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Obamacare enrollment reaches 4 million

About 700,000 people have selected a health plan so far in February, but officials couldn't say how many of those people have paid their first month's premium. For enrollment to reach the revised goal of 6 million, more than double the number of people will have to sign up in March.

27 Feb 2014

Researchers find link between acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

In a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Saint Louis University researchers have found a link between acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and pancreatic cancer, a finding which may eventually lead to some pancreatic cancers being detected earlier.

27 Feb 2014

Ark. House delays vote on Medicaid expansion; Maine lawmakers offer compromise

In Arkansas, the House held off on a fifth vote for funding the state's "private option." The Maine compromise would expand Medicaid while also reforming the program.

27 Feb 2014

Researchers discover new target for human antibodies that holds key to vaccine for dengue

Creating a vaccine that protects people from all four types of dengue virus has frustrated scientists for decades. But researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered a new target for human antibodies that could hold the key to a vaccine for the world's most widespread mosquito-borne disease.

27 Feb 2014

UAB launches pilot program to detect earlier stages of glaucoma

Glaucoma is a silent disease. It does not hurt, symptoms are slow to develop, and most people do not notice any loss of vision until it is too late. A project by ophthalmologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will examine whether a partnership with community-based optometrists will improve detection and treatment of glaucoma, especially for high-risk populations.

27 Feb 2014

In some states, Medicaid expansion intersects with immigration issues

News outlets examine how federal and state provisions on health care coverage set out an uneven landscape for low-income Americans, legal immigrants and those who came to the country illegally as children and who were given legal status for two-year periods.

27 Feb 2014

Obesity rate for young children falls 43 percent

The study by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention reported the decline among 2- to 5-year-old children -- the first significant drop ever reported. Rates for the broader population remain unchanged, however.

27 Feb 2014

UNC receives $40M for clinical trials unit devoted to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and research

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a seven-year, more than $40 million award from the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trials unit that will implement the scientific agendas of five NIH networks devoted to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and cure research.

27 Feb 2014

Breast cancer survivors should get regular exercise to enjoy high quality of life

Older women who have overcome breast cancer are likely to struggle with heart disease, osteoporosis and hypertension further on in their lives. Whether these conditions occur or not is influenced by the treatment that patients received to fight cancer, their overall weight and their age.

27 Feb 2014

Study: Medical homes haven't saved money or substantially improved care

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a pilot project that organizes care for patients in order to improve care quality and reduce costs improved neither substantially.

27 Feb 2014

Georgia docs finally see Medicaid pay raise

In the meantime, Minnesota's hospitals saw their uncompensated care costs increase at the slowest rate in five years.

27 Feb 2014

Obama, Boehner meeting touches health law, but resolves little

The President and the house speaker met Tuesday in the Oval Office, but there was little indication any progress was made on resolving their differences on the health law.

26 Feb 2014

White House leaning on party stalwart, core supporters to sell health law

The White House is using former President Bill Clinton and a Democratic governor from a Republican state to sell the health law to a still-skeptical public. In the meantime, volunteers for Obama's Organizing for Action are urged to focus their efforts on enrolling the public in Obamacare.

26 Feb 2014

Elsevier titles recognized in AJN Book of the Year Awards

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26 Feb 2014

New scientific blood analysis predicts short-term mortality in humans

The general state of a person's metabolism can be diversely illustrated with a new scientific blood analysis. With the aid of the analysis biomarkers predicting short-term mortality have now been discovered

26 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Finding a plan for 'tinkering with DNA'; fact-checking claims of ACA losses; pediatricians' fears of retail clinics

The manipulation of human genes could lead to profound advances in our ability to cure or prevent terrible diseases. But in some cases, it might also mean introducing genetic material that could be passed from one generation to the next, changing the human gene pool in a manner that could inadvertently harm peoples' health.

26 Feb 2014

Study: Patients more likely to die in hospitals when cared for by nurses with heavy workloads

Patients are more likely to die after common surgical procedures when they are cared for in hospitals with heavier nurse workloads and fewer nurses with bachelor's degrees, concludes the largest investigation of nursing and hospital outcomes in Europe to date, published in The Lancet.

26 Feb 2014

Just who's exempt from the individual mandate, and how will the IRS enforce it?

One of the most debated parts of the health care law is the requirement that most Americans buy insurance starting this year. … But it's not clear that the IRS will deploy much in the way of resources to aggressively search for individuals who don't get coverage this first year (Adams, 2/24).

26 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 26, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that, according to the Obama administration, insurance sign-ups under the health law have hit 4 million.

26 Feb 2014

Fred Hutchinson, SCCA researchers receive Seattle Business Magazine's 2014 Leaders in Health Care Awards

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) were recognized in several categories of Seattle Business Magazine's 2014 Leaders in Health Care Awards, including the publication's Lifetime Achievement Award, given to Frederick R. Appelbaum, M.D., executive vice president and deputy director of Fred Hutch and president of SCCA.

26 Feb 2014