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Blog profiles ranking Republican on Senate HHS Appropriations subcommittee

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog profiles Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Moran is an advocate of funding for the National Institutes of Health, the blog notes, adding that during his seven terms as

21 Feb 2013

New test for leprosy gives results in less than 10 minutes, New York Times reports

"A simple, fast and inexpensive new test for leprosy offers hope that, even in the poorest countries, victims can be found and cured before they become permanently disabled or disfigured like the shunned lepers of yore," the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2013

IRIN examines why humanitarian aid request remains constant in 2013 Sahel Regional Strategy

Noting "the 2013 Sahel Regional Strategy calls for $1.66 billion to help meet humanitarian needs and build up resilience among vulnerable groups -- an identical figure to the 2012 crisis appeal -- even though aid agencies estimate the number of Sahelians at risk of going hungry this year has dropped 44 percent to 10.3 million," IRIN examines "why the ask has remained constant."

21 Feb 2013

U.N. official says humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorating but efforts to reach those affected continue

"Humanitarian agencies are trying to keep up with the rising needs stemming from the ongoing conflict in Syria, the top United Nations relief official said Tuesday, while noting that limited access is preventing everyone who requires assistance from receiving it," the U.N. News Centre reports.

21 Feb 2013

Policymakers, insurers should consider generic-only coverage to improve health and reduce costs

A new study published online today in the American Journal of Managed Care found that in Medicare Part D, generic drug coverage was cost-saving compared to no coverage in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, while also improving health outcomes.

21 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: ACOs are doomed to fail; The need to expand Medicaid in Texas; The case against malpractice changes in Iowa

Spurred by the Affordable Care Act, hundreds of pilot programs called Accountable Care Organizations have been launched over the past year, affecting tens of millions on Medicare and many who have commercial health insurance.

21 Feb 2013

Study measures awareness, adoption and use of informatics tools by infection preventionists

Advances in electronic medical record systems and health information exchange are shifting efforts in public health toward greater use of information systems to automate disease surveillance, but a study from the Regenstrief Institute has found that these technologies' capabilities are underutilized by those on the front lines of preventing and reporting infections.

21 Feb 2013

TecSalud, Methodist International sign formal affiliation agreement

TecSalud of Sistema Tecnológico de Monterrey, which seeks to transform the private medical practice in México, has signed a formal affiliation agreement with Methodist International, the global subsidiary of The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas USA.

21 Feb 2013

AMIA joins AmericanEHR Partners as content provider

The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), the leading professional association for informatics professionals, has joined AmericanEHR Partners as a content provider, joining more than 20 professional societies that support the free online resource.

21 Feb 2013

Veterans diagnosed with reflux issues often start on high doses of drugs, rarely stop therapy

U.S. veterans diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are frequently prescribed doses of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as omeprazole (commonly known by brand names such as Prilosec), that are much higher than recommended --- and they are kept on the drug far too long, according to a new Northwestern Medicine- study.

21 Feb 2013

Being overweight or obese reduces health-related quality of life in boys

Being overweight or obese significantly reduces health-related quality of life in boys, but not girls, when compared to normal weight peers, finds a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

20 Feb 2013

Opinions on the sequester: Too much Medicare spending on the affluent; Boehner says Obama got more taxes in the health law

The president has repeatedly called for even more tax revenue, but the American people don't support trading spending cuts for higher taxes. They understand that the tax debate is now closed.

20 Feb 2013

Childhood cancer on the rise across the developing world

Across the developing world, childhood cancer is on the rise, and mortality is high. Once thought of as a rich world disease, cancer is a growing health threat across low-income and middle-income countries (LMCs). A major new Lancet Oncology Series by some of the world’s most eminent cancer experts outlines the biggest challenges to treating childhood cancer in developing nations and proposes strategies to improve care for children and young people.

20 Feb 2013

Internationally-recognized cancer clinician named first K. Hasumi Professor of Medical Oncology

Internationally-recognized cancer clinician and researcher Takami Sato, M.D., Ph.D., who serves as the Director of the Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Program in the Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, has been named the first K. Hasumi Professor of Medical Oncology.

20 Feb 2013

Working toward polio eradication in 2018

"Since the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s, no other diseases have followed suit; the goal that has come closest so far is eradication of polio," a Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial states, noting that in 2012 only about 250 people were infected with polio worldwide.

20 Feb 2013

CMS issues MLR rules for Medicare plans

Elderly and disabled patients enrolled in Medicare will for the first time receive an annual reduction in out-of-pocket costs for drugs, the government announced. The standard deductible for plans in Medicare's drug program, called Part D, will be $310 in 2014, about 4.6 percent less than this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a statement today. Copayments also will be reduced for the program that began in 2006.

20 Feb 2013

Surveying the landscape from bench to bedside

The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.

20 Feb 2013

States pursue different paths to health exchanges

With Friday's deadline now passed, it is clear the federal government will run the insurance marketplaces created by the health law in about half the states. Only a handful of the states opted to partner with the feds.

20 Feb 2013

Novartis CEO upbeat in the midst of market challenges

One of the worst flu seasons in decades is finally showing signs of abating. But health care companies and individuals are still absorbing higher costs as the president's health care legislation begins to take effect. The fees and taxes related to Obamacare take effect this year, while the rest will be implemented in the coming two years.

20 Feb 2013

In various states, groups battle over expanding Medicaid

Lawmakers and stakeholders continue to wrestle with the pros and cons of the health law's Medicaid expansion, as well as with the budget issues related to the state-federal insurance program for low-income people.

20 Feb 2013

Health Care News and Research

Blog profiles ranking Republican on Senate HHS Appropriations subcommittee

New test for leprosy gives results in less than 10 minutes, New York Times reports

IRIN examines why humanitarian aid request remains constant in 2013 Sahel Regional Strategy

U.N. official says humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorating but efforts to reach those affected continue

Policymakers, insurers should consider generic-only coverage to improve health and reduce costs

Viewpoints: ACOs are doomed to fail; The need to expand Medicaid in Texas; The case against malpractice changes in Iowa

Study measures awareness, adoption and use of informatics tools by infection preventionists

TecSalud, Methodist International sign formal affiliation agreement

AMIA joins AmericanEHR Partners as content provider

Veterans diagnosed with reflux issues often start on high doses of drugs, rarely stop therapy

Being overweight or obese reduces health-related quality of life in boys

Opinions on the sequester: Too much Medicare spending on the affluent; Boehner says Obama got more taxes in the health law

Childhood cancer on the rise across the developing world

Internationally-recognized cancer clinician named first K. Hasumi Professor of Medical Oncology

Working toward polio eradication in 2018

CMS issues MLR rules for Medicare plans

Surveying the landscape from bench to bedside

States pursue different paths to health exchanges

Novartis CEO upbeat in the midst of market challenges

In various states, groups battle over expanding Medicaid

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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