchers-say.aspx

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Prevalence of artemisinin monotherapies raising risk of resistence
Almost half of all artemisinin manufacturers and malaria-endemic countries are "failing to comply" with WHO requirements to sell the treatment in combination with other drugs, which is increasing the risk that malaria parasites will develop resistance to artemsinin, Nature reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Prevalence-of-artemisinin-monotherapies-raising-risk-of-resistence.aspx

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Flu mortality formula is potentially misleading, say scientists
A standard calculation used in forecasting potential numbers of deaths during the swine flu pandemic risks misleading healthcare planners by being open to both over- and under-estimation of the true figures, say the authors of new research published today in the British Medical Journal.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Flu-mortality-formula-is-potentially-misleading-say-scientists.aspx

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'Unstoppable Swine flu' and how to deal with it
Health authorities worldwide are preparing for what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed the 'unstoppable' spread of the new A/H1N1 virus (swine flu) for which Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, says a vaccine will not be available for several months to come.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Unstoppable-Swine-flu-and-how-to-deal-with-it.aspx

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Toronto Star columnist examines polio eradication in India
According a Toronto Star column, it is an "enormous challenge" for India's government to try to get all of its citizens immunized against polio. "It has used everything from elephants and camels to rickety boats and bikes to ferry the vaccine to remote regions where temperatures have topped 40C the past three months.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Toronto-Star-columnist-examines-polio-eradication-in-India.aspx

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Novartis to partner with OneWorld Health to develop diarrhea drug
"Swiss drug company Novartis AG and the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit group, will announce this week a partnership to discover drugs for a type of diarrhea that kills about 1.6 million children each year in the developing world," the Wall Street Journal reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Novartis-to-partner-with-OneWorld-Health-to-develop-diarrhea-drug.aspx

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WHO recommends vaccine makers move forward in mass production of H1N1 vaccine
"Saying the new H1N1 [swine flu] virus is 'unstoppable', the WHO gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain on Monday and said healthcare workers should be the first to get one," Reuters reports (Fox, 7/14).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/WHO-recommends-vaccine-makers-move-forward-in-mass-production-of-H1N1-vaccine.aspx

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Developing countries can successfully combat HIV/AIDS epidemic with generics
Brazil's nearly two-decade effort to treat people living with HIV and AIDS shows that developing countries can successfully combat the epidemic. Inexpensive generic medicines are a large part of the solution, say researchers from Brown University and the Harvard School of Public Health.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Developing-countries-can-successfully-combat-HIVAIDS-epidemic-with-generics.aspx

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Obama addresses Ghana's parliament, reiterates U.S. global health initiative
During his visit to Ghana over the weekend, President Obama praised the country for its achievements while calling on African leaders to take responsibility for the future of the continent, CNN reports. "Despite the progress that has been made - and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa - we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled," Obama said during a speech before the Ghanaian parliament (7/11).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/Obama-addresses-Ghanas-parliament-reiterates-US-global-health-initiative.aspx

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U.S. to commit additional $1 billion to H1N1 vaccine development
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday the U.S. has agreed to put an addition $1 billion towards ingredients for the production of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/US-to-commit-additional-241-billion-to-H1N1-vaccine-development.aspx

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More than half of malaria drugs in west Africa 'sub-standard quality,' says UNODC
VOA News reports that fake pharmaceuticals pose a greater risk to stability and human security in West Africa than illegal drug trafficking, according to U.N. Office Against Drugs and Crime report. More than half of the malaria medication available in West Africa is of "sub-standard quality," according to U.N. estimates, VOA News writes, adding, "West Africa has the highest estimated rate of malaria on the continent, with nearly 98 million cases of malaria per year."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/More-than-half-of-malaria-drugs-in-west-Africa-sub-standard-quality-says-UNODC.aspx

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The latest news on swine flu
The latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that as of the 6th of July the worldwide total of H1N1 influenza A cases (swine flu) had reached 94,512 including 429 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/The-latest-news-on-swine-flu.aspx

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Senate Committee approves bill to fund State Department global health programs, global fund
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 29-1 to pass a $48.69 billion draft bill to "fund the State Department and foreign affairs activities in fiscal 2010," CQ reports. "Global health programs would receive $7.8 billion, which is $434 million more than fiscal 2009 funding and $178 million more than the administration request.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Senate-Committee-approves-bill-to-fund-State-Department-global-health-programs-global-fund.aspx

