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Women to benefit from new TFRI ovarian cancer initiative

Women throughout the world will benefit from a new, pan-Canadian Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) initiative that aims to change the way in which ovarian cancer is diagnosed and managed.

14 Oct 2011

India faces nutrition crisis despite growing prosperity

India's Hindustan Times reports on "a striking contrast between rising economic prosperity and stagnating rates of malnutrition" in Mumbai, where "80,000 children ... are malnourished, according to government data, a statistic that makes Mumbai the most malnourished city in India."

14 Oct 2011

Compelling Hope Symposium to explore new approaches for nerve and paralysis injury

Located at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, the Center for Treatment of Paralysis and Reconstructive Nerve Surgery will host the second annual Compelling Hope Symposium on Saturday, November 5th at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

14 Oct 2011

'Doc fix' dilemma makes debt panel's job more difficult

According to Reuters, sources indicate panel members are interested in taking on this Medicare issue, but doing so would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and complicate their efforts to find federal budget savings. Meanwhile, in related news, AHIP -; America's Health Insurance Plans -; is lobbying the committee regarding an approach to debt reduction that involves coordinating care for dual eligibles.

14 Oct 2011

Health IT incentives may not always work as intended

About half of the first batch of federal dollars meant to encourage doctors and hospitals to switch to electronic records went to providers who were converts to the technology long before the stimulus program was announced, an iWatch News analysis suggests.

14 Oct 2011

WFP says millions in Yemen going hungry, warns of 'serious humanitarian situation'

"The U.N. World Food Programme [WFP] said Wednesday that more Yemenis were going hungry because of rising food prices and severe fuel shortages brought about by months of political unrest," Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Oct 2011

Legislation news: Obama promises to veto anti-abortion bill

The House is expected to pass an abortion-related bill today, but like other similar legislation, it is not likely to make progress in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Meanwhile, a number of other health-related measures and subjects are moving on both sides of the Capitol, including a rural health proposal and another related to a health tax credit aimed at easing the contractor tax compliance burden. Lastly, two Senate Democrats expressed concerns about the Prevention Trust Fund's advisory panel.

14 Oct 2011

Employees face new choices, costs and benefits this open enrollment season

This month kicks off open enrollment season, when many of us dread the annual confrontation with our employer health benefits plan. ... Here are some tips -; from experts such as Consumer Reports' Nancy Metcalf and from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners -; for consumers who are making decisions on employer-sponsored health plans.

14 Oct 2011

Tart cherries can help fight America's Fruit Fatigue

Just four fruits - oranges, bananas, apples and watermelons - account for nearly half of America's fruit intake. Eating a variety of rich-colored fruits is essential to an overall healthful diet, but most Americans are falling far short of the daily recommended consumption of fruit. Only one in five Americans is currently getting the recommended 1 to 2 cups of fruit each day. In fact, Americans only average 42 percent of the recommended fruit, so the gap is significant.

14 Oct 2011

Reuters: Medicare Part B premiums going up, cuts into Social Security COLA

After two years without an inflation adjustment, the Social Security Administration is expected to announce a 2012 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of more than 3 percent next week. That would be a sizable raise in this economy, and very welcome news to seniors hit hard by rising costs, slumping home equity and very low returns on fixed-income investments. But the good COLA news will come with a nasty kicker.

14 Oct 2011

Detailing how Romney's health law waivers would work

Politico reports on how GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's health law waiver plan would work -; states could skirt some of the measure's biggest requirements, but it's still not a complete repeal. Meanwhile, news from the campaign trail indicates that Romney is facing attacks from GOP rival Texas Gov. Rick Perry as well as from the White House. And, as Herman Cain, another GOP candidate, picks up momentum, details of his 9-9-9 economic plan are emerging -- including the fact that it would eliminate payroll taxes that pay for Medicare and Social Security.

14 Oct 2011

Conrad: Efforts to repeal health law via budget procedures would be 'misusing' the rules

Also in the news, media outlets report on a range of issues related to the health law's implementation, including accountable care organizations, essential benefits and an HHS warning about a fake website related to the measure's pre-existing condition insurance plan.

14 Oct 2011

Public reports do not improve care for transplant patients

When transplant clinics must publicly report their success rates, this should provide an incentive to improve care for patients. But a recent study appearing in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN) found that such public reporting has not had any effect on the care that transplant patients receive.

14 Oct 2011

World Food Prize symposium examines link between food security and health, poverty efforts

KPLU 88.5's "Humanosphere" blog reports on the World Food Prize symposium and Borlaug Dialogue taking place in Iowa this week, where "about 1,000 people, including many former heads of state and top agricultural policy folk, are gathered together to talk about … how to feed the planet's growing population."

14 Oct 2011

Medicaid waivers, enrollment problems plaguing states

More than a dozen House Democrats from California met recently with Medicaid boss Donald Berwick to warn him that Gov. Jerry Brown's request for deep cuts to the state/federal program would devastate healthcare providers and their patients, The Hill has learned. Brown, a Democrat, has put the Obama administration in a tough spot with his request to cut the state's Medicaid program by $1.4 billion to help plug a $26.6 billion budget gap.

14 Oct 2011

NINDS announces grant to support work of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest non-profit organization in the United States focused on finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), announced that it has received a grant from the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes for Health.

14 Oct 2011

Lower-income, urban dads encourage exercise and healthy diet for their children

Lower-income, urban dads are involved in their children's health and encourage them to exercise and eat healthy foods, reports a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. But these same dads may also give their kids the wrong dose of medicine and may be uncomfortable handling emergency medical care for their children.

14 Oct 2011

IRIN reports on efforts to increase access to contraceptives, curb population growth in Madagascar

IRIN reports on women's efforts to curb population growth in Madagascar, "one of 12 developing countries receiving support to improve access to contraceptives through the U.N. Population Fund's (UNFPA) Global Programme to Enhance Reproductive Health Commodity Security."

14 Oct 2011

EMBO, EMBC and Singapore sign cooperation agreement

Scientists in Singapore and Europe will have new avenues for scientific interaction, following a cooperation agreement between EMBO, its intergovernmental funding body, EMBC, and the government of Singapore.

14 Oct 2011

NICHQ receives CDC grant to accelerate number of U.S. Baby-Friendly hospitals

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded nearly $6 million over three years to the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality to help hospitals nationwide make quality improvements to maternity care to better support mothers and babies to be able to breastfeed. The goal of the project is to accelerate the number of U.S. Baby-Friendly hospitals.

14 Oct 2011