Emergency medical service (EMS) providers in the United States assess an estimated 350,000 cardiac arrests each year. Only 5 to 10 percent of people who have sudden cardiac arrest survive. Better quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) provided by prehospital EMS providers may be associated with better patient outcome. The Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) is the largest clinical research network to study prehospital treatments for cardiac arrest in the United States and Canada. [More]

The National Retail Federation today expressed disappointment in the Senate health care reform bill introduced by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. [More]

The United States Senate is about to consider health system reform legislation which contains a 5% tax on cosmetic surgery deemed unnecessary for medical purposes. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) announces it strongly opposes the inclusion of this tax as it is discriminatory and has already failed in other states. [More]

With the Senate's test vote fast approaching, some lawmakers are disclosing where they stand. For instance, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said Friday he will vote with Democrats to advance to debate on a health care reform bill but that he's reserving the right to vote down the bill on final passage. [More]

A Lancet World Report examines how a small group of village volunteers trained in basic health care are helping to improve the health of Ugandan children. "In a country where government spending on health is US$39 per person and 13% of children younger than 5 years die, trained volunteer health workers can make a substantial difference in remote rural areas," said Jerome Kabakyenga, dean of Medicine at the Mbara University of Science and Technology (MUST). [More]

The deaths of 41 people from six countries who had received the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine were not directly linked to the vaccine, the WHO said Thursday, the Associated Press/MSNBC reports (11/19). [More]

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz writes about the so-called "botax." [More]

As Senate health bill consideration approaches a critical point, Majority Leader Harry Reid has taken ownership of it, The New York Times reports. "Should Mr. Reid shepherd the measure successfully through the Senate and meld it with the House version into final legislation that President Obama can sign, it would be the biggest accomplishment of his career." If he fails it would be a hard defeat for Democrats and him, especially when he faces a tough re-election campaign at home in Nevada (Hulse, 11/19). [More]

The New York Times: "The Senate is expected to vote Saturday on whether to take up the legislation. The majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, refused to say Thursday whether he had the 60 votes needed to clear that procedural hurdle." [More]

Spending to treat the health effects of obesity, $86 billion last year, will quadruple over the next decade, and almost half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2018, according to the annual America's Health Rankings study. [More]

New guidelines on mammograms and pap smears set off a fierce debate. [More]

"The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul," the Associated Press reports. [More]

These bills will provide a bedrock sense of security and stability for Americans who have health insurance, and quality, affordable options for Americans without it (Peter R. Orszag, 11/20). [More]

The Associated Press further analyzed its poll from earlier this week, with an eye on medical malpractice limits: "54 percent favor making it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mistakes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are opposed. The rest are undecided or don't know. But congressional Democrats are reluctant to press forward on the issue. They don't want to upset a valuable political constituency — trial lawyers — even if President Barack Obama says he believes that fear of being sued leads doctors to practice defensive medicine, driving up costs for everyone." [More]

Kaiser Health News: "The health care overhaul debate in Congress now centers on two bills: the House-passed measure and the Senate Democrats' version unveiled Wednesday. They differ in important ways." KHN provides a consumers' guide that discusses mandates, new regulations on health insurers and how the legislation would affect both the insured and uninsured (Appleby, Carey, Galewitz and Rau, 11/19). [More]