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WHO approves second HPV vaccine
The WHO announced Thursday it had approved a second cervical cancer vaccine, opening "U.N. agencies and partners [to] now officially buy millions of doses of the vaccine for poor countries worldwide," where an estimated 80 percent of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur each year, the AP/Google.com reports (7/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/WHO-approves-second-HPV-vaccine.aspx

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U.S. moves forward with preparations for H1N1 vaccination campaign
The Obama administration on Thursday said a nationwide vaccination program could begin as early as mid-October to protect Americans from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and pledged $350 million to help prepare communities across the country for this effort, the Washington Times reports (Ward, 7/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/US-moves-forward-with-preparations-for-H1N1-vaccination-campaign.aspx

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Humans may give swine flu to pigs
The strain of influenza, A/H1N1, that is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Humans-may-give-swine-flu-to-pigs.aspx

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Obama cabinet members meet Thursday for H1N1 preparedness summit
"The White House, months before flu season, will roll out the big guns Thursday for a swine flu preparedness summit, underscoring the importance the Obama administration is placing on the pandemic," CNN reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Obama-cabinet-members-meet-Thursday-for-H1N1-preparedness-summit.aspx

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President Obama to visit Ghana Friday - major policy statement
IRIN reports that Ghanaians "are mixing high hopes with caution" in anticipation of President Obama's arrival in the country Friday – "his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa." Obama is expected to "make a major policy statement," according to IRIN. The article looks back at some of the commitments that former Presidents Bush and Clinton previously made to Africa (7/8).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/President-Obama-to-visit-Ghana-Friday-major-policy-statement.aspx

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Global Fund-financed programs reaching more people, report shows
The most recent statistics on programs funded in 140 countries through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria released Wednesday reveal "[m]ore than 2 million people living with HIV have been reached with life-saving treatment," the UN News Centre reports (7/8).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Global-Fund-financed-programs-reaching-more-people-report-shows.aspx

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One secret to how tuberculosis resists the host immune system
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world's most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, a report in the July 10 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers new insight into the bugs' talent for meager living.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/One-secret-to-how-tuberculosis-resists-the-host-immune-system.aspx

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ECOSOC's agenda should include noncommunicable disease threat in developing countries
"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO's director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/ECOSOCs-agenda-should-include-noncommunicable-disease-threat-in-developing-countries.aspx

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WHO to recommend countries stop testing for H1N1
Within the next few days, the WHO "will recommend that countries stop trying to test all suspected cases of swine flu, said Keiji Fukuda, the agency's assistant director-general of health security and environment," Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/WHO-to-recommend-countries-stop-testing-for-H1N1.aspx

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IPS examines need for new drugs to treat neglected tropical diseases
Inter Press Service News Agency examines the shortcomings of treatments for neglected tropical diseases - which, according to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), account "for 12 percent of the global disease burden," and 1.3 percent of the new drugs developed between 1975 to 2004.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/IPS-examines-need-for-new-drugs-to-treat-neglected-tropical-diseases.aspx

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Health indicators in South Africa vary by district, report indicates
In South Africa - "the quality of health care, including access to HIV prevention and testing services," largely depends on which of the country's 52 districts a resident lives in - according to findings in the latest District Health Barometer (DHB), an annual report by Health Systems Trust, IRIN reports. "Some of the inequities highlighted by the [report] can be traced to differences in health spending," IRIN writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/Health-indicators-in-South-Africa-vary-by-district-report-indicates.aspx

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Developing countries need $1 billion by end of year to cope with H1N1, U.N. says
Developing countries will need an estimated $1 billion by year's end to ensure their access to antivirals and vaccines to protect against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday, AFP/Google.com reports. "Funding had 'not been flowing as expected,' following appeals in recent weeks, [Ban] added," according to the news service (7/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Developing-countries-need-241-billion-by-end-of-year-to-cope-with-H1N1-UN-says.aspx

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Economic crisis already crippling global HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention programs, UNAIDS, World Bank report says
Global HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs are already feeling the effects of the global economic crisis, according to a report (pdf) released Monday by UNAIDS and the World Bank, AFP/Google.com reports (7/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Economic-crisis-already-crippling-global-HIVAIDS-treatment-prevention-programs-UNAIDS-World-Bank-report-says.aspx

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Artemisinin-based combination therapy for treating uncomplicated malaria
Current combination malaria therapies recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) provide adequate treatment for mild malaria, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review of the evidence. However, selected trials had high failure rates for some combinations and evidence for the effectiveness of anti-malarial therapies is lacking in some vulnerable groups.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Artemisinin-based-combination-therapy-for-treating-uncomplicated-malaria.aspx

