Health Care News and Research

RSS

The health care sector and jobs creation

News reports reflect significant activity within the health industry – some highlighting job creation, some reflecting employment reductions.

1 Feb 2012

Faster, less expensive methods of circumcision being tested, reviewed, New York Times reports

The New York Times examines developments in circumcision technology, after "three studies have shown that circumcising adult heterosexual men is one of the most effective 'vaccines' against [HIV] -- reducing the chances of infection by 60 percent or more."

1 Feb 2012

HHS contraception rule continues to stir controversy

The Los Angeles Times reports that this new policy could face a difficult Supreme Court path and continues to draw outrage from Catholic clergy.

1 Feb 2012

S&P warns some G20 nations face downgrade unless reforms to stem rising health care costs enacted

"Ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned it may downgrade 'a number of highly rated' Group of 20 [G20] countries from 2015 if their governments fail to enact reforms to curb rising health care spending and other costs related to aging populations," Reuters reports.

1 Feb 2012

Democrats anxiously await new GOP budget plan

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has indicated the soon-to-be-unveiled proposal will include a plan to privatize Medicare at least "in part."

1 Feb 2012

Medicaid: Judge halts Calif. cuts

Cuts to state Medicaid programs are in the news: A federal judge on Monday stopped cuts to California's Medicaid program, and state lawmakers in Nebraska are offering a bill to stop Medicaid cuts in their state.

1 Feb 2012

Policy & Politics textbook receives high honors and reviews

The nursing textbook, Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 6th Edition has received high honors and reviews. Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) Board member and leader in women's and infants' health and research, Irma Goertzen, RN, MA authored a chapter in this must-have textbook.

1 Feb 2012

Exercise training can combat depressive symptoms in patients with chronic illness

Combat feelings of sadness that often accompany chronic illness with a good work-out, say University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers in a study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

1 Feb 2012

Researchers investigate Avian Pathogenic E. coli strains

Escherichia coli bacteria thrive in the lower intestine of humans and other animals, including birds. Most are vital constituents of the healthy gut flora, but certain forms of E. coli cause a range of diseases in both humans and poultry.

1 Feb 2012

Most young people do not receive emergency mental health assessment after deliberate self-harm

A national study of Medicaid data shows most young people who present to emergency departments with deliberate self-harm are discharged to the community, without receiving an emergency mental health assessment.

1 Feb 2012

Roundtable discusses importance and potential benefits of palliative care in the ICU

If you think palliative care and the ICU don't go together, think again. The importance and potential benefits of palliative care to ease suffering and improve quality of life for patients being treated in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) has received increasing recognition but is not without significant challenges, as discussed in a Roundtable discussion in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

1 Feb 2012

Gottlieb to open new health center in the near west suburbs

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital is opening a new health center designed around the needs of patients in the near west suburbs. The Gottlieb Center for Immediate Care at River Forest, 7617 W. North Ave., is part of the Loyola University Health System. Physicians from both the Loyola Maywood and the Gottlieb Melrose Park campuses will together care for patients at the nearly 10,000 square-foot new facility.

31 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: ACOs might replace health insurers; Losing a job while pregnant; Barring smokers from the workplace

Here's a bold prediction for the new year. By 2020, the American health insurance industry will be extinct. Insurance companies will be replaced by accountable care organizations - groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together to provide the full range of medical care for patients.

31 Jan 2012

$Anti-malarial treatment available to millions of poor Nigerians at a fraction of its normal cost$

Anti-malarial treatment available to millions of poor Nigerians at a fraction of its normal cost

Millions of poor Nigerians will gain access to the most effective combination treatment for malaria at a fraction of its current cost, following the successful conclusion of negotiations between the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) funded Partnership for Transforming Health Systems (PATHS2) and a variety of international and national stakeholders in Nigeria this week.

31 Jan 2012

AMN sells home healthcare business to BAYADA

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. announced it has completed the sale of its home healthcare business to BAYADA Home Health Care, Inc. effective January 30, 2012. As a result of the sale, AMN will receive cash proceeds of $9.65 million and retain working capital of approximately $4 million.

31 Jan 2012

Catholic bishops, colleges resisting HHS rule on contraceptive coverage

Many Catholic colleges decline to prescribe or cover birth control, citing religious reasons. Now they are under pressure to change. This month the Obama administration, citing the medical case for birth control, made a politically charged decision that the new health care law requires insurance plans at Catholic institutions to cover birth control without co-payments for employees, and that may be extended to students. But Catholic organizations are resisting the rule, saying it would force them to violate their beliefs and finance behavior that betrays Catholic teachings.

31 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Contraceptive controversy; Revising mental health definitions

It was good news that the Obama administration withstood pressure from Roman Catholic bishops and social conservatives to deny contraceptive coverage for millions of American women who work for religiously affiliated employers. Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, rejected broad exemptions from a new rule requiring all health plans to cover birth control, without a deductible or co-payment.

31 Jan 2012

Large public-private partnership announced to speed progress against NTDs

Thirteen pharmaceutical companies; the governments of the U.S., U.K. and United Arab Emirates; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the WHO; the World Bank; the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi); and other global health organizations "announced a new, coordinated push to accelerate progress toward eliminating or controlling 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by the end of the decade," according to a press release from Global Health Strategies.

31 Jan 2012

OMB examining final rule on coordination of Medicaid, CHIP and exchanges

Also in the news, Roll Call takes a look at what action to expect, and who on Capitol Hill will be in the hot seat, as the Supreme Court works its way through the health law's constitutionality.

31 Jan 2012

Clorox launches new H2O2 cleaner disinfectant wipes and spray

Clorox Professional Products Company, a division of The Clorox Company announced today the introduction of Clorox Healthcare(TM) Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectant Wipes and Spray, a new line of ready-to-use, one-step cleaner disinfectants engineered with a patented activated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) formula.

31 Jan 2012