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Johns Hopkins Hospital takes top spot in annual rankings of American hospitals for 20th year in a row

Once more — and for the 20th year in a row — The Johns Hopkins Hospital has taken the top spot in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of American hospitals, placing first in five medical specialties and in the top five in 10 others.

16 Jul 2010

Current global economic crisis finds few bright spots in mental health spending: Study

As the current global economic crisis drives up the demand for mental health care services, cash-strapped agencies are slashing mental health budgets, according to a new Brandeis University study out this month in the International Journal of Mental Health. However, while most nations are cutting spending, a handful of countries are earmarking funding to meet the anticipated growth in mental health problems.

16 Jul 2010

VCU Medical Center ranked in 2010-2011 Best Hospitals

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center on Thursday was ranked in the 2010-2011 Best Hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report, making it one of 152 medical centers nationwide selected out of nearly 2,000 eligible institutions.

16 Jul 2010

N.C. firms show health sector jobs not as recession-proof as advertised

Are health jobs recession proof? Try recession resistant. The Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal reports, "Health-care jobs might not be as recession-proof as was once thought, but they are still safer than jobs in many other fields, employment experts said yesterday, after Forsyth Medical Center announced a day earlier that 48 people would lose their jobs through layoffs… Large layoffs in the health-care industry have taken place elsewhere. In January, for example, Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton laid off 112 employees" (Graff, 7/15).

16 Jul 2010

ANA, HealthStream partner to expand and deliver online continuing education

HealthStream, Inc., a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the health care industry, today announced that the American Nurses Association (ANA) has partnered with HealthStream to expand the offering and streamline the delivery of its online continuing education (CE).

16 Jul 2010

WHO releases guidelines for countries on how to attract, retain doctors, health care workers to rural areas

BMJ News reports on the WHO's recent release of a set of recommendations for countries on how to attract and retain doctors and other health care workers in rural areas (Zarocostas, 7/14).

16 Jul 2010

New initiative to improve children's nutrition education, help them make smarter food choices

A new initiative to improve children's nutrition education and increase the amount of healthy foods available in schools is a collaboration among Penn State researchers; Pennsylvania's Departments of Health, Education, and Agriculture; Pennsylvania food manufacturers and food distributors; and school districts across the state.

16 Jul 2010

Judge says FTC likely overstepped authority in sharing drugmaker pay-for-delay info

A judge Wednesday criticized the Federal Trade Commission for the "strong possibility" that it "overstepped its bounds and shared confidential information" in a pay-for-delay case between the government and a generic drug company, Reuters reports.

16 Jul 2010

Republicans demand hearing on CMS head Berwick, block other nominees

Senate Republicans are still angry over President Obama's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

16 Jul 2010

Insurers will pick up preventive care costs under new rules

The recommendations of a federal task force on preventive care - once just suggestions for doctors - will soon become coverage requirements for private insurers under regulations unveiled Wednesday by the Obama administration, according to Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post. "Under the new health care overhaul law, insurers will be required to pay fully for services that get an "A" or "B" recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a volunteer group made up of primary care and public health experts."

16 Jul 2010

Sumner M. Redstone donates $24M to Keck School of Medicine of USC to support cancer research

The Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California has announced a $24 million charitable gift from media executive and philanthropist Sumner M. Redstone. The multi-million dollar gift will support cancer research directed by renowned oncologist David Agus, M.D., professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and director of the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and the USC Westside Prostate Cancer Center.

16 Jul 2010

Can abortion-rights activists return the procedure to mainstream medicine?

In the early 90s, anti-abortion activist Randall Terry declared doctors were "the weak link" in the fight against the procedure, The New York Times reports. Soon, the first of eight deadly attacks on doctors who perform abortion occurred, marking one facet of a shift of mainstream medicine away from abortions and leaving women seeking that type of care to go to specialty clinics operated by sympathetic feminists.

