Health Care News and Research

RSS

U.S. entities announce global smoke-free workplace challenge

"The Mayo Clinic, Johnson & Johnson and others are joining forces to try to snuff out smoking in the workplace throughout the world," the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog" writes, adding, "Their global smoke-free worksite challenge, announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, calls on employers to ban smoking at offices and facilities worldwide."

23 Sep 2011

University of Kentucky receives Department of Defense grant for lung cancer study

The University of Kentucky's Dr. Susanne Arnold and colleagues were awarded a grant by the Department of Defense to study potential environmental reasons for the high lung cancer rates in Eastern Kentucky.

23 Sep 2011

Young adults take advantage of health law, make gains in health coverage

New data indicate as many as a million young adults have signed up for health insurance in the last year, offering evidence that this 2010 health law benefit is proving to be popular.

23 Sep 2011

NYT: Ethics probe involves kidney transplant center, Rep. Berkley

In 2008 Ms. Berkley helped lead an effort to block a move by federal regulators to close Nevada's only kidney transplant center, which her husband's medical practice helps run under a $738,000-a-year contract. She also successfully pushed regulators, as recently as March, to reverse a plan to cut Medicare reimbursement to dialysis centers, including the dozen her husband's medical practice owns.

23 Sep 2011

UHC honors University of Mississippi Health Care with Supplier Diversity Leadership Award

For the first time, UHC has honored a member organization for the development and implementation of an outstanding supplier diversity program. Roberta Graham, UHC executive vice president, and Jake Groenewold, UHC senior vice president, Supply Chain, presented the Supplier Diversity Leadership Award to University of Mississippi Health Care at the UHC Annual Conference 2011 in Chicago on September 22.

23 Sep 2011

Poll finds health industry 'not adequately prepared' to protect patients' digital records

Reuters reports on a new poll of health executives that indicates that the industry is not adequately prepared to protect patients' digital health records. Still, according to the Boston Globe, Dr. David Blumenthal, offered a positive view of medical technology in a Wednesday night speech, saying that electronic medical records made him a better doctor.

23 Sep 2011

Lawmakers explore savings potential of Medicare extenders

During a Wednesday House Ways and Means Committee hearing, health industry witnesses defended the Medicare "extenders," which, in many cases, are payment policies enacted to address specific problems faced by specific types of health care providers. Ending some of them would save less than $100 million a year. One economist said, however, that when added up, they can tally an estimated $2.5 billion in savings.

23 Sep 2011

Project REACH to reduce risk of postpartum depression in adolescent mothers

More than 400,000 adolescent girls will give birth in the United States each year, and about one in four of them will experience postpartum depression.

23 Sep 2011

Mercer: Health insurance costs expected to rise next year — again

Health care expenses for U.S. employers are expected to increase next year at the lowest rate in more than a decade, but the cost of benefits for workers is likely to outpace the growth of their earnings, a national survey has found. Companies expect their bills for health benefits to rise 5.4 percent on average next year, the smallest increase since 1997, according to preliminary results from a survey of nearly 1,600 employers by benefits consulting firm Mercer.

23 Sep 2011

Arizona's mental health budget cuts concern experts

Short-term savings could have long-term consequences for patients and the community, mental health experts tell The Arizona Republic. Meanwhile, a county in Iowa gets state aid to help people on a waiting list for mental health and disability care.

23 Sep 2011

Longer looks: Breast cancer fundraising; treating autism

Though breast cancer researchers and advocates perpetually plead for more money, the disease is, in fact, awash in it. Last year, the National Institutes of Health, the nation's top agency for health-related research, allocated $763 million to the study of breast cancer, more than double what it committed to any other cancer.

23 Sep 2011

Researchers to expand malaria vaccine study after initial trial yields encouraging results

Encouraged by early results of a study of an experimental malaria vaccine involving 45 children in Burkina Faso, researchers led by Pierre Druilhe at the Pasteur Institute in Paris are set to expand the clinical trial, resulting in a larger study involving 800 children in Mali, BBC News reports.

