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KHN column - The Prevention and Public Health Fund: Good for our health, good for small business

In this Kaiser Health News column, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, and Larry Cohen, founder and executive director of Prevention Institute, offer their perspective on a legislative question: "As Congress returns to work this week, senators are scheduled to cast a critical vote on Tuesday as part of a broad measure designed to encourage economic growth for small businesses.

13 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 13, 2010

In this morning's news, many in Congress are pushing for repeal of a tax provision in the health law that critics say places a heavy burden on small businesses. Meanwhile, opponents of the overhaul are focused on a Florida court hearing.

13 Sep 2010

Scientists find low levels of bacteria in fields sprayed with swine manure

That swine manure sprayed on to fields adds valuable nutrients to the soil is well known. But what is not known is whether all that manure is bringing harmful bacteria with it.

13 Sep 2010

Six California-based institutions collaborate to guide CDU

Six California-based institutions specializing in health, hospital, university and nonprofit health announced today the formation of a new and unprecedented collaboration effort to rescue, restructure, reinvigorate and guide Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) towards a new, resurgent and financially viable future.

13 Sep 2010

eMedischedule.com to provide online appointment scheduling system for clinics

eMedischedule.com, a provider of online clinic scheduling and medical scheduling technology, has been selected by the South Central Public Health District in Twins Falls, ID., to provide customized online scheduling and automated virtual call center technology to support its clinic and office scheduling needs.

13 Sep 2010

CAP forges collaboration with CAP-ACP and RCPA for development of cancer protocols

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) recently signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the Canadian Association of Pathologists (CAP-ACP) and the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia (RCPA), forging a collaboration in the development of cancer datasets, also called protocols. The CAP Cancer Protocols are designed as a guideline for definitive cancer reporting.

13 Sep 2010

Scientists discover SNP association with primary open-angle glaucoma risk

Scientists at deCODE genetics and academic colleagues from Iceland, China, Sweden, the UK and Australia today report the discovery of the most important single-letter variation (SNP) in the sequence of the human genome yet associated with risk of primary open-angle glaucoma. This is the most common form of glaucoma and a major cause of blindness worldwide.

13 Sep 2010

Current economic crisis threatens to affect cancer incidence: Report

Although overall mortality from cancer is decreasing in the European Union, its incidence increased by almost 20%, from 2.1 million new cases in 2002 to 2.5 million in 2008, says a special issue of the European Journal of Cancer on cancer prevention, published today.

13 Sep 2010

Republicans shifting campaign focus beyond health care

Republicans had promised to make the fall elections a reprise of the bitter, exhausting debate over what they call 'Obamacare',The Boston Globe reports. But two months before the vote, the GOP has adopted a more nuanced approach and folded the issue into broader attacks on the Democrats' handling of the economy.

13 Sep 2010

Researchers develop mathematical framework for vaccine stockpile implications

A creative version of a classic engineering technique may improve decisions about building and using supplies of important pediatric vaccines, potentially leading to lower public health costs and healthier children.The United States maintains a six-month supply of common pediatric vaccines to ensure protection from deadly diseases, such as the flu, polio, and diphtheria, despite interruptions in vaccine production.

13 Sep 2010

Accord reached on draft declaration for MDG summit

World powers have reached an accord, after weeks of tough talks, on a document to be adopted at a Millennium Development summit this month for which [U.N.] Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is seeking billions of dollars of new funding,Agence France-Presse reports in an article that describes how representatives from donor and developing nations debated how best to pay for a kick start to the ambitious development goals first set at the Millennium summit in 2000.

13 Sep 2010

C-section rates on the rise

According to a California Watch analysis, profit making hospitals across the state are performing Cesarean sections at higher rates than non-profit hospitals. The analysis compiled a database of state birthing records and showed that women were at least 17 percent more likely to have a Cesarean section at a for-profit hospital than at a non-profit or public hospital from 2005 to 2007.

12 Sep 2010

'Behind the counter' shop displays of cigarettes encourage smoking among youth

Young people believe 'behind the counter' shop displays of cigarettes encourage smoking and are considered "cool, fun and attractive" according to new research published in Health Promotion Practice.

10 Sep 2010

Death and disability toll due to C. diff bacteria needs to be addressed

Almost 12,000 people died in alcohol-related vehicle crashes in 2008. About 15,000 Americans died of AIDS-related illness the same year. Both of these preventable causes of death have been the subject of massive, expensive and high-profile interventions by federal and state authorities. CRE encourages expenditures for these programs but the public health community should be even more concerned for greater society-wide risks.

10 Sep 2010

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds FDA for action against electronic cigarette distributors

We applaud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for taking appropriate enforcement action today against five distributors of electronic cigarettes for various violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), including unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices.

10 Sep 2010

GP to continue support for implementation of ISDH's new model for public health preparedness activities

Global performance improvement solutions provider General Physics Corporation (GP), a subsidiary of GP Strategies Corporation, has exercised an option to extend the contract for year three by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) to continue staffing and providing offices within each of the ten Indiana Homeland Security Districts. The GP staff engages in planning, training, exercise, and volunteer management activities.

10 Sep 2010

Study finds Laotian/Hmong-Americans have low survival rates for liver cancer

Among Asian-Americans living in California, Laotian/Hmong-Americans have the lowest survival rates for the most common type of liver cancer, a new study by researchers with the UC Davis School of Medicine has found.

10 Sep 2010

'Secondary over-triage' identified as potential area of cost savings for health care

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified "secondary over-triage" as a potential area of cost savings for our nation's health care. The phenomenon of over-triage occurs when patients are transferred twice, and discharged from a second facility in less than 24 hours. These findings will be published in the September 10th issue of The Journal of Trauma.

10 Sep 2010

NICE releases new guidelines to improve cancer care

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published a new guideline which should help to improve care for thousands of patients with advanced cancer that has spread from an unknown primary location.

10 Sep 2010

Illinois researcher urges CDC to revisit pediatric vaccine stockpile policies

Vaccine manufacturers and public health decision-makers need to collaborate in a more efficient and effective manner not only to reduce the likelihood of supply shortages for pediatric vaccines but also to maximize community immunity by using vaccine doses to increase coverage, according to research published by a University of Illinois researcher who specializes in statistics and data analysis.

10 Sep 2010