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World Bank President addresses meeting of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America

The World Bank provides a transcript of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim's remarks at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America. Kim discusses his engagement in Africa and Latin America as co-founder of Partners In Health, highlights the World Development Report, which he says "is focused on jobs," and emphasizes the role of the private sector in economic growth.

3 Oct 2012

Liberty University hopes to revive health law challenge

The school says its suit raises questions not answered by the Supreme Court in its June decision and is asking the high court to order an appeals court to hear the case.

3 Oct 2012

Direct link between pressure ulcers, patient mortality and increased hospitalization

A new clinical study spearheaded by the dean of UCLA's School of Nursing has found a direct correlation between pressure ulcers - commonly known as bedsores - and patient mortality and increased hospitalization.

3 Oct 2012

Devex interviews global health experts during U.N. week

During last week's events in New York, including the U.N. General Assembly, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Social Good Summit, Devex interviewed several newsmakers on the sidelines of the meetings. WHO Assistant Director-General on Family, Women and Children's Health Flavia Bustreo in an interview with Devex said three challenges to continuing to lower maternal, child, and infant death rates include improving accountability, channeling resources to areas with the least improvement, and keeping a focus on women and children.

3 Oct 2012

Two court cases could affect medicines patent law in India

In the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, Leena Menghaney, a lawyer and India manager of the Access Campaign at Medecins Sans Frontieres, writes about "two critical legal battles between multinational pharmaceutical companies and the Indian government that are taking center stage in an ongoing struggle over India's medicines patent law."

3 Oct 2012

IRIN examines allegations of Global Fund grant misuse in Uganda

IRIN reports on allegations that a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to Uganda was misused. "Evidence of the mismanagement of a $51 million malaria grant to Uganda from the Global Fund resulted in the July arrest of three Ministry of Health employees and prompted a police investigation into the matter," the news service writes.

3 Oct 2012

Clouds and venture capital: Both sides of health technology news

NPR reports that how cloud computing is changing the health care industry as Reuters notes that venture capital funding for health technology is getting harder to raise.

3 Oct 2012

Senate leaders working on post-election plan to avoid 'fiscal cliff'

The New York Times reports that a bipartisan group is trying to find a path to a deficit reduction deal, but Democrats and Republicans still remain far apart on details.

3 Oct 2012

Feed the Future video shows progress in fight against global hunger

USAID's "IMPACTblog" features a "video of the week" from the State Department's Feed the Future initiative. In the three-minute video, "narrator Matt Damon discusses U.S. efforts to turn the tide against global hunger and increase agricultural production around the world through Feed the Future," according to the blog.

3 Oct 2012

Study finds Medicare may favor skilled-nursing facilities over hospice

According to findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, almost a third of Medicare beneficiaries use their benefits to pay for nursing home end-of-life services.

3 Oct 2012

Study finds access to doctors' notes helps patients manage their health

Patients who have access to doctor's notes in their medical records are more likely to understand their health issues, recall what the doctor told them and take their medications as prescribed, according to a study published Monday.

3 Oct 2012

Conflicts straining U.N. resources to respond to refugees, displaced persons

"A combination of major new conflicts and unresolved ones around the world are increasingly straining humanitarian resources at unprecedented levels, the head of the United Nations refugee agency warned" on Monday, the U.N. News Centre reports.

3 Oct 2012

NPR's 'Morning Edition' reports on increasing number of polio cases in Nigeria

NPR's "Morning Edition" host Steve Inskeep on Monday interviewed reporter Jason Beaubien, who is traveling in northern Nigeria, about the country's increase in polio cases this year. Beaubien discussed myths and fears surrounding polio vaccination in Nigeria, including beliefs that the immunization will sterilize children, but also said one of the most encouraging things ... is that the religious leaders in northern Nigeria are now really united.

3 Oct 2012

Financial Times examines legal disputes in India over pharmaceutical patent laws

The Financial Times reports on a legal dispute between the Indian government and the German pharmaceutical group Bayer, writing, "Bayer is appealing against the Indian patent controller's decision in March to override the company's monopoly on its cancer drug Nexavar, and to allow an Indian company to produce and sell the life-extending drug for just $173 a month -- one-sixth of the $5,500 a month price charged by Bayer."

3 Oct 2012

Obama administration urges states to pursue the health law's Medicaid expansion

Even as federal officials push states to expand Medicaid programs, at least a dozen states are not ready or not willing to set up state-based health exchanges -- another aspect of the health law that is key to expanding insurance coverage.

3 Oct 2012

Washington Post buys major stake in Celtic Healthcare Inc.; Tenet plans buybacks

Post Co. said Monday it would buy a majority stake in Celtic Healthcare Inc., a closely held provider of hospice and home health care in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, although one analyst, Sheryl Skolnick of CRT Capital Group, said average valuations suggests the deal could have been worth at least $50 million. That is a drop in the bucket for Post Co., which has a market capitalization of $2.7 billion.

3 Oct 2012

Aid organization urges more aid focus on disaster prevention rather than reaction

Islamic Relief Worldwide on Monday "urged the U.N. to establish a global contingency fund for disaster prevention as it is cheaper to help prepare for floods and drought than spend billions on emergencies," the Guardian reports.

3 Oct 2012

Debate primer: 'A mere 15 minutes' set aside to cover lots of differences on health policies

News outlets set the scene for some of the tough health policy questions the two presidential candidates might face during tomorrow night's debate. And new ads about the health law and women's health issues have been unleashed.

3 Oct 2012

Humble Surgical Hospital acquires Mazor Robotics’ Renaissance system

Mazor Robotics Ltd., a developer of innovative surgical robots and complementary products, today announced that Humble Surgical Hospital in Humble, Texas acquired its Renaissance system.

3 Oct 2012

ABC News profiles former U.N. diplomat responsible for building first maternity hospital in Somalia

ABC News profiles Edna Adan, a 75-year-old former U.N. diplomat responsible for building the first maternity hospital in her country of Somalia. "I could have retired and lived somewhere else in the world, but I think I would have found it difficult to live with myself," Adan told ABC News, according to the news service. In 1991, she "cashed in her pension from the World Health Organization, sold all of her jewelry and belongings -- including her favorite car, a Mercedes -- and spent $300,000 of her own money to build a hospital," the news service writes.

3 Oct 2012