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Iron supplements for preventing or treating anemia among children in malaria-endemic areas
Iron supplements do not increase the likelihood of contracting malaria and should not be withheld from children at risk of the disease, despite World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to the contrary, a new review by Cochrane Researchers suggests.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Iron-supplements-for-preventing-or-treating-anemia-among-children-in-malaria-endemic-areas.aspx

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U.S. military broad-based influenza monitoring system
The recent global swine flu outbreak has underscored the critical need for good surveillance and rapid access to epidemiological data. The US military, starting with early monitoring efforts in the 1970s, has developed a broad-based influenza monitoring system. In an article published in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers describe this little-known national jewel that has repeatedly made notable contributions to global influenza control through close collaboration with CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the WHO, and many other partners.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/US-military-broad-based-influenza-monitoring-system.aspx

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AP/Los Angeles Times examines Haiti's fight against HIV
The AP/Los Angeles Times examines Haiti's success at reducing the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the country through the work of the "nonprofit groups, Boston-based Partners in Health (PIH) and Port-au-Prince's GHESKIO, widely considered to be the world's oldest AIDS clinic."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/APLos-Angeles-Times-examines-Haitis-fight-against-HIV.aspx

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Communicable disease epidemics in developing world not being adequately addressed, IFRC says
The "crippling" and "growing burden" of communicable diseases such as dengue fever, polio, or meningitis is not being sufficiently addressed in developing countries, according to "The Epidemic Divide," a report released Monday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), AFP/Google.com reports. According to the report, resources to deal with existing epidemics are "scarce."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Communicable-disease-epidemics-in-developing-world-not-being-adequately-addressed-IFRC-says.aspx

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International health experts hold two-day H1N1 meeting
WHO leaders and international health ministers met Thursday for a two-day meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to share the lessons learned from the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) (Xinhua, 7/3) and strategies for "battling the pandemic," the AP/Washington Post reports (Rodriguez, 7/2).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/International-health-experts-hold-two-day-H1N1-meeting.aspx

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World poverty gains reduced, countries unlikely to achieve most MDGs, U.N. report says
The global economic downturn has "reversed a 20-year decline in world poverty" and could "add up to 90 million to the ranks of the hungry in 2009, an increase of six percent over current totals," according to a U.N. report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in Geneva on Monday, Reuters reports (Evans, 7/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/World-poverty-gains-reduced-countries-unlikely-to-achieve-most-MDGs-UN-report-says.aspx

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IRIN examines government officials, advocates reaction to global fund restructuring in Zimbabwe
IRIN examines how government officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in Zimbabwe are responding to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's decision to channel funds through the UNDP rather than the government-operated National AIDS Council (NAC).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/IRIN-examines-government-officials-advocates-reaction-to-global-fund-restructuring-in-Zimbabwe.aspx

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Pakistani refugees continue to be at high risk for disease, U.N. says
The 2 million Pakistani refugees forced from their homes due to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley continue to be at high risk for diseases "as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages," according to the U.N., Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Pakistani-refugees-continue-to-be-at-high-risk-for-disease-UN-says.aspx

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Global Fund faces $3 billion funding shortfall
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a budget shortfall of about $3 billion, Marcela Rojo, a Global Fund spokesperson, said on Friday, Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Global-Fund-faces-243-billion-funding-shortfall.aspx

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Vets learn how to track disease
Fourteen veterinarians from Indonesia are learning how to track and stop the spread of animal borne diseases in a three-week training program hosted by the University of Sydney.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Vets-learn-how-to-track-disease.aspx

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Whooping cough epidemic on North Coast of New South Wales
Health officials on the North Coast of New South Wales say there is now an epidemic of whooping cough in the region and they are advising young children and those who have close contact with them to be vaccinated.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090705/Whooping-cough-epidemic-on-North-Coast-of-New-South-Wales.aspx

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Swine flu different from ordinary flu in a number of ways
Scientists say new research has shown that the new H1N1 influenza strain (swine flu) is somewhat less contagious than seasonal flu, but appears to be more able to cause stomach upsets.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090705/Swine-flu-different-from-ordinary-flu-in-a-number-of-ways.aspx

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Concern over case of drug resistant swine flu
The influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak has now spread to almost all corners of the world - the last update, # 56, from the World Health Organisation (WHO) says there are now a grand total of 77,201 confirmed cases including 311 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090702/Concern-over-case-of-drug-resistant-swine-flu.aspx

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