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Roundup: Calif. insurer's Avastin decision; Kansas dental care; Gov. Brown vetoes nursing bill

Blue Shield of California will stop covering new Avastin prescriptions for breast cancer patients starting Oct. 17. Patients already on the drug will still be covered, and exceptions could be made for individual cases reviewed by a panel of cancer experts. The not-for-profit insurer cited an unprecedented vote by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel that found the drug was not effective enough against breast cancer to risk its potentially dangerous side effects.

12 Oct 2011

U.S. donates record $56M to WFP for nutrition programs in Ethiopia

The U.S. has pledged a record $56 million donation from PEPFAR to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) aimed to "dramatically increase resources for programs in Ethiopia providing vital nutrition assistance to people living with HIV (PLHIV)," according to a WFP press release.

12 Oct 2011

Evidence suggests mosquitos in Kenya have developed chemical resistance, KEMRI official says

Speaking at a national malaria forum in Nairobi on Monday, Charles Mbogo of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) presented new evidence showing that malaria-causing mosquitos in Kenya have developed resistance to the most common chemicals derived from pyrethroids and DDT, which "could be a major blow to the country's strategy to eradicate malaria by 2017," Nigeria's the Nation reports.

12 Oct 2011

Thomson Reuters launches Infection Xpert solution

Thomson Reuters, a global provider of information for healthcare professionals, has launched Infection Xpert — a clinical intelligence dashboard that helps infection preventionists (IPs) manage and reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), capture and submit mandated infection reporting metrics, and analyze hospital infection data to improve patient safety.

12 Oct 2011

Halloween health tips for parents of children with diabetes

Ghosts, ghouls and goblins are suiting up for the yearly pilgrimage through neighborhoods shouting "Trick or Treat!" and begging for sweet treats that are synonymous with Halloween.

12 Oct 2011

HHS announces $82M in awards to help support facilities with nursing shortages

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced $82 million in awards to help bolster the country's nursing workforce. Administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the awards will provide financial support to nurses and nursing students in exchange for service at health care facilities with a shortage of nurses.

12 Oct 2011

Legislative update: Georgia GOP lawmakers push to dismantle health law; abortion funding issues reheating

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia's three physician members of Congress have been particularly active in the push to take apart the health law. Meanwhile, later this week, the abortion debate is likely to again take center stage in the House of Representatives.

12 Oct 2011

Final ACO regs face last looks before public release

The final regulations to implement the accountable care organization provisions of the 2010 health care reform law have entered one of their last steps, according to an online notice. The Office of Management and Budget began its review of the final rule for the ACO program, also known as the Medicare Shared Savings Program, on Oct. 5. Such OMB reviews are usually the last or one of the last steps that regulations take before they are publicly issued.

12 Oct 2011

Elsevier launches new browser for readers to explore protein interactions

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, medical and technical products and services, introduces the Protein Interaction Browser, a new application available on SciVerse ScienceDirect.

12 Oct 2011

Preliminary analysis suggests $258M HIV/AIDS prevention program in India may have prevented some 100,000 infections

A $258 million HIV/AIDS prevention program in six Indian states may have prevented an estimated 100,000 infections from 2003 to 2008, researchers from the Public Health Foundation of India and the University of Washington suggest in a study published in the Lancet on Tuesday, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

12 Oct 2011

K.S.R. Educational Institutions of India, MU sign five-year academic agreement

University of Missouri officials announced today a five-year agreement with K.S.R. Educational Institutions of India that will promote advanced research and training in nanomedicine and nanotechnology.

12 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: The value of testing for prostate cancer; rewards for transplant donors; Calif.'s medical marijuana problem

For men older than 50, a simple blood test to screen for prostate cancer is as much a part of annual physicals as weigh-ins and stethoscopes. The PSA test is painless, inexpensive and the only way to detect the disease -; the most common male cancer -; before symptoms turn up.

12 Oct 2011

AOA launches new easy-to-use Web site about contact lens safety

The American Optometric Association (AOA) launched www.ContactLensSafety.org, a new, easy-to-use Web site to help answer consumer questions about contact lens safety.

12 Oct 2011

Russian Foreign Minister says country's HIV/AIDS problem is being 'aggravated' by U.S., NATO refusal to eradicate poppy crops in Afghanistan

Speaking on Monday at a conference on communicable diseases in the eastern Europe and Central Asia region, where AIDS is a growing problem, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made Russia's case for poppy crop eradication by U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan asserting that the West "is aggravating the HIV/AIDS problem in Russia and the West by refusing to use its forces to destroy opium crops in Afghanistan," Reuters reports.

12 Oct 2011

Health situation grim as Greece weathers economic crisis

Researchers warn that the health of people in Greece could be in danger in the wake of the financial crisis. Writing in The Lancet, they said cuts to hospitals' budgets meant they were being overstretched.

11 Oct 2011

Effects of hospital competition on quality of care questioned

More research is needed before conclusions can be drawn about the effect of recent reforms on hospital quality, let alone about the merits of the coalition government's proposals to extend competition, warn experts on bmj.com today.

11 Oct 2011

Patients with poorly controlled diabetes may benefit from behavioral, educational interventions

Three randomized controlled trials published Online First today in Archives of Internal Medicine examine the effectiveness of behavioral and educational interventions for patients with poorly controlled diabetes.

11 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 11, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how Mitt Romney taking heat from the other GOP hopefuls, with some of the fire focusing on his Massachusetts health overhaul.

11 Oct 2011

Leading U.S. health insurance provider to implement Kofax's Atalasoft DotImage SDK

Kofax plc, a leading provider of capture driven business process automation solutions, today announced it will provide the Atalasoft DotImage software development kit (SDK) to a leading health insurance provider in the United States. The value of the contract to Kofax exceeds $150,000.

11 Oct 2011

Many cancer survivors continue to have poorer health years after completion of treatment

Forty-five per cent of cancer survivors in Northern Ireland suffer from physical and mental health problems years after their treatment has finished, according to new research from Macmillan Cancer Support and Queen's University Belfast.

11 Oct 2011

Healthcare News

Roundup: Calif. insurer's Avastin decision; Kansas dental care; Gov. Brown vetoes nursing bill

U.S. donates record $56M to WFP for nutrition programs in Ethiopia

Evidence suggests mosquitos in Kenya have developed chemical resistance, KEMRI official says

Thomson Reuters launches Infection Xpert solution

Halloween health tips for parents of children with diabetes

HHS announces $82M in awards to help support facilities with nursing shortages

Legislative update: Georgia GOP lawmakers push to dismantle health law; abortion funding issues reheating

Final ACO regs face last looks before public release

Elsevier launches new browser for readers to explore protein interactions

Preliminary analysis suggests $258M HIV/AIDS prevention program in India may have prevented some 100,000 infections

K.S.R. Educational Institutions of India, MU sign five-year academic agreement

Viewpoints: The value of testing for prostate cancer; rewards for transplant donors; Calif.'s medical marijuana problem

AOA launches new easy-to-use Web site about contact lens safety

Russian Foreign Minister says country's HIV/AIDS problem is being 'aggravated' by U.S., NATO refusal to eradicate poppy crops in Afghanistan

Health situation grim as Greece weathers economic crisis

Effects of hospital competition on quality of care questioned

Patients with poorly controlled diabetes may benefit from behavioral, educational interventions

First Edition: October 11, 2011

Leading U.S. health insurance provider to implement Kofax's Atalasoft DotImage SDK

Many cancer survivors continue to have poorer health years after completion of treatment

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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