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Romney barely mentions health care in acceptance speech

The Republican presidential nominee doesn't offer details on his plans for Medicare or the health care law. Nonetheless, several outlets look at what's ahead on that topic from the GOP ticket.

1 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Who should fear changes to Medicare; Ryan not a 'Serious, Honest Conservative'

For those of us who like to believe that human beings are rational, trying to explain what happens in politics is a challenge. For example, that segment of the population that has the least to fear from a reform of Medicare or Social Security is the most fearful -- namely, those already receiving Medicare or Social Security benefits.

1 Sep 2012

Nurses, midwives can safely perform abortions, review of evidence suggests

"Abortions are just as safe when performed by trained nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants as when doctors do them, a new review of the evidence suggests," Reuters reports.

1 Sep 2012

NY Cardinal offers closing prayer for religious liberty

As the convention ended, the closing prayer was provided by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is feuding with the Obama administration over the health law's mandate that most employers provide contraceptive coverage.

1 Sep 2012

Utah Gov. sees slowdown in talks between states and HHS on health law implementation

Gov. Gary Herbert tells Politico Pro that efforts likely won't pick up until after the election. Meanwhile, a battle in Missouri appears finished on a health exchange ballot issue and Pennsylvania and Georgia also deal with implementation issues.

1 Sep 2012

Justice department asks for review of questionable defibrillator surgeries

In what experts say is a novel legal tactic to resolve hundreds of ongoing investigations simultaneously, the Justice Department is e-mailing hospitals across the country today with instructions to examine questionable implantable defibrillator surgeries on Medicare patients and estimate potential penalties under the False Claims Act.

1 Sep 2012

U.N. humanitarian relief official calls for more assistance to prevent child malnutrition in Mali

"The top United Nations relief official said [.pdf] today that humanitarian efforts to alleviate the devastating food crisis affecting Mali have begun to yield results, but warned that much still remains to be done and the situation could worsen without continued donor support," the U.N. News Centre reports (8/30).

1 Sep 2012

Democrats plan attack on GOP Medicare plan

The Wall Street Journal reports the Obama campaign will offer counter arguments to Republican proposals to revamp Medicare at the Democrats' convention next week.

1 Sep 2012

Targeted intervention improves safety of MRI scans for children with sickle cell disease

Jude Children's Research Hospital reports success using a targeted educational approach to teach young patients to remain motionless during MRI scans, making the process safer.

1 Sep 2012

Reworking of PEPFAR in South Africa must be handled carefully to ensure continuation of care

"Government assurances that the scaling back of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program in South Africa (SA) will be carefully managed to protect patients are welcome, but ... [t]he reality is that the Department of Health is struggling to cope with severe medical staff shortages, financial resources that never seem to stretch far enough, inadequate infrastructure and maintenance programs, and administrative bottlenecks," a Business Day editorial states.

1 Sep 2012

Challenges to eradicating polio in Nigeria

John Campbell, Ralph Bunche senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in his "Africa in Transition" blog that "[t]he Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) reports eight new polio cases in Nigeria, bringing the total in that country to 70 for 2012," with most of the cases occurring in the predominantly Muslim north.

1 Sep 2012

Longer looks: Too many pills for dad; Genetic secrets; A supermarket's dietitian

Job burnout can strike workers in nearly any field, but a new study finds that doctors are at special risk. Nearly 1 in 2 U.S. physicians report at least one symptom of burnout, with doctors at the front line of care particularly vulnerable, the study found -- a significantly higher rate than among the general working population.

1 Sep 2012

Gates blog examines proposed framework to scale up maternal, newborn health interventions

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Gary Darmstadt, head of the Family Health Division at the foundation; Wolfgang Munar, senior program officer in the Family Health Division; and Amie Newman, a communications officer and editor of the blog, highlight a recently published paper, "A model for scale up of family health innovations in low-income settings: a mixed methods study," that proposes a framework to scale up successful maternal and newborn health interventions in order to "reach more communities and improve the health of many more people."

1 Sep 2012

Complaints grow about assertions in Ryan's speech

Fact-checkers and Democrats cry foul over the vice-presidential nominee's statements about Medicare, a local GM plant and the deficit commission.

1 Sep 2012

Aidspan founder, executive director Bernard Rivers stepping down

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog profiles Bernard Rivers, founder and executive director of Aidspan, a watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, who is leaving his position after 10 years.

1 Sep 2012

2 Large Minn. health systems announce merger

In Minnesota, two large health systems -- HealthPartners and Park Nicollet -- plan to merge, creating the second biggest system in Minnesota -- just behind the Mayo Clinic.

1 Sep 2012

Examining implications of hiring foreign-born health workers on U.S., global health care systems

In this post in the IntraHealth "Global Health Blog," Kate Tulenko, senior director of health systems innovation at IntraHealth, provides an excerpt of her recently published book, "Insourced: How Importing Jobs Impacts the Healthcare Crisis Here and Abroad."

1 Sep 2012

Study assesses post-coronary artery bypass graft surgery atrial fibrillation and long-term survival

Atrial fibrillation is a common complication of cardiac surgery, occurring in 10 percent to 40 percent of patients. Recent studies show it to be associated with poorer health following surgery and poorer long-term survival. Furthermore, development of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery leads to average additional health care costs of $15,000 to $20,000.

1 Sep 2012

Health Net helps to increase awareness about importance of whooping cough vaccination

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of whooping cough cases in the United States could reach a 50-year high in 2012. The CDC's forecast is based on the fact that, as of July 2012, twice as many cases of whooping cough - or pertussis as it's referred to clinically - had been reported to the CDC thus far this year as compared to the same point in 2011.

1 Sep 2012

MRI detects high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis

A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected a high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis in middle-aged and elderly patients that had no evidence of knee osteoarthritis in X-ray images.

1 Sep 2012

Health Care News and Research

Romney barely mentions health care in acceptance speech

Viewpoints: Who should fear changes to Medicare; Ryan not a 'Serious, Honest Conservative'

Nurses, midwives can safely perform abortions, review of evidence suggests

NY Cardinal offers closing prayer for religious liberty

Utah Gov. sees slowdown in talks between states and HHS on health law implementation

Justice department asks for review of questionable defibrillator surgeries

U.N. humanitarian relief official calls for more assistance to prevent child malnutrition in Mali

Democrats plan attack on GOP Medicare plan

Targeted intervention improves safety of MRI scans for children with sickle cell disease

Reworking of PEPFAR in South Africa must be handled carefully to ensure continuation of care

Challenges to eradicating polio in Nigeria

Longer looks: Too many pills for dad; Genetic secrets; A supermarket's dietitian

Gates blog examines proposed framework to scale up maternal, newborn health interventions

Complaints grow about assertions in Ryan's speech

Aidspan founder, executive director Bernard Rivers stepping down

2 Large Minn. health systems announce merger

Examining implications of hiring foreign-born health workers on U.S., global health care systems

Study assesses post-coronary artery bypass graft surgery atrial fibrillation and long-term survival

Health Net helps to increase awareness about importance of whooping cough vaccination

MRI detects high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis

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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