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More affordable bednets, increased transparency in market will save $22M, UNICEF Executive Director says

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said Wednesday "that a more transparent and competitive market will lead to savings of more than $20 million over the next 12 months through a price reduction of 20 percent for bednets that protect people from malaria," a UNICEF press release reports.

8 Jun 2012

Kaiser Permanente expands relationship with NMF to address shortage of physicians

As more patients from underserved populations start to enter the health care system through health care reform, there will be an increasing need to have more African-American and Latino physicians to help provide quality health care. Kaiser Permanente is working to address the shortage of physicians by expanding its relationship with National Medical Fellowships and contributing $1 million to support medical students through education and training programs.

8 Jun 2012

Longer looks: The impossible quest to find out the cost of care; Toobin's tips on SCOTUS decision

When the nurse calls my name, I head up to the check-in desk. "I'm sorry," she says as she lowers her eyes and hands me the phone. On the other end of the line, a woman identifies herself as a "third-party intermediary" for my insurance company. She says she is calling to inform me that the procedure I am scheduled to have in just a few minutes has been approved ... However, my chosen provider is more expensive than other options and may result in a higher co-payment. ... I ask the obvious question: "If I stay, how much will it cost me?" Her answer is that she is not authorized to give me that information.

8 Jun 2012

Aid agencies should support journalists to increase their ability to make a difference in developing countries

In this post in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog, Prue Clarke, an Africa correspondent, media development specialist and the co-founder and executive director of New Narratives -- Africans Reporting Africa, writes, "By not supporting journalists, aid agencies are severely limiting their access to the truth about what is happening in developing countries and, therefore, their ability to make a difference."

8 Jun 2012

UNAIDS Executive Director calls on African leaders to reduce 'triple dependency' on external sources of HIV drugs, commodities, technologies

"Delivering a speech at Wednesday's opening session of the 16th Conference of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe congratulated leaders across the region for their personal commitment to the HIV response, specifically with regard to upholding human rights and protecting human capital," UNAIDS reports in an article on its website.

8 Jun 2012

Medical professionals challenged to be better role models for their patients

In an era of soft drink bans and restrictions on junk food ads, students at the Johns Hopkins University schools of medicine and nursing are recommending a different approach to aid the more than 170 million Americans who are overweight or obese. By publicly committing to basic tenets of healthy living — regular exercise, eating a balanced diet and managing stress — future nurses and physicians are challenging peers and practicing medical professionals to model healthy behaviors for their patients.

7 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 7, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are meeting to attempt to find ways to deal with an upcoming deadline -- Jan. 1 -- which is also known as the "fiscal cliff."

7 Jun 2012

Hospitals get graded for patient safety

Hospital executives are about to find out if they make the grade under a new rating system developed by the Leapfrog Group that debuts online Wednesday - and some are not happy about it. Under Leapfrog's Hospital Safety Score initiative, hospitals are given a letter grade - A, B, C, D or F - on how safely they treat patients. The grade reflects patient injuries, infection rates and the frequency of medical and medication errors.

7 Jun 2012

WHO warns of drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea

"Drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea have spread to countries across the world, the U.N. health agency said on Wednesday, and millions of patients may run out of treatment options unless doctors catch and treat cases earlier," Reuters reports.

7 Jun 2012

Disney to ban junk food ads in obesity fight

The change from the children's entertainment company got a prominent backer Tuesday as First Lady Michelle Obama offered her praise for the move.

7 Jun 2012

Blog examines WHO funding

In this globalhealthpolicy.net blog post, Andrew Harmer, a research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examines funding for the World Health Organization, highlighting two documents circulated as background reading for the just-concluded World Health Assembly.

7 Jun 2012

Dengue fever vaccine 'may be in sight,' Reuters reports

Reuters reports on efforts to develop a vaccine for dengue fever, writing that "victory over ... the intensely painful 'breakbone fever' ... may be in sight." Paris-based firm Sanofi "hopes for positive results in September from a key trial among children in Thailand that would set it on course to market a shot in 2015, which would prevent an estimated 100 million cases of dengue infection each year," the news service writes.

7 Jun 2012

Appropriate CT scans may save and extend lives of children

The American College of Radiology (ACR) urges that results of a study (Pearce et al) to be published in the Lancet regarding radiation risk from pediatric computed tomography (CT) scans should not keep parents from getting needed medical imaging care for their children, but should be discussed with their physician and factored into their shared decision making before an imaging scan is performed.

7 Jun 2012

CBO: Ballooning health care costs will continue as a key driver in nation's debt

A new Congressional Budget Office report offers a bleak view of the future if current tax and spending policies are not adjusted.

7 Jun 2012

Life expectancy gap narrows between blacks and whites

The life expectancy gap between blacks and whites has narrowed thanks to fewer black deaths due to AIDS and heart disease, a new study finds.

7 Jun 2012

U.N. Women becomes 11th member of UNAIDS partnership

"The U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (U.N. Women) on Tuesday became the 11th member of the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partnership that focuses on achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support," the U.N. News Centre reports.

7 Jun 2012

'Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday' weekly theme is mHealth

The Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday theme for this week is mHealth, an e-mail alert from USAID reports.

7 Jun 2012

Call for increased screening and faster testing for drug-resistant tuberculosis

Johns Hopkins experts in the prevention and treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis are calling for increased screening and more rapid testing of the 9 million people worldwide estimated to be infected each year with TB, and now at risk for this form of the highly contagious lung disease. The call follows results of a survey showing that the harder-to-treat TB variants are much more widespread than previously thought.

7 Jun 2012

Army to examine if it shortchanged vets on mental health retirement compensation

The Army will examine 190,000 files to see if it failed to give veterans the proper pension compensation for mental health problems. In Calif. one in 10 vets are uninsured.

7 Jun 2012

Hand-wringing continues regarding the Supreme Court's much-awaited health law decision

Elected officials, policy-makers and advocates discuss the possible twists and turns that could result from a high court ruling. News outlets also report on how the decision could impact a variety of health programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and disease prevention efforts.

7 Jun 2012

Health Care News and Research

More affordable bednets, increased transparency in market will save $22M, UNICEF Executive Director says

Kaiser Permanente expands relationship with NMF to address shortage of physicians

Longer looks: The impossible quest to find out the cost of care; Toobin's tips on SCOTUS decision

Aid agencies should support journalists to increase their ability to make a difference in developing countries

UNAIDS Executive Director calls on African leaders to reduce 'triple dependency' on external sources of HIV drugs, commodities, technologies

Medical professionals challenged to be better role models for their patients

First Edition: June 7, 2012

Hospitals get graded for patient safety

WHO warns of drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea

Disney to ban junk food ads in obesity fight

Blog examines WHO funding

Dengue fever vaccine 'may be in sight,' Reuters reports

Appropriate CT scans may save and extend lives of children

CBO: Ballooning health care costs will continue as a key driver in nation's debt

Life expectancy gap narrows between blacks and whites

U.N. Women becomes 11th member of UNAIDS partnership

'Every Child Deserves a 5th Birthday' weekly theme is mHealth

Call for increased screening and faster testing for drug-resistant tuberculosis

Army to examine if it shortchanged vets on mental health retirement compensation

Hand-wringing continues regarding the Supreme Court's much-awaited health law decision

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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