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No added benefit of aliskiren-amlodipine fixed drug combination for hypertension

The fixed drug combination of aliskiren and amlodipine (trade name: Rasilamlo-) was approved in April 2011 for the treatment of people with hypertension in whom aliskiren or amlodipine alone has an insufficient effect.

23 Mar 2012

Ensuring clean water for food, health requires 'collective action'

"As we mark World Water Day, the alarming statistics underlying water scarcity are worth repeating. Worldwide 2.7 billion people are currently affected by water shortages," Manish Bapna, acting president of the World Resources Institute (WRI), and Betsy Otto, director of WRI's Aqueduct Project, write in a Forbes opinion piece, noting that population growth, increasing food demand, and climate change threaten access to water.

23 Mar 2012

Country ownership approach adopted under GHI 'gaining steam'

In this post in the Ministerial Leadership Initiative for Global Health's (MLI) "Leading Global Health" blog, MLI Director Rosann Wisman examines how a new, country-led development approach under the Global Health Initiative (GHI) -- which focuses on "[funding] the priorities of developing countries rather than solely the priorities of the donors" -- is "gaining steam."

23 Mar 2012

As need for nurses increases, more men enter the profession

As the country faces a shortage of doctors, nurses may help fill the void and the government and industry are working to make sure there are enough of these professionals.

23 Mar 2012

Anticipating the health law's day in court

Coverage of next week's Supreme Court arguments on the health law includes a variety of takes on the key issues.

23 Mar 2012

The health law's second anniversary: Where do things stand?

As the sweeping overhaul turns two and the Supreme Court prepares to review its constitutionality, news outlets report on what provisions have taken effect, what changes are still in the pipeline and how people have been affected so far.

23 Mar 2012

Election-year politics swirl around health law arguments

Democrats, including President Barack Obama and members of Congress, have different strategies for how they will handle the spotlight on the health law next week, when it comes before the Supreme Court. House Democrats plan to celebrate the law's achievements. President Obama will be in Korea. Republicans, meanwhile, are attempting to turn it into campaign fodder.

23 Mar 2012

Ryan budget floor vote foreshadows fiscal showdown

The House Budget Committee approved the measure in a late vote Wednesday. Meanwhile, because it "fractures" the spending agreement reached last summer between the White House and congressional Republicans, both sides may be fixing for a fight as the election gets closer.

23 Mar 2012

State roundup: Union seeks $80M from N.Y. for health aides' insurance

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers lurch toward a budget deal, the state's largest health-care union is asking Albany for another bailout of its troubled insurance fund. The union, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, is asking the state for $80 million more in Medicaid dollars so it can keep on providing health insurance to personal-care aides.

23 Mar 2012

Status checks on the health overhaul's implementation

A top Health and Human Services official told a congressional panel on Wednesday that his office is still figuring out how employers will be asked to determine their workers' health insurance status once the overhaul law goes into effect. The issue is important because beginning in 2014, companies with 50 or more full-time workers will be required to provide health insurance coverage or face paying a penalty.

23 Mar 2012

HCLA praises Congress on passage of medical liability reform legislation

The Health Coalition on Liability and Access today applauds Congress on the passage of medical liability reform provisions included in H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Healthcare Act.

23 Mar 2012

Global health 'nowhere to be found' on G8 agenda

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the center, summarizes the history of G8 global health initiatives and examines why global health has been dropped from the G8 and G20 agendas, writing that "as we look to the U.S.-hosted G8 meeting in 2012, global health is still nowhere to be found."

23 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Health literacy's effect on costs

In many families, women are the health care decision makers. When children go for their checkups, we are often the ones who make the appointment and sit in the room holding their hand. When elderly parents see a new specialist, we are the ones carrying the folder with all their health information. ... In the past, this also meant that many women would take care of their own health last. By the time they got around to it, women found a system stacked against them. But thanks to the health care law, that's changed.

23 Mar 2012

Bloomberg Philanthropies pledges $220M over 4 years to global anti-tobacco initiative

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday announced his charitable foundation will "spend $220 million over the next four years to discourage tobacco use in developing countries, as he seeks to promote strategies around the world that curbed smoking in his city," the Wall Street Journal reports.

23 Mar 2012

Survey: Doctors violate professionalism online

A letter in JAMA found most state medical licensing boards are receiving complaints about some doctors' online behavior.

23 Mar 2012

BUMC to open first dedicated cancer hospital in North Texas

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is opening Baylor Cancer Hospital, the region's first dedicated cancer hospital beginning in early 2012. The cancer hospital will provide inpatient cancer care services, a 24-hour oncology evaluation and treatment center, as well as an array of support services to cancer patients, their families and caregivers.

23 Mar 2012

Employers target lifestyle habits to improve health of employees: Survey

Organizations in the Chicago area report an increase of health-improvement and wellness programs according to a survey conducted in September 2011 by Aon Hewitt in partnership with Rush Health. The survey results will be released at the 9th annual Employer Symposium at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago on Thursday, March 22.

23 Mar 2012

Lawmakers allege some drug companies inflate cost of scarce drugs with 'fake pharmacies'

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is leading a congressional investigation accusing some drug distributors of opening "fake pharmacies" to drive up the cost of some pharmacueticals that are in short supply.

23 Mar 2012

House vote on IPAB repeal scheduled for today

The full House is scheduled to vote today on legislation that would repeal the health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board. Some supporters have been frustrated by the measure's link to medical tort reforms, which drove some Democrats, who initially favored rejection of the panel, to oppose the overall bill.

23 Mar 2012

Nightingale on Demand receives EMR certification from Infoway

Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) announced today that Nightingale on Demand, a software product developed by Nightingale Informatix Corporation, (Nightingale), is the first product in Canada to successfully achieve electronic medical record (EMR) certification.

23 Mar 2012