16 Jul 2010

Feds approve more funding for Medicaid recipients in Ohio while health costs strain town budgets in New Jersey

Federal regulators have approved a state plan to pay hospitals an additional $87 million this year for the care they provide to low-income Ohioans on Medicaid. The funds will be disbursed to hospitals by the end of this month. The bulk payment and a 5 percent increase in Medicaid reimbursement fees effective in October were included in last year's state budget to let hospitals recoup some of the money they were losing through a new state franchise fee. The fee is projected to cost hospitals statewide $718 million over the two-year budget ending June 30, 2011.

16 Jul 2010

Early HIV treatment reduces death, likelihood of TB, study finds

"Early treatment for HIV cuts patients' risk of death by about 75 percent," according to a study conducted in Haiti and published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The study also demonstrated that "early antiretroviral treatment reduces the likelihood of tuberculosis, a leading cause of death among HIV patients, by 50 percent," the news service writes (Aquino, 7/14).

16 Jul 2010

KHN column – Behind the scenes of health reform: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners

In this Kaiser Health News column, Timothy Jost writes: "The new health reform act has been widely criticized as a federal government takeover of the health care system. To a remarkable degree, however, the law actually relies on the states to reform health insurance" (7/15).

16 Jul 2010

ACTOS offers safety profile regarding risk of CV events in people with type 2 diabetes: Takeda

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee held a joint meeting primarily focused on reviewing the cardiovascular safety of rosiglitazone, as presented by the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline. Following this two day discussion, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. ("Takeda") underscores its position that ACTOS (pioglitazone HCl) offers an established safety profile regarding the risk of CV events in people living with type 2 diabetes.

16 Jul 2010

Federal task force on preventive care faces new challenge under health law

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, reports: "For years, an obscure federal task force sifted through medical literature ranging from colonoscopies to fluoride treatment, ferreting out the best evidence for doctors to use in caring for their patients. But now its recommendations have new financial implications, raising the stakes for patients, physicians and others in the health care industry"

16 Jul 2010

Abortion opponents say that elective abortions may be covered in high risk pools

Abortion opponents worry that vague language used in the new health care reform bill could lead to the coverage of elective abortions in new high risk insurance pools and say that may already be starting in New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

16 Jul 2010

Amnesty International reveals the rotting health care system in North Korea

According to a human rights group, Amnesty International, North Korea is unable to meet up to even the most basic health needs of its population. The report was released this Thursday.

15 Jul 2010

8.8% of drug-related hospital emergency department visits by adolescents is a suicide attempt

A new series of studies analyzing drug-related hospital emergency department visits throughout the country during 2008 reveals a substantial percentage of these visits involve suicide attempts. According to these studies conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) more than one in every twelve (8.8 percent) drug-related hospital emergency department visit by an adolescent is a suicide attempt - double the rate found among cases involving those age 25 and older (4.4 percent).

15 Jul 2010

Health Care News and Research

Johns Hopkins Hospital takes top spot in annual rankings of American hospitals for 20th year in a row

Current global economic crisis finds few bright spots in mental health spending: Study

VCU Medical Center ranked in 2010-2011 Best Hospitals

N.C. firms show health sector jobs not as recession-proof as advertised

ANA, HealthStream partner to expand and deliver online continuing education

WHO releases guidelines for countries on how to attract, retain doctors, health care workers to rural areas

New initiative to improve children's nutrition education, help them make smarter food choices

Judge says FTC likely overstepped authority in sharing drugmaker pay-for-delay info

Republicans demand hearing on CMS head Berwick, block other nominees

Insurers will pick up preventive care costs under new rules

Sumner M. Redstone donates $24M to Keck School of Medicine of USC to support cancer research

Can abortion-rights activists return the procedure to mainstream medicine?

Feds approve more funding for Medicaid recipients in Ohio while health costs strain town budgets in New Jersey

Early HIV treatment reduces death, likelihood of TB, study finds

KHN column – Behind the scenes of health reform: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners

ACTOS offers safety profile regarding risk of CV events in people with type 2 diabetes: Takeda

Federal task force on preventive care faces new challenge under health law

Abortion opponents say that elective abortions may be covered in high risk pools

Amnesty International reveals the rotting health care system in North Korea

8.8% of drug-related hospital emergency department visits by adolescents is a suicide attempt

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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