23 Sep 2011

BlueCross report examines national health care reform's impact on Tennessee

A research based report from the newly-established BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Institute takes an in-depth look at national health care reform's possible positive and negative effects on Tennessee.

23 Sep 2011

State roundup: N.Y. to pay $5 million to end suit over autistic teen's death

The State of New York has agreed to pay $5 million to settle two civil suits brought by the family of a boy with autism who died in state care, among the larger wrongful-death settlements ever paid by the state.

23 Sep 2011

Multi-donor program improves availability of essential medicines in Zimbabwe's public health sector

IRIN reports on "the improved availability of essential medicines in Zimbabwe's public health sector" as a result of "a multi-donor program started in 2008 through collaboration between the government, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) Zimbabwe, the European Union (E.U.), the U.K., Australia, Canada and Ireland."

23 Sep 2011

IU professor to study factors influencing young women's adoption of HPV vaccine

Dena S. Cox, a professor of marketing and faculty fellow at the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, has received a $99,600, two-year research grant from Merck to study factors influencing young women's adoption of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

23 Sep 2011

PepsiCo, WFP, USAID announce partnership to increase chickpea production, address hunger in Ethiopia

PepsiCo on Wednesday announced a public-private partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID to increase chickpea production in Ethiopia in order to secure access to the legume, which "plays an increasing role in its food products," the New York Times reports.

23 Sep 2011

As Congress searches for health care savings, care coordination for dual eligibles may offer an opportunity

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said during a Wednesday Senate Finance Committee hearing that the current lack of coordination for people who are on both Medicare and Medicaid leads to massive amounts of waste and low-quality care, but an Obama administration official said more time was needed to address this issue. Also, a new report written by Emory University's Kenneth Thorpe and funded by America's Health Insurance Plans sets a high possible savings estimate if this coordination goal can be achieved.

23 Sep 2011

Twenty aid agencies issue open letter urging international community to change approach in Somalia

Twenty aid agencies on Wednesday issued an open letter "urging the international community to change its approach to Somalia 'and enhance diplomatic engagement with the parties to the conflict, to ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid,'" particularly before the rainy season brings the threat of disease, IRIN reports.

23 Sep 2011

Nigeria expected to sign agreement with UNESCO for international biotech center targeting food security, disease

The Nigerian government is expected to sign an agreement with UNESCO at the 36th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, which begins next month, for an international biotechnology center that will focus on strengthening food safety, tropical disease research and the conservation of bio-resources across Africa, SciDev.Net reports, adding that "UNESCO's executive board approved the establishment of the center earlier this year."

23 Sep 2011

Health Care News and Research

U.S. entities announce global smoke-free workplace challenge

University of Kentucky receives Department of Defense grant for lung cancer study

Young adults take advantage of health law, make gains in health coverage

NYT: Ethics probe involves kidney transplant center, Rep. Berkley

UHC honors University of Mississippi Health Care with Supplier Diversity Leadership Award

Poll finds health industry 'not adequately prepared' to protect patients' digital records

Lawmakers explore savings potential of Medicare extenders

Project REACH to reduce risk of postpartum depression in adolescent mothers

Mercer: Health insurance costs expected to rise next year — again

Arizona's mental health budget cuts concern experts

Longer looks: Breast cancer fundraising; treating autism

Researchers to expand malaria vaccine study after initial trial yields encouraging results

BlueCross report examines national health care reform's impact on Tennessee

State roundup: N.Y. to pay $5 million to end suit over autistic teen's death

Multi-donor program improves availability of essential medicines in Zimbabwe's public health sector

IU professor to study factors influencing young women's adoption of HPV vaccine

PepsiCo, WFP, USAID announce partnership to increase chickpea production, address hunger in Ethiopia

As Congress searches for health care savings, care coordination for dual eligibles may offer an opportunity

Twenty aid agencies issue open letter urging international community to change approach in Somalia

Nigeria expected to sign agreement with UNESCO for international biotech center targeting food security, disease

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®

Latest News