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FDA clears Nucletron's new VCMC Applicator for gynecologic cancers

During the first day of the annual conference for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in Miami, Nucletron, an Elekta company, today announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its new Vaginal CT/MR Multi Channel (VCMC) Applicator, offering a brachytherapy solution that enables very precise dose delivery for gynecologic cancers.

From Elekta 3 Oct 2011

MercyCare Health Plans provides new Medicare Advantage product

MercyCare Health Plans, headquartered in Janesville, is happy to announce it now offers Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans for health care coverage starting January 1, 2012.

3 Oct 2011

Allied Health Professionals, RNs ratify new three-year contract agreement

More than 3,000 Registered Nurses and Allied Health Professionals working in 10 of Ontario's Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) have voted to ratify a new three-year contract.

3 Oct 2011

FDA releases new PSA on safe medication use

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Women's Health today released a new public service announcement (PSA) titled, "Use Medicines Wisely," to help raise awareness about safe medication use.

3 Oct 2011

Health costs rising next year

Health care costs rose faster than inflation and wages this year - a trend that will hit home for many workers in the next several weeks as employers offer open enrollment. Employers usually pick up much of the tab for health insurance, but many are expected to shift more of this growing burden onto workers next year. That means employees are likely to see higher premiums and deductibles. And a growing number will be required to pay more up front, as more companies are adding so-called consumer-driven plans.

3 Oct 2011

Supreme Court's decision on health law likely to affect 2012 election

The Obama administration's request last week that the justices resolve whether the health care law is constitutional makes it more likely than not that they will deliver their verdict by June 2012, just as Obama and his Republican opponent charge toward the fall campaign. ... Their decision could rank as the court's most significant since the December 2000 ruling that effectively sealed George W. Bush's election as president.

3 Oct 2011

Smoking worst among miners, hoteliers and construction workers: CDC report

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report reveals that miners, construction workers and people in the hotel and food service industry have the highest smoking rates, while those in education have the lowest.

2 Oct 2011

Ikamva Labantu to launch health and education development centers in South Africa

At the Clinton Global Initiative 2011, Ikamva Labantu, one of South Africa's longest-standing social development organizations, announced that it will be launching a Health and Wellness Center and an Early Childhood Development Training & Resource Center in the Khayelitsha township outside Cape Town by the end of 2011.

1 Oct 2011

National Healing to merge with Diversified Clinical Services

National Healing Corporation, a provider of wound and disease management solutions for hospitals, and Diversified Clinical Services, also a provider of specialized wound care management services to hospitals, today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which the two companies will merge.

1 Oct 2011

Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care President expresses concern over job instability

Pointing to new job losses at a Nebraska nursing home attributed to a new federal Medicare regulation reducing funding by 11.1 percent, the President of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care today expressed concern that the Nebraska job loss example represents the leading edge of additional job losses and layoffs at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) throughout the nation, as facilities, care staff and patients struggle with an accumulation of Medicare and Medicaid funding reductions.

1 Oct 2011

Uganda cannot achieve development without increased investment in maternal health

In this Daily Monitor opinion piece, Anthony Masake of the Uganda Law Society stresses the importance of addressing maternal mortality in Uganda and asserts that the country cannot achieve development without increased efforts to meet national maternal health targets.

1 Oct 2011

Five reasons to support the Global Fund

Based on a report released last week by a high-level independent review panel on fiduciary controls and oversight mechanisms at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, "the changes needed at the Fund are clearly substantial," according to a Lancet editorial.

1 Oct 2011

Abortions in Africa increased during 'Global Gag Rule,' Stanford University study shows

"In the first study to examine" the effects of a U.S. policy prohibiting foreign aid from going to any organization that performs abortions or provides information about or referral for the procedure as a method of family planning (often called the "Global Gag Rule" or "Mexico City Policy"), Stanford researchers Eran Bendavid and Grant Miller found that "the number of abortions increased in African countries where U.S. support for NGOs was cut the most," according to a Stanford University news release (Gorlick, 9/28).

1 Oct 2011

Amid budget woes, PEPFAR is a program worth saving

In this post in LA Progressive, Georgianne Nienaber, an investigative and political writer, examines the potential effects of reduced PEPFAR funding and highlights the non-denominational Christian ACTS clinic operating in South Africa as an example of a U.S. foreign aid success story.

1 Oct 2011

The Polyclinic participates in major international HDL clinical research study

The Polyclinic is participating in a major international clinical research study aimed at raising HDL (good cholesterol) levels.

1 Oct 2011

Ghana's First Lady launches international campaign against maternal mortality in Eastern Region

Ghana's First Lady Ernestina Naadu Mills on Thursday launched the Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality, an international campaign aimed at fighting maternal mortality, in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of the country, the Ghana News Agency reports.

1 Oct 2011

AP: Military retirees to experience higher health premium costs

Military retirees will pay slightly more for their health care starting Saturday, and more cost increases are on the way. Premiums haven't been raised since 1994 and still will be just a fraction of what civilians pay. Under a change announced by the Defense Department on Thursday, individuals who enroll in the retiree program as of Saturday will pay $260 annually, up from $230, and it will be $520 annually for a family, up from $460.

1 Oct 2011

Calif. Medicaid case pits top Democrats against Obama administration

While the administration this week asked the Supreme Court to take up 26 states' challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the nation's top court on Monday will hear oral arguments on whether patients and providers can challenge states' Medicaid cuts - a case that patient advocates believe could have major implications for the implementation of health care reform.

1 Oct 2011

Public health officials should determine community storage of anthrax-preventing antibiotics

As part of preparations for a possible large-scale anthrax attack, public health officials on the state and local levels should determine where and how anthrax-preventing antibiotics should be stored in their communities, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

1 Oct 2011

State highlights: Many states moving workers' children to CHIP plans

After a nine-year court battle, a landmark class-action settlement was preliminarily approved this week that would require the state to provide more effective mental health services for the children in or about to enter foster care. Its reach is expected to be significant. California has 61,000 children in the foster care system, and it runs the nation's largest child welfare system at a cost of about $4.7 billion per year.

1 Oct 2011