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Mexican government, NGOs working to expand access to clean syringes to prevent HIV among IDUs

Inter Press Service examines how Mexico's government and non-governmental organizations are working to stem the spread of HIV among people who use injection drugs. "According to a project financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since 2011, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Mexico is 5.77 percent among intravenous drug users ... compared to 0.24 to 0.3 percent in the general population aged 15 to 49," IPS writes, noting HIV prevalence among drug users is highest in "northern Mexico, one of the areas in the country hit hardest by drug trafficking."

13 Oct 2012

Research roundup: Addressing disparities in cancer diagnosis time, Medicare open season awareness

Researchers tested the effectiveness of using patient navigation programs with women who have abnormal breast or cervical cancer screenings. These programs aim to facilitate treatment by such things as arranging financial support, transportation to appointments, child care or interpreter services.

13 Oct 2012

Roundup: N.J.'s Medicaid decision; Women short on care if Texas dumps Planned Parenthood; La. hospitals seek care gap agreement

WNYC's Fred Mogul, working in partnership with Kaiser Health News and NPR, writes: "As a way to reduce the number of uninsured, states are being encouraged to set more generous income limits for Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. If states comply, they can get 100 percent federal funding in the first three years, declining to 90 percent funding over time. Typically, states and the federal government share the burden at a ratio that's closer to 50-50."

13 Oct 2012

National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society to publish new Responsibility Deal

No one can have failed to notice the austerity measures being put in place across all government departments with "we're in this together" becoming the rallying cry of the coalition government. In the spirit of this, the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society are using the occasion of World Arthritis Day on the 12th October to publish their new Responsibility Deal, demonstrating that as well as rights, patients also have responsibilities, as do all those involved in the health, social care and policy making process.

12 Oct 2012

UK and USA healthcare systems can learn from each other

The healthcare systems of the USA and the UK are often thought of as polar opposites, yet the two countries may have much to learn from each other as they both embark upon significant health reforms, according to the authors of a Health Policy paper, published in The Lancet.

12 Oct 2012

$IOF report: 80% of patients with fracture are not screened for osteoporosis or risk of future falls$

IOF report: 80% of patients with fracture are not screened for osteoporosis or risk of future falls

Today, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) released a new report, revealing approximately 80 percent of patients treated in clinics or hospitals following a fracture are not screened for osteoporosis or risk of future falls. Left untreated, these patients are at high risk of suffering secondary fractures and facing a future of pain, disfigurement, long-term disability and even early death.

12 Oct 2012

Financial Times features special report on NTDs

The Financial Times has published a special report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) featuring 10 articles examining issues including prevention, research, and treatment.

12 Oct 2012

AIUM to host Ultrasound First Forum on Nov. 12

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) will host an Ultrasound First Forum on November 12, 2012, in New York, New York. The forum will address the expanding role of ultrasound imaging as a "first" imaging examination and will be devoted to encouraging the use of ultrasound as a safe, effective, and affordable alternative to other diagnostic imaging modalities where scientific evidence supports its appropriateness.

12 Oct 2012

World observes first International Day of the Girl Child

On the first annual International Day of the Girl Child, observed October 11, "UNICEF and partners are highlighting joint efforts to end child marriage -- a fundamental human rights violation that impacts all aspects of a girl's life," the Times of India reports.

12 Oct 2012

Medicare sure to be hot topic in vice presidential debate

Will Mr. Ryan be tempted to repeat a staple of his and Mr. Romney's stump speech, that the president has plundered $716 billion from Medicare to pay for "Obamacare?" There is danger there. Mr. Ryan incorporated the same $716 billion savings into his House budget this spring, and he has now renounced that plan because Mr. Romney promises to "restore" the money to Medicare.

12 Oct 2012

Blog examines Japanese contribution to global vaccine efforts

In a post in Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, examines "the contribution the Japanese people have made to immunization."

12 Oct 2012

State roundup: Minn. says health exchange will cost $40 million

Minnesota budget officials estimate it could cost the state as much as $40 million to run its health insurance exchange in 2015. The state-based online insurance marketplaces are a cornerstone of the federal health care overhaul.

12 Oct 2012

UNAIDS to support Republic of Congo's efforts to reduce HIV MTCT

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe "on Wednesday hailed the efforts of the Republic of Congo government in the fight against HIV/AIDS in general, and particularly in the reduction of transmission from mother to child," Xinhua reports.

12 Oct 2012

Study identifies pitfalls in current calculation of hospital readmission rates in spine surgery

When hospital patients have to be readmitted soon after discharge, hospitals look bad. And in addition to reflecting poorly on a hospital's quality of care, a high readmission rate also can result in reduced Medicare reimbursements, under provisions now taking effect under the 2010 health care law.

12 Oct 2012

States, companies and officials worry over health law implementation

The medical device industry and other companies are concerned about how the health law's tax and compliance provisions are affecting their bottom lines and are strategizing new ways forward to avoid the monetary hit.

12 Oct 2012

U.S. needs better evaluation, more transparency for foreign assistance

"As the importance of America's foreign assistance has grown, so has the number of mechanisms to dispense it," Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, write in the Huffington Post's "Politics" blog.

12 Oct 2012

Bureaucracy in India slowing treatment of TB, Wall Street Journal reports

The Wall Street Journal examines how bureaucracy in India is slowing the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in the country. The newspaper recounts the story of Rahima Sheikh, "one of 16 patients identified by Mumbai doctors to be resistant to virtually all traditional TB treatments."

12 Oct 2012

Romney takes moderate position on abortion, causes stir on both sides of issue

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has shifted to more moderate policy positions on a number of issues, including health care and abortion.

12 Oct 2012

Premature babies from low-income families more likely to develop brain hemorrhages

Babies born prematurely to low-income parents have a disproportionately high risk for developing dangerous brain bleeds that require multiple surgeries and extensive follow-up, according to a small Johns Hopkins Children's Center study.

12 Oct 2012

Support education to reduce child marriage, maternal mortality among teenage girls

"Pregnancy and childbirth is still the leading cause of death for teenage girls in the poorest corners of the world, and despite all the progress in reducing maternal mortality by 47 percent, we have yet to save these young, vulnerable lives," Sarah Brown, founding chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

12 Oct 2012