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GOP struggles to find replacement plan for health law

More than a year after Republicans first pledged to "repeal and replace" President Obama's new health-care law, the GOP is still struggling to answer a basic question. Replace it . . . with what?

29 Dec 2011

Obama and Gingrich differ on embryonic stem cell research

Research!America's new national voter education initiative, Your Candidates-Your Health, features responses from President Obama and Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on important health research and prevention issues.

28 Dec 2011

Journal highlights safe use of point-of-care testing technologies

Many medical tests that once required sending samples to a laboratory and waiting for results can now be rapidly performed at the patient's bedside. As these point-of-care testing (POCT) technologies are increasingly integrated into patient care, careful attention is needed to protect patient safety and avoid medical errors, according to this month's special issue of Point of Care: The Journal of Near-Patient Testing & Technology.

28 Dec 2011

Working patterns should now be considered a specific risk factor for obesity, type 2 diabetes

The poor diet of shift workers should be considered a new occupational health hazard, according to an editorial published in this month's PLoS Medicine.

28 Dec 2011

Eisai resubmits NDA for perampanel to treat epilepsy-associated seizures

Eisai Inc. announced today that it resubmitted the New Drug Application (NDA) for the investigational AMPA-type glutamate receptor antagonist perampanel for partial-onset seizures associated with epilepsy to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 22, 2011.

26 Dec 2011

Mead Johnson affirms safety of Enfamil Premium Newborn formula

Mead Johnson Nutrition has conducted a new round of rigorous testing on samples of a batch of Enfamil Premium Newborn powdered formula related to a U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) investigation.

26 Dec 2011

Chromcraft receives three year vendor contract from Premier healthcare

Chromcraft, a Division of Chromcraft-Revington, Inc., has been awarded a three year vendor contract starting January 1, 2012 with the Premier healthcare alliance.

26 Dec 2011

New report on shortfalls in Medicaid funding for Ohio SNFs

As skilled nursing facility (SNF) providers across Ohio face 2012, a new report reveals the depth of their financial challenges. Medicaid, the health program for low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities, underfunded Ohio SNFs by $262 million, or $14.31 per patient per day, in 2009.

26 Dec 2011

AJHP examines pharmacists' prescribing medications in current issue

Pharmacists' prescribing medications is a topic often discussed when health policy experts explore how to improve patient safety, medication-use outcomes, and access to medical services.

26 Dec 2011

U.S. to provide $113M in additional aid to Horn of Africa

President Obama on Thursday announced "an additional $113 million in emergency relief assistance for the Horn of Africa ... [to] support urgently needed food, health, shelter, water and assistance needs," according to a White House statement.

23 Dec 2011

Roundup: HIV staff to be cut in Ga.; Abortion news in N.J., Mo.; Wis. Medicaid coverage in limbo

A loss of $3.7 million in federal funds is forcing Georgia to reduce its workforce for HIV prevention. After an inquiry by Georgia Health News, the Department of Public Health this week acknowledged that 20 people in state health districts have been notified they will probably lose their jobs in January, and that an unspecified number of staffers at the department level have received the same notification.

23 Dec 2011

Oregon hospitals lose battle against new law; Pittsburgh hospital, insurer reach agreement

The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems lost an attempt to stop the implementation of a new law that will reduce their outpatient reimbursements by up to 50% starting January 1.

23 Dec 2011

Nurses plan strike in New York; Calif. nurse walkout spurs hospital lockout

Nurses at one hospital in New York are planning a walkout in January unless they can hammer out an agreement with leaders there. In California in the meantime, nurses who staged a one-day walkout Thursday over a contract dispute and staffing issues will not be allowed back to work today, officials said.

23 Dec 2011

Promoting gay rights essential for health of Africans

Across Africa, "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people suffer brutal attacks, yet cannot report them to the police for fear of additional violence, humiliation, rape or imprisonment at the hands of the authorities.

23 Dec 2011

Jenna Bush Hager reports on family trip to Africa to visit health programs on NBC's Today Show

In this video clip from NBC's Today show, contributing correspondent Jenna Bush Hager reports on a recent family trip to Africa to visit PEPFAR-funded programs and to announce a new initiative by the George W. Bush Institute to fight cervical cancer.

23 Dec 2011

House, Senate pass two-month extension bill

The House and Senate on Friday approved a two-month extension of the payroll-tax cut, averting an increase that would have left workers with less take-home pay next year.

23 Dec 2011

Science names HIV prevention trial as '2011 Breakthrough of the Year'

"The journal Science has chosen the HPTN 052 clinical trial, an international HIV prevention trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)," which found that early treatment with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) reduced the risk of transmission among sero-discordant partners by 96 percent, as the "2011 Breakthrough of the Year," an NIH press release states (12/22).

23 Dec 2011

Medicare spending growth slows, but 2011 a profitable year for Medicare Advantage plans

Medicare spending growth is slowing, even as enrollment rises, The Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, several large Medicare Advantage plans turned a mighty profit in 2011, despite the volatility of the larger economy.

23 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Picking the 'right fights'; Sebelius's 'special place' in history

Republicans do need to fight for their priorities, but it helps to pick the right fights. They should return in 2012 ready to make their differences clear on taxes, health care, regulation, and how to grow an economy (12/23).

23 Dec 2011

Research roundup: Unraveling why elderly men are tested for prostate cancer; Difficulty paying medical bills

Medical Center Characteristics Associated With PSA Screenings In Elderly Veterans With Limited Life Expectancy -- Medical guidelines recommend against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings for prostate cancer in men with limited life expectancy, but studies have shown that many elderly men still get the test.

23 Dec 2011