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Protecting displaced women and children from gender-based violence

In this post in the State Department's "Dipnote" blog, David Robinson, acting assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, reports on gender-based violence (GBV) among refugee populations, writing, "Displaced women and children are especially vulnerable to gender-based violence. ... Without legal status or the protection of any government, stateless women and girls are also vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including trafficking in persons.

16 Dec 2011

Readmission rates and hospitalization use linked

A new study finds that efforts to keep patients from being readmitted to the hospital might involve efforts to keep them out in the first place.

16 Dec 2011

Global health aid continues to grow despite recession, report indicates

"Spending to improve health in developing countries has continued to grow during the three-year economic downturn, although at only half the blistering pace it did a decade ago," according to a report by researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the Washington Post reports.

16 Dec 2011

As shutdown looms, differences persist on payroll tax cut, spending bills

Among the items held up in the end-of-year negotiations is the Medicare physician reimbursement fix, which would prevent a 27 percent cut in doctors' payments from taking effect. A House Republican plan to pay for the "doc fix" with dollars from the health law's prevention fund is opposed by some Democratic senators.

16 Dec 2011

State roundup: Florida awaits Medicaid waiver news

Now, nurses regularly do everything from give insulin shots to empty urinary catheter bags. At the same time, state budget cuts mean the number of school nurses in California is shrinking. As a result, nurses say, they are responsible for more students every year and are largely consumed with keeping "medically fragile" children in class.

16 Dec 2011

Report: Feds bring record number of health care fraud cases in 2011

Federal prosecutors brought a record number of cases of health care fraud in fiscal 2011, a new report said, with Florida and its huge Medicare-dependent population remaining the epicenter of fraudulent claims.

16 Dec 2011

Global Fund releases 'Information Note' on Transitional Funding Mechanism

The Center for Global Health Policy's "ScienceSpeaks" blog reports on a recently released "Information Note" from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "explaining the Transitional Funding Mechanism (TFM) that the Fund Board recently decided would replace a Round 11 funding cycle.

16 Dec 2011

HIV testing remains important amid push for expanded treatment in Africa

"With a needle puncture on your finger and a drop of blood, the magic of modern science can give you a rapid HIV test in seconds, and so, knowing your status, you are better able to negotiate the rocky road of surviving HIV where timely detection is key," Farai Sevenzo, a columnist and filmmaker, writes in this BBC News opinion piece, part of a series from African journalists.

16 Dec 2011

AP examines WHO target of reducing malaria deaths to near zero by 2015

The Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle examines what it will take for the WHO to reach its new target of reducing malaria deaths to near zero by the end of 2015 and how "some experts questioned if WHO should be setting such lofty goals, especially at a time of declining funding."

16 Dec 2011

Ohio Senate puts abortion bill on hold

The Ohio measure would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. In Pennsylvania, the legislation would overhaul abortion clinic operation standards.

16 Dec 2011

AlertNet examines effects of Nepalese water shortages on local women's hygiene

AlertNet examines how water shortages in Nepal are impeding women's hygiene in the country. The news service profiles the village of Paudiyalthok in the country's Panchkhal Valley, about 25 miles east of the capital Kathmandu, where "a lack of reliable water sources is affecting many aspects of [residents'] lives, and women are bearing the brunt of changing weather patterns."

16 Dec 2011

IASLC takes proactive role in advancing lung cancer screening forward

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has taken a proactive role in advancing discussions with the international lung cancer community on how we should take lung cancer screening forward.

16 Dec 2011

Family planning efforts in Pakistan lag despite rising population, Washington Post reports

The Washington Post examines how "Pakistan's family planning efforts have lagged far behind those of other large Muslim-majority nations," despite rising population numbers.

16 Dec 2011

IQWiG publishes report on Esbriet benefit assessment for treatment of IPF

InterMune, Inc. today reported that the private Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has today published its report on the benefit assessment of Esbriet (pirfenidone) for the treatment of mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

16 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Wyden and Ryan on their Medicare plan; Frist on the need for international health aid

Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc, and both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of exploiting Medicare to frighten and entice voters. But turning discussions of Medicare's future into the third rail of American politics does nothing to guarantee that Medicare will continue to be a lifeline for America's seniors.

16 Dec 2011

Antimalarial drugs administered during pregnancy safer than contracting malaria, study suggests

"Antimalarial drugs are safer for pregnant women than contracting the disease," according to a study from the University of Oxford published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases on Tuesday that "assessed the effects of malaria and its treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy," HealthCanal.com reports.

16 Dec 2011

Virco Lab launches HIV/AIDS EHR technology

Virco Lab, Inc., the U.S. affiliate of Virco BVBA, today announced the launch of AVIGA and AVIGA REPORTER. AVIGA is a web-based electronic health record (EHR) solution with HIV/AIDS disease-specific functionality and AVIGA REPORTER is a web-based, data-reporting module designed specifically for the purposes of conducting HIV/AIDS research and providing reporting capabilities.

15 Dec 2011

Most practitioners advise people with LBP to take short break from work despite guidelines

Guidelines for clinical management of patients with low back pain (LBP) encourage health care practitioners to advise staying active and returning to work. Despite this, most practitioners believe work factors can cause or exacerbate LBP, and a recommendation for a "short break from work" to allow healing is common.

15 Dec 2011

High-deductible health plans on the rise

More than one in five Americans who are privately insured are now part of high-deductible plans, a figure that's at an all-time high and growing rapidly according to a new survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

15 Dec 2011

Ryan, Wyden to announce new Medicare proposal

Republican congressman Paul Ryan plans to unveil a new Medicare proposal Thursday that would give future seniors the choice of purchasing private insurance coverage or staying in the traditional federal plan. The concept, which is backed by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, steps back from the House Budget Chairman's previous plan to end the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program for future retirees and replace it with subsidies that seniors would use to purchase private health plans.

15 Dec 2011