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New approach can reduce depression in patients with AMD-related low vision

Depression is a common risk for people who have lost their vision from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but a new study shows that a type of rehabilitation therapy can cut this risk in half. The study was funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

9 Jul 2014

Minn. home health care workers file for union election

More than 26,000 are eligible to cast votes on whether to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), in one of the largest organizing drives in the state's history.

9 Jul 2014

Calif. small businesses can keep non-conforming health plans next year

Elsewhere, a lawsuit accuses a big California insurer of deceptive enrollment practices, and consumers see that provider lists are often out-of-date and inaccurate.

9 Jul 2014

First Edition: June 9, 2014

Today's headlines include a status report on GOP discussions and debate over plans to replace the health law as well as coverage of emerging legislation to override the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision.

9 Jul 2014

Auditor’s presence increases hand hygiene rates in healthcare workers

Hand hygiene rates were found to be three times higher when auditors were visible to healthcare workers than when there were no auditors present, according to a study in a major Canadian acute care hospital.

9 Jul 2014

National prevention strategy for a healthy lifestyle

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disorders - the incidence of these non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is constantly rising in industrialised countries.

9 Jul 2014

Mercy Memorial Hospital System signs LOI to join Promedica

Mercy Memorial Hospital System signed a letter of intent to join ProMedica, a not-for-profit, multi-hospital system based in Toledo, Ohio.

9 Jul 2014

UCLA project receives $15M to restore lost memory functions in brain-injured people

The UCLA Program in Memory Restoration has been awarded up to $15 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a four -year project aiming to help brain-injured people restore lost memory functions.

9 Jul 2014

Penrose Senior Care Auditors, The Caregiver Partnership join forces to improve lives of aging seniors

Penrose Senior Care Auditors, the only national company that checks on seniors and their living conditions, and reports back to their loved-ones, is pleased to announce a partnership with The Caregiver Partnership, a leading online resource for home health care products, services and family caregiving information.

9 Jul 2014

Trauma device and reconstructive joint implant market in Latin America expected to reach $1.75 billion by 2022

Decision Resources Group finds that the market for trauma devices and reconstructive joint implants in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico will be driven by favorable demographics, high numbers of motor vehicle accidents and improving access to health care, which will allow more patients to undergo these procedures.

9 Jul 2014

Rowan researcher gets $2.8 million to alleviate effects of disasters on older people

Nothing could have prepared New Jersey's residents for the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Particularly hard hit was the state's elderly population. While statistics show that elderly residents accounted for 65 percent of the deaths associated with the storm, little is known about the lasting effects on those who survived, particularly how the storm and its aftermath contributed to functional declines and disability in older adults.

9 Jul 2014

Use of minimally invasive surgery varies widely across US hospitals

Hospitals across the country vary substantially in their use of minimally invasive surgery, even when evidence shows that for most patients, minimally invasive surgery is superior to open surgery, a new study shows. The finding represents a major disparity in the surgical care delivered at various hospitals, the study's authors say, and identifies an area of medicine ripe for improvement.

9 Jul 2014

Health issues become the largest contributor of stress for Americans, poll finds

A new NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health poll released today that examines the role of stress in Americans' lives finds that about half of the public (49%) reported that they had a major stressful event or experience in the past year. Nearly half (43%) reported that the most stressful experiences related to health.

9 Jul 2014

Study gives parents, doctors new options to treat children with eczema

The number of children with atopic dermatitis, often referred to as eczema, is on the rise. Some estimate that one in five children in the U.S. now suffers from the painful, itchy skin condition. In an effort to control their symptoms, many children are prescribed powerful medications like immunosuppressants or topical steroids.

9 Jul 2014

State spending on prisoner health care trending downward since peak

State spending on prisoner health care increased from fiscal years 2007 to 2011, but it is trending downward from its peak in 2009, according to a new report from the State Health Care Spending Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

9 Jul 2014

State highlights: N.Y. legalizes medical marijuana; La. Medicaid paid for ineligible inmate care; Md. checking Medicaid rolls for unqualified

New York on Monday became the 23rd state to legalize certain forms of marijuana for medical reasons as Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation into law at an event in Manhattan. The measure, which passed both houses of the legislature during the final moments of the legislative session, in June, is significantly more restrictive than other medical-marijuana laws in the nation (Orden, 7/7).

9 Jul 2014

Researchers discover novel biomarker that could help predict preeclampsia

University of Iowa researchers have discovered a biomarker that could give expecting mothers and their doctors the first simple blood test to reliably predict that a pregnant woman may develop preeclampsia, at least as early as 6 weeks into the pregnancy.

9 Jul 2014