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Cedars-Sinai first in Los Angeles County to achieve Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification

Cedars-Sinai is one of the first five medical centers in the nation and the first in Los Angeles County to achieve Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification from The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

11 Dec 2012

Vaccines serve as 'engine for economic growth'

Vaccines "save lives by protecting people against disease," but they "also are an engine for economic growth -- far beyond their health benefits," GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley writes in a CNN opinion piece.

11 Dec 2012

Recognizing reproductive rights as human rights

Noting the recognition of International Human Rights Day on December 9, Purnima Mane, president and CEO of Pathfinder International, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "Every person should be able to make decisions about her or his body," making reproductive rights a human rights issue.

11 Dec 2012

SCOTUS agrees to hear 'pay-for-delay' drug case

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the legality of drug companies paying their generic-making counterparts to keep generic drugs -- in this case, a testosterone gel -- off the market.

11 Dec 2012

Research unveils key gaps in continuity of care for sickle cell patients

Research unveiling key gaps in continuity of care for sickle cell patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care will be presented this week during the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

11 Dec 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Friday published Issue 205 of its "Global Fund Observer."

11 Dec 2012

Administration: No enhanced match for partial Medicaid expansion

The Obama administration filled in a key detail of what states must do to receive full federal funding for an expansion of Medicaid under the 2010 health law. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter sent Monday to governors that states cannot partially expand their Medicaid programs and get full federal funding.

11 Dec 2012

GlobalPost series examines HIV/AIDS in European, MENA regions

As part of its ongoing series, titled "The State of AIDS," GlobalPost published two articles examining the epidemic in different regions. In Eastern Europe, rates of HIV/AIDS diagnoses have risen in several countries, including Ukraine and Russia, according to the first article, which discusses some of the potential reasons for the increases.

11 Dec 2012

GAVI Alliance to support 30M HPV vaccinations among girls by 2020

"In an effort to fight the human papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer, more than 30 million girls will be immunized against HPV by 2020 with GAVI support, the global health alliance announced on Thursday," Xinhua/Global Times reports.

11 Dec 2012

PEPFAR blueprint relies on science to inform policies, SciDev.Net reports

"Science is at the center of efforts to design and implement more effective preventative and care programs for HIV/AIDS set out in a blueprint published by a U.S. government initiative that fights the disease," SciDev.Net reports, referencing the PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation that was released November 29.

11 Dec 2012

Governments, donors should follow PMI model of testing drugs for quality

"[W]e are losing the global fight against bad medicines," and though "[s]ome progress is being made," the "problem is that ... crackdowns tend to focus on counterfeit drugs" while a "much bigger public health problem ... is substandard drugs that are the result of shoddy manufacturing and handling -- or perhaps worse, deliberate corner-cutting," Roger Bate, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, writes in an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

11 Dec 2012

Africa needs additional $3.6B to fight malaria, RBM partnership board says

"There is currently a $3.6 billion funding gap on malaria in Africa, according to the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, whose board concluded its 23rd meeting in Dakar, Senegal, on December 7," Devex's "Development Newswire" blog reports.

11 Dec 2012

New taxes, Medicaid expansion requests and health insurance portability make health law news

News outlets examines a host of health law issues including new taxes on the rich -- set to soon take effect -- meant to pay for parts of the health law, governors' latest requests on expanding Medicaid, health insurance portability for older workers and dealing with chronic care.

11 Dec 2012

Vodafone partners with GSK, GAVI to use, study mobile technology to improve vaccination rates

"British mobile phone group Vodafone and drug maker GlaxoSmithKline are joining forces on a novel project to increase childhood vaccination rates in Mozambique using text messaging," Reuters reports.

10 Dec 2012

FDA expands approved use of Janssen Biotech’s Zytiga to treat men with mCRPC

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) to treat men with late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer prior to receiving chemotherapy.

10 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Girding for a 'beloved' Medicare fight; Two views about health law's employer mandate; Doctors fear 'SGR cliff'

It's a shame that Republicans are playing into Mr. Obama's hands, negotiating in public among themselves, ... Tennessee Senator Bob Corker made the case for this strategic retreat on "Fox News Sunday," arguing that if Republicans raise tax rates as Mr. Obama wants, "the focus then shifts to entitlements and maybe it puts us in a place where we actually can do something that really saves the nation."

10 Dec 2012