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Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

In the beginning, Chris Hempel noticed the clumsiness. Her girls tripped over toys on the floor. Their grandfather said he couldn't teach them to pedal their tricycles. … The Hempels learned of people who called themselves citizen-scientists. Many shared research papers and their day-to-day experience. Some talked of their willingness to try any promising drug. Others sought a role as equal partners with researchers. Scientists, while sympathetic, generally believe their work should be left to experts. Families are encouraged to raise money if they want to help, but the traditional view is that amateurs can't shape research or find cures. The Hempels found a maddening gap between the search for scientific knowledge and the search for treatments (Amy Docker Marcus, 11/2013).

22 Nov 2013

Narrow choices for doctors and hospitals could keep costs down but add to consumer concerns

The Associated Press offers examples of limited networks that exclude some of the most prestigious hospitals in the Chicago and New York City areas.

22 Nov 2013

Investigation into Medicare payment decision spotlights issues of insider trader and 'political intelligence'

Investigators are hitting a wall in an insider-trading probe of how a government funding decision made its way to investors before it was officially released, according to people familiar with the probe.

22 Nov 2013

GOP formulates new attack strategy to swell opposition to health law

Republicans are planning new health law attacks with an arsenal of tactics including issuing talking points to members and hammering Obama administration officials at hearings all in an attempt to further unravel the law.

22 Nov 2013

How the health law is playing in the states

The Washington Post offers a table documenting how the overhaul is doing while USA Today chronicles successes and failures in three specific states.

22 Nov 2013

Communicating with partners about parenting and HIV helps young people

A team from Royal Holloway University and St. Mary's Hospital, London, interviewed young people aged 18-23 who had transmitted HIV from their mothers - known as 'perinatally acquired HIV' (PAH). Previously most of these children would have died in childhood, but medication in the UK, means they are surviving into early adulthood.

22 Nov 2013

White House struggles with health law messaging

As President Barack Obama is pilloried for the rocky rollout of the law, the White House struggles with how to refocus the public's attention, since some of the strongest arguments for the law are longer-term benefits that are harder to comprehend.

22 Nov 2013

State regulators share insurance 'fix' concerns with Obama

In a meeting at the White House Wednesday, a group of state insurance commissioners expressed concerns about President Barack Obama's proposal to extend canceled plans for one year that don't meet the requirements of the health law and both sides acknowledged that each state must come to its own decision about how to proceed.

21 Nov 2013

Younger people with HIV feel more isolated and stressed than older people

Case Western Reserve University researchers were surprised to learn that people younger than 50 years old with HIV feel more isolated and stressed than older people with the disease. They expected their study to reveal just the opposite.

21 Nov 2013

Researchers identify a group of 39 genes linked with alcoholism

There is good evidence from studies of families and twins that genetics plays an important role in the development of alcoholism. However, hundreds of genes likely are involved in this complex disorder, with each variant contributing only a very small effect. Thus, identifying individual risk genes is difficult.

21 Nov 2013

Proposed cancellation 'fix' may have limited reach

It remains unclear how many consumers may be affected because some state regulators and insurers are unlikely to go along. Meanwhile, in congressional testimony, an administration official placed the blame for the canceled policies on insurers, saying they had the opportunity to extend grandfathered plans.

21 Nov 2013

Bangladesh outperforms Asian neighbours despite low spending on health care

Exceptional improvements in the survival of infants and children under 5 years of age, life expectancy, immunisation coverage, and tuberculosis control in Bangladesh are part of a remarkable success story for health in the South Asian country, according to a major new Series published in The Lancet. This is despite low spending on health care, a weak health system, and widespread poverty.

21 Nov 2013

Study: Patients staying on medications does not lower hospital readmission rates

A targeted effort to help high-risk heart failure patients stay on their medications did improve adherence to drug regimens, but had surprisingly little effect lowering hospital readmission rates, according to a study at Duke Medicine.

21 Nov 2013

Expiring patents, austerity measures lead to predictions that prescription drug sales will continue to slow

Growth in global prescription drug spending will slow to the lowest rate in decades as low-cost generic drugs continue replacing former blockbusters in the U.S. and Europe, where governments face new pressure to reduce health care spending, according to a new forecast. The projection from data firm IMS Health shows the global prescription drug market growing by 3 to 6 percent over the next four years to $1.2 trillion by 2017.

21 Nov 2013

State highlights: Mo. doctors propose Medicaid payment reform project; N.C. Medicaid billing problems persist; Calif. nursing home pays $48M to settle fraud case

Some doctors want to make Missouri's Medicaid program a little more like a health club. A proposal outlined by a pair of doctors Tuesday would create a pilot project in which primary care physicians would be paid a flat monthly amount for each Medicaid patient they accept (Lieb, 11/19).

21 Nov 2013

Obama seeks to redirect some of the blame for health law difficulties toward republicans

Speaking Tuesday to the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council, President Barack Obama talked about the challenges his administration has faced recently -- and still faces in the future -- regarding the roll-out of the health overhaul. Meanwhile, another poll indicated the president's approval ratings are sinking.

21 Nov 2013

On Capitol Hill, shopping for health plans from the online insurance marketplaces appears to go smoothly

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal report on how Capitol Hill lawmakers and their staffs are having a very different experience choosing coverage than most of their constituents.

21 Nov 2013

Administration tech official says about 40% of HealthCare.gov remains to be built

Henry Chao, who has overseen much of the work on healthcare.gov, said much of the "back office" work, including the system to send insurers their payments, has not been completed.

21 Nov 2013

$About 50% of hip fracture patients report barriers for mobility in home environment$

About 50% of hip fracture patients report barriers for mobility in home environment

About half of hip fracture patients reported barriers for mobility when entering the home or in the outdoor home environment. One year after the fracture, many people still experienced barriers, especially in the outdoor environment.

21 Nov 2013

New UI Health survey to identify unique healthcare needs of communities

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System will begin a survey this month to identify the unique healthcare needs of the communities it serves -- from Humbolt Park and West Town in the north, to West Lawn and Englewood in the southern corners.

21 Nov 2013

Health Care News and Research

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

Narrow choices for doctors and hospitals could keep costs down but add to consumer concerns

Investigation into Medicare payment decision spotlights issues of insider trader and 'political intelligence'

GOP formulates new attack strategy to swell opposition to health law

How the health law is playing in the states

Communicating with partners about parenting and HIV helps young people

White House struggles with health law messaging

State regulators share insurance 'fix' concerns with Obama

Younger people with HIV feel more isolated and stressed than older people

Researchers identify a group of 39 genes linked with alcoholism

Proposed cancellation 'fix' may have limited reach

Bangladesh outperforms Asian neighbours despite low spending on health care

Study: Patients staying on medications does not lower hospital readmission rates

Expiring patents, austerity measures lead to predictions that prescription drug sales will continue to slow

State highlights: Mo. doctors propose Medicaid payment reform project; N.C. Medicaid billing problems persist; Calif. nursing home pays $48M to settle fraud case

Obama seeks to redirect some of the blame for health law difficulties toward republicans

On Capitol Hill, shopping for health plans from the online insurance marketplaces appears to go smoothly

Administration tech official says about 40% of HealthCare.gov remains to be built

About 50% of hip fracture patients report barriers for mobility in home environment

New UI Health survey to identify unique healthcare needs of communities

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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