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Bachmann victory, Pawlenty dropout could alter GOP health care tone

Pawlenty "launched his campaign with high hopes, some of the top campaign talent in the Republican Party and perhaps the best organization in Iowa, which will start the nominating process early next year at its caucuses.

16 Aug 2011

Patient information-sharing network under development by VA, Defense

The Washington Post reports on how this emerging electronic health record system is impacting the marketplace. In other Health IT news, the Twin Cities' market appears to be full of "early adopters" of online care services, according to the Pioneer Press.

16 Aug 2011

As international affairs budget faces cuts, development community must fight for aid

In the wake of the agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling, and "with 20 percent cuts already on the table, the international affairs budget is in for a tough fight throughout the fall," Richard Parker, director of communications for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, writes in a post on Devex's "Obama's Foreign Aid Reform" blog.

16 Aug 2011

Latest health law decision adds momentum as challenges move toward Supreme Court

In one of the main legal challenges against the health care reform passed last year, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta declared the law's "individual mandate" unconstitutional, calling it an "unprecedented exercise of congressional power."

16 Aug 2011

AHRQ's new Spanish-language guide on heart medications

A free, illustrated easy-to-read pamphlet that compares drugs for preventing heart attacks, heart failure or strokes in people with stable coronary heart disease is one of six new Spanish-language publications from HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that help patients compare treatments for common illnesses.

16 Aug 2011

Analysis: Medicare, liberals and the lesser of two evils

Writing for Kaiser Health News, Jonathan Cohn asks and answer the following question: Why does the debt ceiling deal give liberals so much heartburn? Many reasons, obviously. But a big one is the possibility that it will trigger automatic cuts to Medicare, the jewel of the Great Society and the program on which virtually every senior citizen depends for health insurance.

16 Aug 2011

Capsules: New money and new rules for the exchanges

Now on Capsules, KHN's news blog, Phil Galewitz reports that the "Obama administration on Friday allotted $185 million to 13 states and the District of Columbia to help build new insurance exchanges and issued rules on how the new marketplaces will enroll individuals, provide subsidies to low- and middle-class Americans and interact with state Medicaid programs."

16 Aug 2011

Pain care management needs to be improved: CMAJ

Pain care management needs to be improved, with health care professionals committing to improve care as well as a retooling of the health care system to help people who are suffering, states an editorial in CMAJ.

16 Aug 2011

Anti-health law measure secures place on Ohio ballot; mental health improvements hit snags in Milwaukee

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would block implementation of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law can appear on the ballot this fall. The ruling came on the same day that a federal appeals court in Atlanta struck down the requirement in the law that Americans either carry health insurance or face penalties.

16 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Health reform 'tax' vs. 'penalty'; super committee forecast; boomer tsunami

In a foolhardy indulgence of partisan ideology, Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas is returning a $31.5 million federal grant that would have made his state a leader in technology development for the new federal health care law. … He joins other Republican governors willing to sell their constituents short in grandstanding against the health care law from statehouse pulpits.

16 Aug 2011

Feds offer more exchange details, money to encourage states in developing these insurance marketplaces

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $185 million in grants to 13 states. The government also clarified how states will be expected to determine who is eligible to participate in exchanges under the health law.

16 Aug 2011

Multi-prong approach needed to fight famine in Somalia

"The Obama administration deserves credit for acting in advance to ameliorate the effects" of drought in East Africa, a New York Times editorial states, noting that USAID has been working since last summer, when the crisis was predicted, to "plac[e] food and other supplies in Kenya, Djibouti and South Africa" and "working on programs to help Somalia and other countries improve food production to avert future crises."

12 Aug 2011

Mixed reports from aid organizations in Somalia after al-Shabab pulls out of Mogadishu

The news from the Horn of Africa is "mixed," NPR's "All Things Considered" reports, adding, "More food is getting through and security has improved for now, but tens of thousands of children have already died and many more are at risk." According to NPR, "Aid groups were pleased last week when al-Shabab, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, pulled out of the capital, Mogadishu. That made a dangerous country a little bit less so for aid workers".

