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House call program improves quality of care for Vets in Philadelphia

Dr. Bruce Kinosian still makes house calls, and he's proud of it. In fact, he introduces himself as a physician who goes to see his patients in their homes rather than insisting that they come to see him at his office.

8 Aug 2011

Leprosy spreading in India, WHO official warns

"Six years after leprosy was declared officially eliminated in India, officials and doctors are warning that the disfiguring disease is spreading in poverty-stricken pockets of the country," Agence France-Presse reports.

8 Aug 2011

Eagle Hospital Physicians announces acquisition of Inpatient Management

Expanding geographical presence and capabilities, Eagle Hospital Physicians today announced the acquisition of Inpatient Management Incorporated (IMI), a hospitalist management company based in St. Louis, Mo.

8 Aug 2011

CMS unveils updated website to help consumers compare quality data

Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Friday that site includes updated data to help consumers compare hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, home care or dialysis providers.

8 Aug 2011

Group Health study finds higher dementia risk with atrial fibrillation

The most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation, is associated with a greater risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. This discovery by scientists at Group Health Research Institute and their collaborators was published online in advance of print on August 1 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

8 Aug 2011

Former OMB health policy adviser tapped to lead Penn medical ethics department

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a well-known bioethicist who has worked at the National Institutes of Health and until recently was special health-policy adviser to the White House Office of Management and Budget's director, will join the University of Pennsylvania faculty on Sept. 1.

8 Aug 2011

Health care sector shows muscle in job report

The health care industry added 31,300 jobs last month, higher than its average monthly increase since 2007.

8 Aug 2011

Number of cancer survivors to increase exponentially

The field of survivorship is relatively new, in part because the idea that cancer is survivable is too. In 1971, the year Richard Nixon declared war on cancer, there were 3 million survivors in the United States.

8 Aug 2011

FDA approves Relievant IDE for Intracept System to treat chronic low back pain

Relievant Medsystems, Inc. today announced the company has received Food and Drug Administration approval of an Investigational Device Exemption to begin their SMART pivotal trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Intracept System for treatment of chronic low back pain.

8 Aug 2011

Fallout from S&P downgrade could add heightened 'super committee' focus on entitlement cuts

Speculation continues about whether the yet-to-be named panel, created by the debt deal, will be able to find the necessary budget cuts to reach the goal of $1.2 trillion in savings over the next 10 years. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is among those who have low expectations.

8 Aug 2011

Most leading health plans see enrollment gains in first quarter 2011

Most of the nation's leading health plans saw enrollment gains in the first quarter of 2011 and all saw improved profit margins both year-over-year and for the quarter, a promising start for 2011. Between December 2010 and March 2011 top plans saw an aggregate increase of more than 2.0 million members. While aggregated fully-insured business continued to experience losses, the administrative services only (ASO) segment gained over 2.2 million members during the primary 2011 open enrollment season.

8 Aug 2011

Cook Medical offers silicone balloon catheter for treatment of cysts of the Bartholin gland

Physicians will now have access to Cook Medical's Word catheter, a silicone balloon catheter used to treat cysts of the Bartholin gland, company officials announced today.

8 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 8, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Marilyn Werber Serafini reports: "GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has scorned the health plans engineered by President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, even linking them with the term Obamneycare. Instead, the former Minnesota governor is brandishing a health plan his state passed in 2008 as a model for the nation".

8 Aug 2011

Proact supplies storage systems to Sint Franciscus hospital

The Sint Franciscus Gasthuis is a major hospital with a rich history and offers care covering a wide range of specialisms. As a team its 100 medical specialists and 2000 staff aim to respond positively to the needs of the patient, with high-quality care and a service-oriented attitude.

8 Aug 2011

S&P downgrade puts pressure on 'super committee' to fix entitlements

"S&P sees the debt agreement as falling short of what's necessary to fix the nation's finances. The spending cuts Democrats and Republicans agreed on were relatively modest".

8 Aug 2011

Turning from debt debate, some GOP House members renew health law attack

Healthcare reform still loomed large in voters' minds last week as members of Congress began their traditional series of recess town hall meetings. The issue had drifted down the political agenda after the 2010 midterm elections.

8 Aug 2011

USDA scientists develop new food aid product

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service "have developed a fully cooked food-aid product called Instant Corn Soy Blend that supplements meals, particularly for young children," a USDA news story reports (Bliss, 8/4).

6 Aug 2011

Panel discusses global health approaches and sustainable results

The Center for Global Health Policy's "ScienceSpeaks" blog describes a panel discussion, which took place at last week's Society for International Development 2011 World Congress, that focused "on vertical and integrated approaches to global health [and] addressed the question of how best to achieve sustainable results in the field."

6 Aug 2011

ONE hosts discussion of famine with USAID, WFP officials

"ONE Blog" features an audio recording of a conference call the organization held on Wednesday with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, World Food Programme Executive Director Josette Sheeran and Somali advocate Ali Ali about the famine in Somalia.

6 Aug 2011

Economic slowdown should not hamper global fund donations

With the new knowledge that providing antiretroviral treatment to people living with HIV would "contribut[e] to a sharp slowdown in the spread of the virus," "scaling up treatment now may prove to be the least expensive option if we want to bring this deadly pandemic, which still infects 1.8 million people every year, under control," Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

6 Aug 2011