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WHO provides medicines, related health supplies to flood-affected areas in Pakistan

The worst floods on record in Pakistan are placing the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with a high threat of waterborne disease outbreaks and immense damage to health facilities. WHO is coordinating the response of health partners and supporting Pakistani authorities by sending medicines and related health supplies capable of treating more than 200 000 people to the affected areas in the northwestern region of the country.

4 Aug 2010

Powered by Medicare Advantage, Humana profits jump 21% in second quarter

The Louisville, Ky., health insurer both "increased its Medicare Advantage membership," "benefited from patients' recent lower demand for health-care services" and also "sought to get out in front of an anticipated effect of the federal health-care overhaul, taking a charge related to new requirements for its medical-loss ratio," in attaining 21 percent profits, The Wall Street Journal reports.

4 Aug 2010

Mass. towns find savings in municipal-based health insurance plans; Conn. hospitals' earnings improve; Free dental clinic in Virginia

"Fourteen cities and towns that have moved their employees, retirees, and elected officials from their own municipal-based health care insurance plans into the state's much larger, more flexible system collectively saved more than $30 million their first year in the program, according to a new report. … The study relies on self-reported fiscal data on the communities' first year in the Group Insurance Commission, the state health care program, which covers some 300,000 state employees, retirees, and elected officials" (Murphy, 8/3).

4 Aug 2010

Judge gives the go-ahead to Virginia's health overhaul challenge

In a ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Virginia challenging a key aspect of the health care overhaul. The next round of arguments in this case is scheduled for October.

4 Aug 2010

Study analyzes prevalence of pediatric patient-safety events at hospitals

Hospital-acquired infections are the leading cause of potentially preventable mortality among pediatric patients, according to a study of pediatric patient-safety incidents issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent health care ratings organization.

4 Aug 2010

GTCR, Dale Wolf partner to create Jessamine Healthcare

GTCR, one of the nation's leading private equity firms, today announced it has entered into a partnership with Dale Wolf to form Jessamine Healthcare, Inc. The new company, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, will focus on acquiring companies in the healthcare payor and outsourced payor services industries.

4 Aug 2010

GE and Intel create new health IT venture focused on home-based care

General Electric Co. and Intel Corp. announced Monday they will create a company to provide new medical technologies for the elderly and chronically ill.

4 Aug 2010

CRICO/RMF achieves highest level of accreditation

CRICO/RMF has been awarded the highest level of accreditation, "Accreditation with Commendation," as a provider of Continuing Medical Education for physicians. This six-year accreditation is the result of an extensive (re)survey by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education in which CRICO/RMF demonstrated compliance in all 22 of its criteria.

4 Aug 2010

Administration touts Medicare savings report; Republicans complain it misleads seniors

A report issued Monday by the Obama administration found that the new health care law "will save Medicare $8 billion by the end of 2011, and $575 billion over the next decade, largely by improving care quality and preventing waste and fraud." The report also predicts that the overhaul will "extend the life of the program more than a decade.

4 Aug 2010

Celera decreases second-quarter net loss to $6.1 million

Celera Corporation today reported net revenues of $32.6 million for the second quarter of 2010 that ended June 26, 2010, compared to $41.4 million for the prior year quarter. For the second quarter of 2010, Celera reported a net loss of $6.1 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to a net loss of $31.7 million, or $0.39 per share, for the prior year quarter.

4 Aug 2010

Bayshore Home Health announces acquisition of CCT

Bayshore Home Health announced today the purchase of Windsor, Ontario-based home health care company Community Care Therapy Limited. The acquisition expands Bayshore's home care service offerings to include occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech language pathology.

4 Aug 2010

New health law is uncharted terrain for administration, insurers

The White House pressured insurers to begin covering kids with pre-existing conditions as soon as the health overhaul law was enacted, The New York Times reports. But after a few months, some insurers decided to stop offering "child only" plans altogether to minimize their losses. The give-and-take resulted in the White House saying insurers could limit enrollment to specific periods last week.

4 Aug 2010

New York lawmakers trying to revive 9/11 health care bill

Lawmakers are trying to bridge the gap between colleagues on the left and right in a bid to provide greater health coverage for 9/11 workers, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The bill was voted down [in the House] late Thursday night amid angry partisan finger-pointing, and now Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney and others have begun weighing options to make the bill more tolerable to factions on the right and left. … Already, Democrats are signaling a shift in strategy.

4 Aug 2010

Missourians vote today on health reform ballot initiative

Missouri voters Tuesday are weighing in on a ballot measure that would ban laws from requiring people to have insurance in a vote that is sure to send a political message but may not have much legal impact, The Associated Press/Columbia Missourian reports. "If it passes as expected, the Missouri measure could send a troublesome signal from a historical swing-state about the most high-profile accomplishment of Obama and the Democratic-led Congress." If it fails, Republicans will get burnt on an issue they have sought to pull into mid-term elections.

4 Aug 2010

Today's OpEds: WSJ on Virginia court ruling; Health law politics; For-profit insurers; Mass. doc shortage; Physician errors

All the smart people in the political, media and legal classes know that ObamaCare is constitutional and anyone who says otherwise is frivolous. This faux consensus, however, does not include a U.S. district court judge in Virginia, who yesterday rejected the Administration's argument that one of the key constitutional challenges should be dismissed outright. Now the case will proceed to arguments on the merits this fall (8/3).

4 Aug 2010

ImpactRx launches smart-phone application for physicians

ImpactRx, Inc., the pioneering force in measuring the impact of pharmaceutical promotion on the behavior of the nation's highest prescribing physicians, today announced the launch of an application for physicians that provides pharmaceutical companies with timely and actionable insight into drug therapy promotion and treatment activity. ImpactRx is leveraging the capabilities of this newly available smart-phone application by using iPhone with its longitudinal physician network.

3 Aug 2010

Advocate Health Care deploys Fusionfx physician portal

More than 5,000 physicians at Advocate Health Care, the largest fully integrated not-for-profit healthcare delivery system in Illinois, will have streamlined access to patient information across Advocate's 11 Chicago-area hospitals with the implementation of Fusionfx, a portal-based workflow solution from Carefx Corporation.

3 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 3, 2010

Today's headlines include reports about a federal judge's ruling regarding the Virginia challenge to the health reform law and about the Senate's latest delay in consideration of a state aid package that includes Medicaid assistance.

3 Aug 2010

Elsevier makes available key articles in support of World Breastfeeding Week 2010

In support of World Breastfeeding Week 2010, Elsevier - the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services - is pleased to open access to selected articles related to breastfeeding from the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, Midwifery and the Journal of Pediatric Health Care. Midwives and pediatric nurse practitioners play a central role in supporting and advocating for breastfeeding.

3 Aug 2010

TFAH commends U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's $1.27B approval for prevention and public health

The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) commended the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for approving an historic $1.27 billion for prevention and public health for fiscal year 2011. This proposed funding would include $750 million, the second installment of the new Prevention and Public Health Fund that was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

3 Aug 2010