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Zimbabwe's Mugabe urges lawmakers to be tested for HIV, publicly reveal status as part of new initiative

In an announcement launching the Zimbabwe Parliamentarians Against HIV (ZIPAH) in Harare on Thursday, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said since he came to office in 1980 "quite a number of" his cabinet ministers have died of AIDS-related causes, and he challenged government officials to get tested for HIV and publicly reveal their status, the Zimbabwean reports.

3 Mar 2012

HIV rate drops among needle-drug users

About 1 in 10 needle drug users tested positive for HIV in 2009, a steep drop from the rate recorded in the 1990s, which was 1 in 5.

3 Mar 2012

Mayo takes over Ga. health system; Monitors deliver plan to boost care at Parkland Memorial in Texas

The Mayo Clinic gains a presence in Georgia, while hospital boards approve other mergers and acquisitions around the U.S. There's also news about the debate over delivery of charity care by nonprofit hospitals in Illinois.

3 Mar 2012

Sachs says he is 'eager for challenge' of World Bank presidency

The new president of the World Bank "should come to office understanding the realities of flooded villages, drought-ridden farms, desperate mothers hovering over comatose, malaria-infected children, and teenage girls unable to pay high school tuition. More than knowing these realities, and caring to end them, the bank president should understand their causes and interconnected solutions," Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

3 Mar 2012

Roundup: Iowa lawmaker urges waiting on exchange bill until court rules; Calif. group finds way to recycle medicine

Democrats and Republicans disagree about whether the Legislature needs to approve a health insurance exchange this spring. At a Statehouse forum on the issue Thursday, state Sen. Brad Zaun noted that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer on whether major portions of the health reform law are constitutional. Zaun, an Urbandale Republican who opposes the overall law, said it makes sense to wait until after that decision before deciding whether to move ahead with the exchange.

3 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: The defeated Blunt Amendment, Obama's $100B Catholic hospital risk, fixing drug shortages

The amendment, which was attached to a highway bill, was defeated on a narrow 48-to-51 vote. But it showed once again how far from the mainstream Republicans have strayed in their relentless efforts to undermine the separation of church and state, deny women access to essential health services and tear apart President Obama's health care reform law.

3 Mar 2012

Research roundup: The push for hospital quality and concerns about disparities; Rating physicians online

Researchers wondered if pay-for-performance (P4P) programs, which reward hospitals for meeting quality targets, have unintentional effects on racial and/or ethnic disparities. Using federal patient-level quality data, researchers found that "many hospitals treat Whites and minorities equitably" but they noted that since many minorities tend to seek care at hospitals that "perform poorly on common quality score composites, the pay for performance efforts could unintentionally penalize hospitals serving high numbers of minorities.

3 Mar 2012

NGOs welcome announcement of U.S., North Korean nuclear arms agreement that could bring food aid to nation

"The State Department's announcement that North Korea would halt nuclear activities in exchange for 240,000 metric tons of U.S. food aid was welcomed by aid groups that have long struggled to raise money to feed hungry people under an unpopular regime," the Los Angeles Times' "World Now" blog reports.

3 Mar 2012

WHO criticized for not efficiently communicating recommendations on HIV, contraception to African women, PlusNews reports

"HIV organizations, researchers and activists have criticized the WHO and UNAIDS for not clearly communicating guidelines on HIV and hormonal contraception to African women, who remain the most affected by the continent's high HIV prevalence rates," PlusNews reports.

3 Mar 2012

Abstinence therapy safer, preferable for opioid-addicted HCPs

Many health care professionals (HCPs) have easy access to controlled medications and the diversion and abuse of drugs among this group may be as high as 10%. Controversy surrounds the safety of allowing addicted HCPs to return to clinical practice while undergoing medical treatment with opioid substitution therapy such as buprenorphine.

3 Mar 2012

GOP presidential candidates go on attack with charges related to contraception, health reforms and the individual mandate

Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Ron Paul launch new criticisms of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich - not to mention of each other.

2 Mar 2012

Sleep improves with age dispelling age old myth

A new study dispels the age old belief that sleep doesn’t get more difficult with age. The study shows that sleep quality tends to improve the older people got, with adults in their 80s getting better sleep than any other age group surveyed. The new study was published in the journal Sleep.

2 Mar 2012

Romney: Blunting confusion on support of contraception amendment

The campaign issued a clarification Wednesday after comments made by GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to an Ohio reporter about the contraception-related Senate amendment. Romney's camp clarified his support for the amendment.

2 Mar 2012

Congress urged to pass 'Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2012'

Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening saves lives, but a loophole in current Medicare law may cause patients to think twice before undergoing this vital test. Legislation introduced today seeks to ensure that colorectal cancer screening for all Medicare beneficiaries is free, as intended.

2 Mar 2012

Millions at risk of malnutrition as Horn of Africa, Sahel face dry seasons

Only weeks after the U.N. declared an end to the famine in Somalia, regional climate scientists meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, at the 30th Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum have said preventive measures should be taken to stem the effects of drought that likely will return to Somalia and other parts of the Horn of Africa over the next three months, IRIN reports.

2 Mar 2012

Federal judge says govt. can't require grisly images on cigarette packages

The judge ruled on constitutional free speech grounds, but the case could end up in the Supreme Court.

2 Mar 2012

Detailing health insurance coverage forms - a health law requirement

The Associated Press reports on how consumers can navigate insurance choices while waiting for the more user-friendly summaries called for by the law.

2 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 2, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the Senate's vote to reject an effort to expand exemptions to the Obama administration's birth control coverage rule.

2 Mar 2012

Poll: Democrats hold political advantage on contraception, Medicare debates

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation's February poll, opinions tracked more closely with party affiliation than gender. Meanwhile, the public remains skeptical of the health law.

2 Mar 2012

Cities, states balancing health costs amid continuing economic problems

Some 29 states are dealing with a total budget deficit of $47 billion for fiscal 2013, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Unlike the federal government, nearly all states must balance their budgets every year. Though tax revenues are slowly recovering after bottoming out in 2010, they're still not back to pre-recession levels.

2 Mar 2012

Health Care News and Research

Zimbabwe's Mugabe urges lawmakers to be tested for HIV, publicly reveal status as part of new initiative

HIV rate drops among needle-drug users

Mayo takes over Ga. health system; Monitors deliver plan to boost care at Parkland Memorial in Texas

Sachs says he is 'eager for challenge' of World Bank presidency

Roundup: Iowa lawmaker urges waiting on exchange bill until court rules; Calif. group finds way to recycle medicine

Viewpoints: The defeated Blunt Amendment, Obama's $100B Catholic hospital risk, fixing drug shortages

Research roundup: The push for hospital quality and concerns about disparities; Rating physicians online

NGOs welcome announcement of U.S., North Korean nuclear arms agreement that could bring food aid to nation

WHO criticized for not efficiently communicating recommendations on HIV, contraception to African women, PlusNews reports

Abstinence therapy safer, preferable for opioid-addicted HCPs

GOP presidential candidates go on attack with charges related to contraception, health reforms and the individual mandate

Sleep improves with age dispelling age old myth

Romney: Blunting confusion on support of contraception amendment

Congress urged to pass 'Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2012'

Millions at risk of malnutrition as Horn of Africa, Sahel face dry seasons

Federal judge says govt. can't require grisly images on cigarette packages

Detailing health insurance coverage forms - a health law requirement

First Edition: March 2, 2012

Poll: Democrats hold political advantage on contraception, Medicare debates

Cities, states balancing health costs amid continuing economic problems

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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