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Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority wins 2009 Innovations award

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University today announced the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority as a 2009 Innovations in American Government Award winner.

15 Sep 2009

NSF International certification for COLD-FX(R)

Afexa Life Sciences Inc. ("Afexa") (TSX:FXA) today announced that COLD-FX(R) has received the highest sports certification in North America from the leading product safety and banned substances testing body for elite athletes.

15 Sep 2009

Studies to focus on treatments for traumatic battlefield injuries

The University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Md., will serve as one of 12 core clinical centers in a newly established Extremity Trauma Clinical Research Consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

15 Sep 2009

Limited health literacy linked with poorer access to health information

People who struggle with poor reading and math skills experience problems understanding instructions from health care providers and adhering to treatment, according to a new research review.

15 Sep 2009

CFAR to host AIDS Vaccine 2010 conferrence

The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (the Enterprise) today announced that the Center for AIDS Research at Emory University (CFAR) in Atlanta, Georgia will serve as Local Host of AIDS Vaccine 2010, the largest and most important global scientific conference focused on AIDS vaccine research.

15 Sep 2009

Kelly Services offers EHR service

To address the growing need for the restructuring of healthcare records, Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA) today announced its Health Informatics service offering. Health Informatics is the intersection of information science, technology and healthcare and focuses on the application of computer information systems to healthcare and public health providers.

15 Sep 2009

Public health policy should stress on reduction in sodium intake

Reducing sodium intake is a major public health priority that must be acted upon by governments and nongovernmental organizations to improve population health, states an article http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj090361.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

15 Sep 2009

Hispanic/Latino Americans have a unique cancer risk profile, says report

The latest edition of Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos reports that Hispanic/Latino Americans -the largest, fastest-growing, and youngest minority in the United States-have a unique cancer risk profile that requires a targeted approach to cancer prevention.

15 Sep 2009

Mild cognitive impairment is a risk factor for dementia

Among individuals with mild cognitive impairment, often considered a transitional state between normal cognitive function and Alzheimer's dementia, those who have more difficulties performing routine activities appear more likely to progress quickly to dementia, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

15 Sep 2009

Breast Preservation Foundation stresses on the importance public health education programs

Amidst the ongoing health-policy debate, Los Angeles surgeon Joel Aronowitz, M.D., founder of the Breast Preservation Foundation, furthered his organization’s health education and quality of care mission by meeting Washington policymakers to discuss how health care reform can help breast cancer patients be informed of all their treatment choices and have access to more advanced techniques like skin-sparing mastectomy.

15 Sep 2009

NIMH awards Center for AIDS Intervention Research $11.16 million grant

The Medical College of Wisconsin's Center for AIDS Intervention Research (CAIR) received a five-year, $11.16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to continue its HIV prevention research.

15 Sep 2009

Physical activity increases longevity

Older adults who continue or begin to do any amount of exercise appear to live longer and have a lower risk of disability, according to a report in the September 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

15 Sep 2009

Emergency Medical Associates to track swine flu movement with SAP business intelligence solutions

As families return from summer travels and children head back to school, Emergency Medical Associates (EMA) is preparing for a potential resurgence in the swine flu virus (H1N1) this fall. By using business intelligence (BI) solutions from SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), EMA will continue to pinpoint the movement of swine flu and alert federal organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as 21 different emergency medical departments to patterns of outbreak.

14 Sep 2009

Moderates against government-run 'public option'

Moderates from both parties backed away from a government-run public health insurance option Sunday, as they appeared on various Sunday talk shows.

14 Sep 2009

Boston University launches $10M, 5-year Global Health Center

Boston University (BU) on Monday launched a five-year, $10 million global health initiative that aims to "bolster research and education" and "build a nationwide consortium of universities devoted to improving health in the Third World," the Boston Globe reports.

14 Sep 2009

Schizophrenia: A major public health problem

Schizophrenia is a major public health problem. Affecting almost 1% of the world's population, it takes an enormous economic and social toll in addition to the distress, dysfunction, disability and mortality for those afflicted with this disease. Elements of the disease are present from birth, other aspects emerge during developmental years, and the illness becomes fully expressed in early adulthood with long-lasting implications for most patients.

14 Sep 2009

Study: Racial inequalities in health care

The Joint Center's Health Policy Institute will unveil a study that estimates the direct medical costs of racial inequalities in health status and access to quality care.

14 Sep 2009

Extremity Trauma Clinical Research Consortium for treating major limb injuries

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has been awarded $18.4 million by the Orthopaedic Extremity Trauma Research Program (OETRP) of the U.S. Department of Defense to establish an Extremity Trauma Clinical Research Consortium.

14 Sep 2009

AIDS Healthcare Foundation calls on CA Governor to sign Assembly Bill 221 without delay

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the operator of the largest non-government HIV testing program in California, today praised the California Legislature for its passage of Assembly Bill 221, which cleared the Assembly on final concurrence (61-0) today and moves on to the Governor’s desk. AB 221 updates and streamlines the training of counselors for rapid HIV testing by exempting persons administering finger stick rapid HIV tests from the requirement for certification as a limited phlebotomy technician (LPT). It is widely expected that Schwarzenegger will sign the bill.

14 Sep 2009

Mandatory alcohol testing programs minimize alcohol involvement in fatal crashes

Mandatory alcohol testing programs for truck and bus drivers have contributed to a significant reduction in alcohol involvement in fatal crashes, according to a new study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Based on a study sample of nearly 70,000 motor carrier (heavy trucks and buses) drivers and over 83,000 non-motor-carrier (car) drivers, the estimated net effect attributed to the mandatory alcohol testing programs for drivers of heavy trucks and buses was a 23% reduced risk of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes.

14 Sep 2009