OCT News and Research

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First Edition: October 24, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration plans to tweak the tax-penalty deadline for signing up for health insurance as well as previews of what might happen when the contractors who built the health law's online insurance marketplace testify today on Capitol Hill.

24 Oct 2013

Little evidence Obamacare is costing full-time jobs

Reuters and The Wall Street Journal challenge the notion, based on recent jobs data, that the health law is causing an erosion of full-time work. Other media outlets look at the endangered status of new insurance co-ops funded by the law, the high price of many prescription drugs and concerns about the people enrolled in high-risk insurance pools that will close at the end of the year.

24 Oct 2013

Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike are anxious for health law briefings

As a senior White House official heads to Capitol Hill to brief House Democrats on the health law's implementation -- especially the troubled rollout of healthcare.gov, Republicans want the same opportunity.

24 Oct 2013

Older people with diabetes more likely to develop cognitive deterioration and Alzheimer's disease

Diabetes and dementia are rising dramatically in the United States and worldwide. In the last few years, epidemiological data has accrued showing that older people with diabetes are significantly more likely to develop cognitive deterioration and increased susceptibility to onset of dementia related to Alzheimer's disease.

24 Oct 2013

Calif. marketplace under fire for not providing quality ratings for plans; Obama's characterization of Conn.'s operation not right

California's insurance exchange came under fire for its plan to withhold quality ratings of health plans until late 2015 while thousands of consumers shop for coverage under the federal healthcare law. The state exchange, Covered California, said Tuesday that it had reliable ratings on only four of the 12 participating health insurers primarily because their networks of doctors and hospitals have changed so much for new policies available next year (Terhune, 10/22).

24 Oct 2013

Unique approach to help discover how cell changes shape in response to topographies

Cells in the human body change shape as they crawl, split, or cling to other surfaces, but while the scientific literature is filled with examples of how cell shapes shift in response to things they touch, little is known about the rules that govern these changes. And there has been no high-throughput way to systematically test different topologies against different types of cells to optimize the surface of something like a medical implant.

24 Oct 2013

The White House names Zients to be Heatlhcare.gov fixer

Jeffrey D. Zients, who previously served as the Office of Management and Budget chief performance officer, is already a tested Administration troubleshooter.

24 Oct 2013

Defending health exchange's rollout puts Sebelius in the hot seat

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is being called to Capitol Hill by Republican lawmakers who want her to explain what went wrong with the Oct. 1 unveiling of healthcare.gov. She is also facing calls for her resignation. Still, according to Politico, her job is safe.

24 Oct 2013

Scientists to converge at nation's first conference on computational psychiatry

More than 70 scientists from around the world and from a range of intellectual traditions will convene in Miami this week for what is believed to be the nation's first conference on computational psychiatry, an emerging field in neuroscience.

23 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 23, 2013

Today's headlines include continuing coverage about the problems with the healthcare.gov website, how Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is in the hot seat and how the White House has called in reinforcements -- a glitch czar.

23 Oct 2013

The Melting Pot, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital partner to raise funds for cancer research

The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc., the world's premier fondue restaurant franchise, is partnering with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the 10th annual St. Jude Thanks and Giving campaign from Oct. 19 - Dec. 15, that asks guests to "give to help the children of St. Jude live" by raising funds for cancer research.

23 Oct 2013

Study could enhance process of reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells

Bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown that physical cues can replace certain chemicals when nudging mature cells back to a pluripotent stage, capable of becoming any cell type in the body.

23 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: 'Unforced error' on marketplace website raises questions about administration's handling of health issues; Obama's 'desperate sales pitch;' GOP's faux concerns for exchanges

Anyone who supports the plan to cover Americans who couldn't get health insurance has to hope the administration quickly gets it right. But you can't help but wonder: Where was all this frantic effort in the three-and-a-half years from the time Obama signed the health law to the day the exchanges opened on Oct. 1?

From Quest Diagnostics 23 Oct 2013

Functional biomarker could help guide treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant melanomas

A functional biomarker that can predict whether BRAF-mutant melanomas respond to drugs targeting BRAF could help guide the treatment of patients with these cancers, according to results presented here at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Oct. 19 - 23.

23 Oct 2013

New PARP inhibitor shows early responses in patients with advanced BRCA-related cancers

An investigational new PARP inhibitor, BMN 673, is showing early responses in patients with heavily pretreated, advanced, BRCA-related cancers of the breast and ovary, according to phase I clinical trial results presented here at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Oct. 19-23.

23 Oct 2013

Finger pointing surrounds health care website woes

News outlets examine some of the technology issues, as well as political dynamics, that contributed to the launch difficulties.

23 Oct 2013

Vows to fix insurance website, but no details offered

The Obama administration has been tight-lipped about the cause of the website problems, who has signed on to fix them and what their timetable might be. News outlets report on ideas advanced by technology experts and explore the practical and political ramifications of delayed enrollment.

23 Oct 2013

New MDx prototype platform can detect BRAF V600 mutations in 90 minutes

A new diagnostic platform to detect BRAF mutations in melanoma and other cancer types is faster and more accurate compared with the standard method currently used in clinics, and this could help accelerate diagnosis and treatment, according to results presented here at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, held Oct. 19-23.

23 Oct 2013

In Calif.: Hospital laptop thefts, KP joins heart attack transfer network, substance abuse treatment expanding

Thieves steal two laptops containing patient data from an administration building of San Gabriel Valley-based AHMC Healthcare. The hospital group is uncertain if the data were accessed or used. ... The laptops were stolen Oct. 12 and contain data from patients treated at [six]AHMC hospitals (Winton, 10/21).

23 Oct 2013

Sebelius to testify on Healthcare.Gov problems

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is expected to answer lawmakers' questions about the troubled rollout of the health law's exchange website as early as next week. Her staff had declined a request to have her testify Thursday citing scheduling conflicts.

23 Oct 2013

OCT News and Research

First Edition: October 24, 2013

Little evidence Obamacare is costing full-time jobs

Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike are anxious for health law briefings

Older people with diabetes more likely to develop cognitive deterioration and Alzheimer's disease

Calif. marketplace under fire for not providing quality ratings for plans; Obama's characterization of Conn.'s operation not right

Unique approach to help discover how cell changes shape in response to topographies

The White House names Zients to be Heatlhcare.gov fixer

Defending health exchange's rollout puts Sebelius in the hot seat

Scientists to converge at nation's first conference on computational psychiatry

First Edition: October 23, 2013

The Melting Pot, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital partner to raise funds for cancer research

Study could enhance process of reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells

Viewpoints: 'Unforced error' on marketplace website raises questions about administration's handling of health issues; Obama's 'desperate sales pitch;' GOP's faux concerns for exchanges

Functional biomarker could help guide treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant melanomas

New PARP inhibitor shows early responses in patients with advanced BRCA-related cancers

Finger pointing surrounds health care website woes

Vows to fix insurance website, but no details offered

New MDx prototype platform can detect BRAF V600 mutations in 90 minutes

In Calif.: Hospital laptop thefts, KP joins heart attack transfer network, substance abuse treatment expanding

Sebelius to testify on Healthcare.Gov problems

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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