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Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates

Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates (HAIs) and costs hospitals millions of additional dollars annually, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

30 Jul 2012

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Today's headlines include recent reports about both the policies and politics related to the health law's implementation.

30 Jul 2012

Study examines how heterosexual men with HIV seek health care and support services

Heterosexual men make up a small but growing number of people infected with HIV in Canada. Yet a new study has found that many of them feel existing HIV-related programs and services don't meet their needs and are geared primarily or exclusively toward gay men and heterosexual women who are living with the virus.

30 Jul 2012

Health systems must prepare for aging population living with HIV

"Many health systems are not ready to cope with the relatively new phenomenon" of people living with HIV (PLHIV) growing older, PlusNews reports. "Data on aging with HIV is largely restricted to the developed world and very little is known about older Africans living with virus, despite the high caseload in this region," the news service writes, adding, "A July 2012 supplement of the medical journal, AIDS, notes that an estimated three million people in sub-Saharan Africa aged 50 and older are HIV-positive -- 14 percent of all infected adults.

30 Jul 2012

Insurers, health care providers respond to the needs of Elite athletes

Kaiser Health News details how many Olympic athletes get health insurance, while the Associated Press reports on a new wellness program for NFL players.

30 Jul 2012

For business organization, the fight against the health law is not over

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at how social and religious issues -- including abortion and contraception -- are fitting in to the current campaign season. Also in the news, how the health law is playing in the North Dakota Senate race and how much money one health care lobbying organization has on hand for campaign contributions.

30 Jul 2012

Scalia renews criticism of Roberts' health law ruling but denies infighting

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is dismissing reports of infighting among court conservatives regarding the health care decision. Appearing today on Fox News Sunday, Scalia also said he did not know if Chief Justice John Roberts changed his mind about the heath care law and decided to provide the key vote to uphold it. "You'll have to ask him," Scalia said.

30 Jul 2012

Federal government, insurers partner in fight against health fraud

HHS and private insurance companies will share raw data and investigations to try to stop billions of dollars in fraud.

28 Jul 2012

Blumenthal named to head the Commonwealth Fund

The former Obama administration adviser will take the organization's helm on Jan. 1, 2013, replacing Karen Davis.

28 Jul 2012

PEPFAR, private partner launch 5-year 'Labs for Life' initiative

At the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) on Thursday, PEPFAR and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), "announced Labs for Life, a new collaboration to help strengthen health care and laboratory systems in the developing world along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," a State Department fact sheet states.

28 Jul 2012

Recent release: AIDS response should be 'instrument for social justice'

"It is outrageous that, in 2012, when we have everything we need to beat AIDS, we are still fighting prejudice, stigma, and exclusion," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes on the Human Rights and HIV/AIDS "Now More Than Ever" blog, adding, "It is my daily reminder that the AIDS response is not just about an epidemic; the AIDS response is, has been, and must be, an instrument to fight for social justice."

28 Jul 2012

NPR continues AIDS-related coverage on blog, programs

NPR continues its coverage of issues being discussed at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) with several stories on its health blog and radio programs. On Thursday, "Tell Me More" host Michel Martin spoke with Teguest Guerma, the first woman director general of the African Medical and Research Fund (AMREF) about how African nations are responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and how they are working "to find the solutions ourselves, with the support of the international community," Guerma said, according to the program's transcript.

28 Jul 2012

Confrontation looms for big pharmaceutical companies, generic drug makers

It would seem a business executive's dream: legally pay a competitor to keep its product off the market for years. Congress has failed to stop it, and for more than a decade generic drug makers and big-name pharmaceutical companies have been winning court rulings that allowed it.

28 Jul 2012

Already-stressed hospitals worry about funding reductions for the uninsured

Cuts in aid for emergency care for illegal immigrants is a primary concern for these hospitals, according to the New York Times. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how some Republican governors are playing a Medicaid expansion "waiting game" and the Washington Post reports on the next wave of NFIB's strategies to undo the health law.

28 Jul 2012

Recent release: Examining mental health needs of people living with HIV

In this post in the AIDS.gov blog, Nils Daulaire, director of the Office of Global Affairs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), examines the mental health needs of people living with HIV, writing, The burden of being HIV-positive, or caring for loved ones living with the disease, is not restricted to the physical toll. For many people, there are equally important mental health needs.

28 Jul 2012

VA, defense bureaucracy frustrates efforts to streamline military health care

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki acknowledged Wednesday that they have been frustrated by departmental bureaucracy in their attempts to streamline military health care for severely wounded service members.

28 Jul 2012

Economist articles, blog examine research presented at AIDS 2012 conference

The Economist on Friday published two articles from Saturday's print edition regarding the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). One article states that "few areas of international affairs have seen more recent success than the fight against AIDS," and discusses advancements in HIV treatment research and availability.

28 Jul 2012