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Good Samaritan Hospital of Los Angeles wins Paradigm Award for labor excellence

The Paradigm Award Committee announced that Good Samaritan Hospital of Los Angeles, a leading hospital based in Southern California, was recently selected to receive the prestigious Paradigm Award.

26 Nov 2010

U.N. MDG summit begins; UNAIDS data shows 22 African countries see drop in new HIV infections

"Ten years after world leaders set the most ambitious goals ever to tackle global poverty, they are meeting again to try to spur action to meet the targets by the 2015 deadline - which the U.N. says will be difficult, if not impossible, in some cases," the Associated Press reports. More than 140 world leaders are scheduled to participate in the three-day U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which kicks off Monday.

21 Sep 2010

Financial Times examines U.S. foreign aid reform

The Obama "administration's bold drive to improve the U.S.'s notoriously bureaucratic and dysfunctional foreign aid programme is setting out with highly uncertain chances of success," the Financial Times writes. "Officials acknowledge inadequacies in the traditional U.S. approach. The U.S. programme involves overlapping bureaucracies ... [and] frequently 'ties' U.S. aid to the purchase of American food and other goods and consultancy services," according to the article.

21 Sep 2010

World Water Week kicks off with a focus on pollution, quality

A group of over 2,500 leading water experts from 130 countries gathered in Stockholm on Sunday to kick off World Water Week, where they will focus on "increasing water pollution and dwindling water quality around the globe," Agence France-Presse reports (Larson, 9/5).

7 Sep 2010

Implementation of electronic health records in England likely to be a long, complex and iterative process

Interim results from the first comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of electronic health records in secondary care in England have found delays and frustration with the system, according to research published on bmj.com today.

3 Sep 2010

New method for tracing brain circuits

The brain has been mapped to the smallest fold for at least a century, but still no one knows how all the parts talk to each other.

10 Aug 2010

U.N. report recommends changes for fragmented global aid system

"A proliferation of aid agencies, donors, and projects is fragmenting the global aid system, increasing transaction costs, and weakening efforts to reduce poverty and poor health," according to the U.N.'s recent World Economic and Social Survey (.pdf), BMJ News reports.

9 Jul 2010

Experts show the continuing global impact of Framingham Heart Study

Few medical investigations have had the impact of the Framingham Heart Study. This study, started in 1948, was designed as a cohort, observational study of cardiovascular disease, then recognized as a growing health threat but now has emerged as much more. The Framingham Heart study came to revolutionize thinking about cardiovascular disease, change the study of epidemiology, and even force the biostatistics community to develop multivariate analysis.

7 Jul 2010

Imaging algorithm distributed in top-down fashion reduces unnecessary cervical spine radiographs

An imaging algorithm produced by a radiology department and distributed through the medical director's office, in a top-down fashion, enabled a large, academic medical center to significantly reduce the number of unnecessary cervical spine radiographs (X-rays) in the emergency department, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

2 Jul 2010

Book on governance, social justice and epidemic diseases

Recent disease events such as SARS, H1N1 and avian influenza, and haemorrhagic fevers have focussed policy and public concern as never before on epidemics and so-called 'emerging infectious diseases'. Understanding and responding to these often unpredictable events have become major challenges for local, national and international bodies.

2 Jul 2010

GHX cuts over $155.6M in healthcare costs during first-quarter

GHX and its participating suppliers and providers are on target to cut a total of $5 billion in healthcare costs in the next 5 years by improving supply chain efficiencies, visibility and trading partner collaboration. GHX provides technology and services to automate and optimize business processes throughout the healthcare supply chain, and has achieved its first-quarter goal of cutting more than $155.6 million in healthcare costs.

23 Jun 2010

AMP raises ethical, laboratory practice concerns in whole genome sequencing at SACHGS meeting

Today, the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) presented public comments to the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACHGS) meeting focused on whole genome sequencing. In anticipation of advances in sequencing and its incorporation into clinical practice, AMP raised ethical and laboratory practice concerns for the Committee's consideration.

17 Jun 2010

NSF awards Florida State University $17.5M grant to build 21-tesla magnet system for large molecule analyses

The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University is planning to build a state-of-the-art magnet system that will transform the study of complex environmental and biological samples. A better understanding of fossil and biological fuels, for example, could lead to applications for reducing carbon emissions and the development of new, sustainable fuels.

16 Jun 2010

Understanding the African mindset may help promote health education in rural areas

Seen through western eyes, beliefs in supernatural forces are common in Ghana and other African countries. Death, suffering and diseases are often attributed to witchcraft. Over thirty per cent of its inhabitants believe such evil forces could be responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS.

22 Mar 2010

X-spine Systems, Gamma Spine announce exclusive agreement for minimally invasive spinal fixation technology

X-spine Systems, Inc., a global manufacturer of implants and instruments for spinal surgery, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Gamma Spine for the development and distribution of its minimally invasive spinal fixation technology. Gamma Spine, founded by Dr. Vijay Goel, Ph.D., will participate in the development process with X-spine.

9 Mar 2010

As rainy season begins, U.N. special envoy Clinton asks for more shelter, latrines for Haitian earthquake survivors

During a phone call on Monday, Bill Clinton, the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, asked U.N. officials to provide more tents, latrines and hurricane-proof shelter to improve housing and sanitation for Haitian earthquake survivors living in temporary camps, the Associated Press writes.

3 Mar 2010

Third-party-payment system needs reform, says AAPS

The 2,000-page "Obamacare" agenda is stalled, but some want to try to jump-start "reform." Republicans introduced a 200-page substitute for H.R. 3962, which failed on a vote of 176 to 258. Now the President plans to meet with Republican congressional leaders.

10 Feb 2010

New York Times examines innovative approaches to tackling infrastructure needs in developing countries

The New York Times explores efforts across the U.S. to craft and implement affordable solutions to infrastructure problems around the world. It also looks at programs geared toward supporting the work of local entrepreneurs to build solutions to the problems on the ground.

21 Jan 2010

Decision Resources reports increased uptake of TNF-alpha inhibitors for Crohn's disease

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that compared to last year's analysis of U.S. patient-level claims data, TNF-alpha inhibitors are being used more often to treat newly diagnosed patients suffering from Crohn's disease.

9 Dec 2009

DFG approves establishment of new CRCs; research topics range from modern prostheses to political reforms to marine bacteria

The DFG has approved the establishment of 17 new Collaborative Research Centres as of 1 January 2010. This decision was made recently by the relevant Grants Committee in Bonn.

1 Dec 2009