12 Aug 2011

Highlights: Appeals court upholds Ariz. abortion law; Ga. offers premium discount to workers in wellness programs

An Arizona appeals court ruled Thursday to allow key parts of a state law restricting abortions to take effect, including one that requires women to see a doctor in person the day before getting an abortion to hear about risks and alternatives.

12 Aug 2011

Clinton announces additional $17M for Horn of Africa, urges long-term investment in agriculture, food aid

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday announced in a speech at the International Food Policy Research Institute that the U.S. has pledged an additional $17 million in emergency food aid to the Horn of Africa, with $12 million going to humanitarian operations in Somalia, VOA News reports.

12 Aug 2011

Maternal mortality rate in South Sudan estimated to be highest worldwide

The maternal mortality rate in Africa's newest nation, South Sudan, is estimated to be more than 2,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 births, "the highest in the world," MediaGlobal reports. "'In South Sudan, a woman has a bigger chance of dying during childbirth than to go to high school,' Jane Coyne, program manager from Medicins Sans Frontieres, told MediaGlobal," the news service writes.

12 Aug 2011

Faith influences health behaviors of American Muslim patients

The perceived role of God in illness and recovery is a primary influence upon the health care beliefs and behaviors of American Muslims, a first-of-its-kind study has discovered. Outreach and education efforts by the health care community can help address Muslim concerns and improve health care quality in this rapidly growing population, the report recommends.

12 Aug 2011

Lancet launches Global Health Portal

The Lancet has launched a Global Health Portal, which "offers free and unlimited access to all global health content in one location including Series, Regional Reports, multimedia content, and from our World Report and Perspectives sections," according to the journal's homepage.

12 Aug 2011

HIV prevention must include economic empowerment of women

"Transactional sex, sexual intercourse driven by material exchanges," occurs worldwide, but "[i]n poor regions with high HIV prevalence rates like sub-Saharan Africa … transactional sex poses an even higher threat to one's wellbeing and health because the chance of HIV infection is greater," Daniella Choi, staff member at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, writes in CSIS' Commission on Smart Global Health Policy blog.

12 Aug 2011

IRIN examines access to water and sanitation in Zambia

IRIN examines access to water and sanitation in Zambia, where "only 58 percent of Zambians have access to adequate sanitation and 13 percent lack any kind of toilet," according to a 2008 study by the local non-governmental organization Water and Sanitation Forum.

12 Aug 2011

Health Care News and Research

Bachmann victory, Pawlenty dropout could alter GOP health care tone

Patient information-sharing network under development by VA, Defense

As international affairs budget faces cuts, development community must fight for aid

Latest health law decision adds momentum as challenges move toward Supreme Court

AHRQ's new Spanish-language guide on heart medications

Analysis: Medicare, liberals and the lesser of two evils

Capsules: New money and new rules for the exchanges

Pain care management needs to be improved: CMAJ

Anti-health law measure secures place on Ohio ballot; mental health improvements hit snags in Milwaukee

Viewpoints: Health reform 'tax' vs. 'penalty'; super committee forecast; boomer tsunami

Feds offer more exchange details, money to encourage states in developing these insurance marketplaces

Multi-prong approach needed to fight famine in Somalia

Mixed reports from aid organizations in Somalia after al-Shabab pulls out of Mogadishu

Highlights: Appeals court upholds Ariz. abortion law; Ga. offers premium discount to workers in wellness programs

Clinton announces additional $17M for Horn of Africa, urges long-term investment in agriculture, food aid

Maternal mortality rate in South Sudan estimated to be highest worldwide

Faith influences health behaviors of American Muslim patients

Lancet launches Global Health Portal

HIV prevention must include economic empowerment of women

IRIN examines access to water and sanitation in Zambia

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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