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Viewpoints: Daschle, Frist urge Senate to confirm CMS chief; 'Insane' incentives in health law; Medicaid does better job than private insurance so why change it?

Imagine a large company operating for seven years without a CEO. A company with a product that accounts for more than 15 percent of our nation's gross domestic product. A company implementing the largest national effort at reform since its creation. A company set to gain an additional 30 million customers in the next year. Unfathomable.

4 Mar 2013

More than 60% of fire ant allergic patients do not adhere to treatment guidelines

Two million Americans are allergic to insect stings, an allergy which sends more than 500,000 people to the emergency room annually. Yet, according to a study published today in the March issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAA), while fire ant allergy sufferers know allergy shots can save their life, more than 60 percent do not adhere to treatment guidelines.

4 Mar 2013

Children with ADHD more likely to have other psychiatric disorders as adults

The first large, population-based study to follow children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) into adulthood shows that ADHD often doesn't "go away," and that children with ADHD are more likely to have other psychiatric disorders as adults. Although numbers were small, they also appear more likely to commit suicide and are often incarcerated as adults.

4 Mar 2013

Poll shows compelling association between exercise and better sleep

Exercise can affect your sleep. The results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 Sleep in America poll show a compelling association between exercise and better sleep.

4 Mar 2013

March issue of WHO Bulletin available online

The March issue of the WHO Bulletin features an editorial examining the concept of global health diplomacy, a public health news roundup, an article on emergency obstetric care in Mali, and a policy paper on "private sector contributions and their effect on physician emigration in the developing world," among others.

3 Mar 2013

The clock runs out on averting sequestration

Time ticked down to March 1 -- also known as sequestration D-day -- without the White House and lawmakers finding a way to avert the scheduled cuts.

3 Mar 2013

Pregnancy-related foot changes may contribute to women's increased risk for arthritis

A new University of Iowa study confirms what many women have long suspected - that pregnancy permanently changes the size and shape of a woman's feet.

3 Mar 2013

Hip implant safety at issue in high-stakes trial

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson played "Russian roulette" with patient safety by ignoring high failure rates and surgeons' complaints about its once-popular artificial hip, a Los Angeles jury was told during closing arguments at a high-stakes medical trial for the company.

3 Mar 2013

GOP bills would kill health law's employer mandate

The legislation, which has little chance of passage, would undo requirements that large employers offer workers insurance or pay a fine. Meanwhile, two Senate committees examine changes to Medicare.

3 Mar 2013

D.C., N.Y. hospitals consider new team-ups, merger

Health systems and hospitals in Washington and New York City are joining forces: In Washington, health systems are forming a bond they say will improve pediatric care. In New York, a merger of hospitals is proposed.

3 Mar 2013

UNC1215 chemical probe can help investigate L3MBTL3 methyl-lysine reader domain

In an article published as the cover story of the March 2013 issue of Nature Chemical Biology, Lindsey James, PhD, research assistant professor in the lab of Stephen Frye, Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor in the UNC School of Pharmacy and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, announced the discovery of a chemical probe that can be used to investigate the L3MBTL3 methyl-lysine reader domain.

3 Mar 2013

IDC lead author outlines critical issues that impact diabetes management

Most adults and children with type 1 diabetes are not in optimal glycemic control, despite advances in insulin formulations and delivery systems and glucose monitoring approaches. Critical barriers to optimal glycemic control remain.

3 Mar 2013

Improvements needed to safeguard medical records

Hacking into patient medical records can be as easy as tapping into a hospital's unsecured wireless network from a laptop in the parking lot. Government auditors proved it "by sitting in hospital parking lots with simple laptop computers" and obtaining "patient information from unsecured hospital wireless networks," according to Julie K. Taitsman, M.D., J.D., and colleagues from the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services.

3 Mar 2013

Medicaid expansion in the states: Who's in? Who's out?

The tally continues to change regarding the governors who have said they will pursue the health law's Medicaid expansion. Most recently, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said he is opposed to it, while Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett appears to be on the verge of reversing his position against the expansion. And, in Ohio, Gov. John Kasich is looking for allies to convince Republicans in the state legislature to follow his lead.

3 Mar 2013

State lawmakers consider bills to establish health exchanges

Also in the news, data indicate the federal government will ultimately be running the insurance marketplaces for the states that have the highest rates of uninsured residents.

3 Mar 2013

Community-led engagement, greater access needed to end polio

"While the challenges we face in the last polio reservoirs are difficult, they are not intractable," Bekele Geleta, secretary general of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, writes in an AlertNet opinion piece.

2 Mar 2013

NPR blog examines debate over option B+ HIV prevention strategy

NPR's "Shots" blog examines the debate over Option B+, a strategy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission that "aims to put every pregnant woman with HIV on triple-drug treatment and keep her on it for the rest of her life -- even if the virus has not yet damaged her immune system to the point where she needs medications to preserve her own health."

2 Mar 2013

Report: Drug companies spent $84M marketing pharmaceuticals in the District of Columbia in 2011

Drug companies spent nearly $84 million marketing pharmaceuticals in the District of Columbia in 2011, including an outlay of nearly $19 million for gifts given to physicians, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a report by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

2 Mar 2013

Shrinking U.S. investment in scientific R&D 'affects the whole world'

In his State of the Union address on February 12, President Barack Obama "called for a new era of scientific discovery," an Economist editorial states, adding, "This would mean spending more on research."

2 Mar 2013

Sustained funding necessary for success of global polio eradication plan

"We are teaming up to tackle one of the most ambitious public health goals ever set: eradicating polio, a disease that has haunted humanity at least since ancient Egypt," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P., and Bill Gates, chair of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, write in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

2 Mar 2013