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Growing global trade puts world at greater risk for foodborne disease outbreaks, WHO officials say

"The world has become more vulnerable to outbreaks of disease caused by contaminated food because of growing global trade, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday," Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Oct 2011

Mathematical optimization models to improve radiation therapy for cancer

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed mathematical optimization models that will make radiation treatment plans safer and more efficient than conventional plans.

From Elekta 14 Oct 2011

Clinton opposes GOP bill to cut U.S. funding to U.N., poll finds majority of Americans also against legislation

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday "warned House Republicans about pushing ahead with a bill to cut funds for the United Nations, saying she would recommend that President Barack Obama veto the legislation" that is expected to be considered by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

14 Oct 2011

Pulse oximetry can detect critical congenital heart disease in infants

Pulse oximetry, a non-invasive procedure that measures the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, can be used as a screening tool to detect critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in infants, and is more readily available than echocardiography, the current gold standard for CCHD diagnosis, according to a new research abstract presented Friday, Oct. 14, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) in Boston.

14 Oct 2011

State roundup: Anti-abortion legislation campaign; services for disabled under scrutiny; what is a 'medical home'

A nationwide coalition of anti-abortion groups said Wednesday it is preparing to push legislation in all 50 states requiring that pregnant women see and hear the fetal heartbeat before having an abortion. The effort follows the introduction of similar legislation at the federal level by Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

14 Oct 2011

Hospitals, health groups going green

Hospitals and health systems are organizing the industry's vast purchasing power to push manufacturers of medical products to make them with safer chemicals and to be more environmentally friendly.

14 Oct 2011

Bonuses tied to Medicare Advantage's star system reward insurers on quality marks

For the first time, a government-backed quality rating will have a financial meaning to health insurance companies looking to attract millions of older Americans to privately run Medicare coverage next year.

14 Oct 2011

Reducing medicine to economics makes mockery of doctor-patient bond

Physicians who once only grappled with learning the language of medicine must now also cope with a health care world that has turned hospitals into factories and reduced clinical encounters to economic transactions, two Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians lament.

14 Oct 2011

DRC worst off among 26 countries facing 'alarming' or 'extremely alarming' hunger levels, according to new Global Hunger Index

"Twenty-six countries have 'alarming' or 'extremely alarming' hunger levels, with the situation deteriorating particularly badly in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to this year's Global Hunger Index," AlertNet reports.

14 Oct 2011

Longer looks: Miss. ballot-initiative on abortion; personal fortune may have helped Herman Cain battle cancer; for doctors, breaking up is hard to do

One evening in late September John Perkins, a veteran of the civil-rights movement, attended a rally at a Baptist church in Jackson in support of what he called "a total justice issue," … It was concerned with Amendment 26, a measure on Mississippi's ballot this November that defines a person as being "every human being from the moment of fertilisation, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof". The reason for the measure is straightforward; its consequences less so. The Supreme Court, in its landmark Roe v Wade ruling in 1973, held that the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester was guaranteed by her constitutional right to privacy.

14 Oct 2011

AMCs must make systematic changes to improve quality of life, productivity of their faculty

Academic medical centers (AMCs) must make systematic changes to improve quality of life—and thus productivity—of their faculty, according to a commentary that will appear in the October 12 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

14 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: 'Moneyball' and health care; Daschle on diabetes treatment; Elton John and Sen. Nelson on paying for AIDS drugs

Billy Beane's data-driven strategies made him the talk of baseball, the king of the current box office and a highly visible advocate for evidence-based medicine. But Beane's teams have faded since their "Moneyball" heyday - and evidence-based medicine might not be the home run that some reformers hope it will be.

14 Oct 2011

Univita earns Health Utilization Management Accreditation from URAC

Univita announced today that it has been awarded Health Utilization Management Accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

13 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 13, 2011

In today's headlines, a report about how Mitt Romney's health law waiver plan would work -- states could skirt some of the measure's biggest requirements, but it's still not a complete repeal.

13 Oct 2011

Hydromorphone can be as effective as diacetylmorphine in treating heroin addiction

A clinical trial to test better treatment options for chronic heroin addiction is expected to begin in Vancouver at the end of this year. Led by researchers from Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia, it's the only clinical trial of its kind in North America.

13 Oct 2011

Improved SNAP benefit levels more effective for children's health

Pediatric researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC), in partnership with Children's HealthWatch investigators in Boston, Minneapolis, Little Rock, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, have found that higher benefit amounts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program protected the health and well-being of very young, low-income children during a period of great financial hardship for many families in America.

13 Oct 2011

UofL associate professor to create an emergency countermeasure staffing plan

Building on the success of Louisville's response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ruth Carrico, PhD, plans to use a $250,000 one-year cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create an emergency countermeasure staffing plan that utilizes nursing, pharmacy and public health students.

13 Oct 2011

AARP members take to the Hill to protect entitlements

In effort to reinforce national television advertising, more than 400 AARP volunteers and staffers will be on Capitol Hill today to remind lawmakers not to cut Medicare. Meanwhile, both Democratic and Republican leaders are sending clear messages to the "super committee" and their fellow lawmakers regarding what they think should be on the table and how to frame expectations.

13 Oct 2011

Haiti uses 'peanut butter medicine' to battle malnutrition

CNN/Global Health Frontline News examines how "ready-to-use therapeutic foods" are being used in Haiti to help children with severe malnutrition. U.S. nonprofit organization Meds and Food for Kids makes "Medika Mamba, which means 'peanut butter medicine' in Creole. It's a ready-to-eat paste packed with nutritious ingredients that -- over a period of weeks -- gives a jolt to the system and puts children back on track," the news agency writes.

13 Oct 2011

Guardian photo gallery shows North Korea's food crisis in pictures

The Guardian published a gallery of photographs taken in North Korea by Damir Sagolj, after "a harsh winter and widespread flooding have exacerbated the food shortage in the country, leaving millions of people on a knife edge."

13 Oct 2011

Health Care News and Research

Growing global trade puts world at greater risk for foodborne disease outbreaks, WHO officials say

Mathematical optimization models to improve radiation therapy for cancer

Clinton opposes GOP bill to cut U.S. funding to U.N., poll finds majority of Americans also against legislation

Pulse oximetry can detect critical congenital heart disease in infants

State roundup: Anti-abortion legislation campaign; services for disabled under scrutiny; what is a 'medical home'

Hospitals, health groups going green

Bonuses tied to Medicare Advantage's star system reward insurers on quality marks

Reducing medicine to economics makes mockery of doctor-patient bond

DRC worst off among 26 countries facing 'alarming' or 'extremely alarming' hunger levels, according to new Global Hunger Index

Longer looks: Miss. ballot-initiative on abortion; personal fortune may have helped Herman Cain battle cancer; for doctors, breaking up is hard to do

AMCs must make systematic changes to improve quality of life, productivity of their faculty

Viewpoints: 'Moneyball' and health care; Daschle on diabetes treatment; Elton John and Sen. Nelson on paying for AIDS drugs

Univita earns Health Utilization Management Accreditation from URAC

First Edition: October 13, 2011

Hydromorphone can be as effective as diacetylmorphine in treating heroin addiction

Improved SNAP benefit levels more effective for children's health

UofL associate professor to create an emergency countermeasure staffing plan

AARP members take to the Hill to protect entitlements

Haiti uses 'peanut butter medicine' to battle malnutrition

Guardian photo gallery shows North Korea's food crisis in pictures

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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