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Doctor/nurse shortages come with a twist

A new study said the projected shortage of primary care physicians may be overstated, and new nurses are having trouble finding work.

16 Jan 2013

India marks two years since last diagnosed polio case

On January 13, India "completed two years since the last case of the crippling disease was reported ... a huge achievement for a country that as recently as 2009 reported 741 cases of polio -- more than any other country in the world, and almost half of cases reported globally that year," the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog reports.

16 Jan 2013

Urgent research needed’ on emergency airway management

Research in JAMA adds to suspicions that advanced airway management techniques may do more harm than good in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

16 Jan 2013

Study demonstrates ways in which quality measurement from EHRs can be improved

Health care providers and hospitals are being offered up to $27 billion in federal financial incentives to use electronic health records (EHRs) in ways that demonstrably improve the quality of care. The incentives are based, in part, on the ability to electronically report clinical quality measures.

16 Jan 2013

WHO recommends switching to injectable polio vaccine

"[T]his month the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, proposed a shift in [polio] vaccination strategy from oral vaccines to injected ones that may have to be administered in clinics," Nature reports, adding, "The change is needed to mop up the last remaining pockets of polio, but experts say that it poses challenges in [rural areas], which have poor access to health care."

16 Jan 2013

Analyzing how well the individual mandate may work

Politico looks at the practical task ahead for the health law's individual mandate.

16 Jan 2013

Link between infections and venous thromboembolism in surgical patients

Despite receiving blood thinners and other clot prevention treatment, some patients still develop potentially lethal blood clots in the first month after their operations anyway, especially if they developed a surgical-site infection while in the hospital, according to results of a study at Johns Hopkins.

16 Jan 2013

Ariz. governor backs Medicaid expansion under health law

Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican critic of the law, surprised many when she announced in her State of the State speech that she would support expansion of the federal-state program for low-income residents.

16 Jan 2013

Addressing cholera with an 'integrated approach' in 2013

"There has been so much news related to cholera and cholera research since the start of 2013 I can only hope it means this year will be a banner year for prevention efforts," Helen Matzger, a program officer in new vaccine delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

16 Jan 2013

UnitedHealth, Mayo partnering to merge insurance, care data

UnitedHealth announced it will partner with the Mayo Clinic to merge insurance and medical data to try to improve and standardize care in order to lower costs.

16 Jan 2013

Gates Foundation official discusses efforts to fight malaria

AllAfrica features an interview with David Brandling-Bennett, deputy director of the malaria program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in which he discusses "current tools being used to fight the disease, the prospect for a vaccine, and the hope of new drugs to accelerate progress," according to the news service.

16 Jan 2013

Flu: ERs seeing more patients, N.Y. declares state of emergency

Emergency rooms around America are dealing with an influx of those with the flu while the virus forces New York officials to declare a state of emergency.

16 Jan 2013

As debate heats up, how does Medicare fit into debt limit fight?

President Barack Obama signals an interest in "modest adjustments" to Medicare and other safety net programs -- but not in the context of debt limit discussions -- as Republicans demand spending cuts be part of a deal to raise the federal debt limit.

16 Jan 2013

Blog highlights global health challenges, opportunities in 2013

Chatham House's "Expert Comment" blog features commentary on four global health issues the organization's experts view as important in the year ahead.

16 Jan 2013

Capsules: Not too early to plan for health taxes, H&R Block says

Now on KHN's blog, Jay Hancock reports: Even if you owe Affordable Care Act taxes, you probably won't have to start paying them until next year. But H&R Block wants you to come in and talk about them now.

16 Jan 2013

DeParle reportedly exiting the White House, moving on to Brookings

Nancy-Ann DeParle, an Obama administration deputy chief of staff, played a prominent role in advancing the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

16 Jan 2013

Patients' health care decisions, spending key to future of medicine

As patients become more engaged in decisions related to treatment and health care, their role in holding down health care spending will likely become more prominent.

16 Jan 2013

Research shows genetic factors increase risk of visceral leishmaniasis

A new study published in Nature Genetics last week shows that genetics likely influence whether an individual develops visceral leishmaniasis, a lethal form of the parasitic disease transmitted by sandflies, the New York Times reports.

16 Jan 2013

It's still too early to evaluate whether flu season is worse than normal

New York officials declare a public health emergency as federal officials say the epidemic may have peaked.

16 Jan 2013

Polio official discusses eradication efforts in Gates Foundation blog interview

In the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Eric Porterfield, director of global health communications at the United Nations Foundation, interviews Jeffrey Bates, a polio communications for development (C4D) officer, about India's efforts to eradicate polio.

16 Jan 2013