Consumer Health News and Research

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Poor handling of oranges in squeezing machines stimulates bacterial contamination

Scientists from the University of Valencia in Spain have analysed fresh orange juice squeezed by machines in catering establishments. They have confirmed that 43% of samples exceeded the acceptable enterobacteriaceae levels laid down by legislation. The researchers recommend that oranges are handled correctly, that juicers are washed properly and that the orange juice is served immediately rather than being stored in metal jugs.

15 Dec 2011

Pfizer acquires Ferrosan Consumer Health's business

Pfizer Inc. today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Ferrosan Consumer Health's business, which includes dietary supplements and lifestyle products, from Altor 2003 Fund GP Limited.

1 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: The role of IT in transforming health care; the GOP raises super committee stakes

Why can't Americans tap into the ingenuity that put men on the moon, created the Internet and sequenced the human genome to revitalize our economy? I'm convinced we can. We are in the early phases of the next big technology-driven revolution, which I call "consumer health." When fully unleashed, it could radically cut health care costs and become a huge global growth market.

11 Nov 2011

Health Net selected as double-winner in 18th annual National Health Information Awards

Health Net, Inc. was selected as a double-winner in the 18th annual National Health Information Awards. The program is coordinated by the Health Information Resource Center, a national clearinghouse that recognizes the nation's best consumer health information programs and materials.

5 Nov 2011

Perry unveils new economic plan

In political developments, media outlets analyzed GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's new plan, which includes a national flat tax, would cut discretionary funding by at least $100 billion a year, and would overhaul Medicare and Medicaid. In other news, a new poll uncovers deep distrust of the government, with about a quarter of the public in favor of repealing the entire health law.

27 Oct 2011

FDA, other regulatory and international partners complete International Internet Week of Action

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory and international partners have completed the International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), a cooperative effort to curb online sales and distribution of counterfeit and illegal medical products.

30 Sep 2011

Phytel launches new suite of automated care management solutions

Phytel today launched the next generation of automated care management solutions with its integrated Atmosphere™ platform, which enables providers to better manage quality and proactively improve chronic and preventive care across their populations. These scalable, Software-as-a-Service automation tools together comprise the first comprehensive, integrated population health management solution designed for providers.

19 Sep 2011

State roundup: Moving vets off Medicaid; San Fran. grapples with loophole

About 9,500 veterans were removed from the Medicaid rolls under the Washington state initiative since the program began in 2003, saving the state $27 million, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. And now Oregon is taking baby steps toward imitating the success

4 Aug 2011

Children and adolescents should not consume sports drinks

“Caffeine-containing "energy" drinks should never be used by children and adolescents, and carbohydrate-rich "sports" drinks should be restricted or avoided completely,” according to an American Academy of Pediatrics report in the journal Pediatrics.

29 Jun 2011

Is it safe to give babies and toddlers cough medicines?

Consumer health website, www.itsmyhealth.com.au reports that over-the-counter cold remedies can do more harm than good.

20 Jun 2011

Gleevec shows significant overall survival benefit for patients w/ GIST after 3 years of adjuvant treatment vs. 1 year

Novartis announced new data today showing a significant improvement in both recurrence-free survival and overall survival for patients taking Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate)* tablets for three years after surgery to remove KIT (CD117)-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (KIT+ GIST) compared to one year of treatment. These data will be presented at the 47th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) plenary session on Sunday, June 5.

6 Jun 2011

State roundup: Colo. Gov. Vetoes cost sharing bill for children's health plan

Gov. John Hickenlooper issued his first veto Tuesday, nixing a measure that would have required certain parents whose children are enrolled in a state health care plan to pay higher premiums.

2 Jun 2011

Medicaid flexibility bill approved by House Energy and Commerce subcommittee

The measure, which Medicaid advocates say would "devastate the program," would repeal the maintenance of effort provision in the health law which prevents states from cutting eligibility rules before 2014. GOP backers argue it is the best way to give states more flexibility to deal with the program as they face budget shortfalls.

13 May 2011

Mental health initiatives get a major boost

The Federal Government is taking initiatives in introducing preventive metal health steps. One of them is introduction of mental health checks for three-year-olds.

12 May 2011

Evive Health COO to discuss latest fitness technologies at a radio show

Prashant Srivastava, COO of Evive Health, will discuss the latest health and fitness technologies available to help employers better engage their employees in health and wellness on "Tech Talk with Craig Peterson," airing Sunday, May 1, at 4 p.m. EDT.

30 Apr 2011

PDHI adds Risky Drinking and Depression health action plan to its online library

Protocol Driven Healthcare, Inc. has added Risky Drinking and Depression to its online health action plan library, a component of the ConXus Steps product.

2 Apr 2011

P&G, Teva sign partnership agreement for consumer health care

The Procter & Gamble Company and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced the signing of a master agreement to create a partnership in consumer health care by bringing together both companies' existing over-the-counter medicines and complementary capabilities to accelerate growth.

25 Mar 2011

GSK announces new NovaMin-containing dental formulation for sensitive teeth

This year, for the first time, millions of Americans will be protecting their sensitive teeth with NovaMin in everyday dental products. Co-inventor Gary Hack, DDS, couldn't be happier.

11 Mar 2011

Roundup: Florida considering major cuts to mental health programs; Texas patient groups fight back on Medicaid plans; Calif. weighs limiting Medicaid patients' trips to doctors

In the committee rooms and corridors of the state Capitol, lobbyists are looking for clues about which programs will get slashed. On Wednesday, mental-health and substance-abuse programs got more than a clue. In fact, it looked like a bulls-eye (Saunders, 1/27).

28 Jan 2011

ETP introduces online epilepsy diary management tool to advance patient care

The Epilepsy Therapy Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating new therapies for people living with epilepsy and seizures and the parent organization of epilepsy.com, today announced that it has expanded the use of its online epilepsy diary management tool with the launch of a new app developed to run on the Android mobile operating system.

18 Jan 2011