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Rep. Stark prepared to introduce legislation this week to spur nationwide adoption of electronic health records

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) this week plans to introduce a bill intended to encourage nationwide adoption of electronic health record technology that will include a provision to impose penalties on health care providers who fail to do so, CQ Today reports.

11 Sep 2008

Congressional Democrats will not vote on SCHIP expansion legislation this session amid veto threats, increased cost estimates

Congressional Democrats said they will not hold a vote on legislation to renew and expand SCHIP this year, citing an inability to override a promised veto by President Bush, among other issues, the New York Times reports.

9 Sep 2008

Obama accepts Democratic Presidential nomination; discusses health care, other issues at convention

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver accepted the presidential nomination and discussed his proposals for health care and other issues, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

1 Sep 2008

Magnesium sulfate decreases preterm infants' risk for cerebral palsy

Preterm infants born to mothers receiving intravenous magnesium sulfate - a common treatment to delay labor - are less likely to develop cerebral palsy than are preterm infants whose mothers do not receive it, report researchers in a large National Institutes of Health research network.

28 Aug 2008

Aggressive treatment regimens can successfully treat XDR-TB, MDR-TB

Aggressive treatment regimens successfully can treat nearly half of patients with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and can help prevent multi-drug resistant TB from developing into XDR-TB, according to a study conducted in prisons in Tomsk, Russia, and published Monday in the journal Lancet, Reuters reports. XDR-TB is resistant to the two most potent first-line treatments and at least two of the classes of second-line drugs.

26 Aug 2008

Infections of amniotic fluid may be a significant cause of premature birth

Previously unrecognized and unidentified infections of amniotic fluid may be a significant cause of premature birth, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

25 Aug 2008

USPTO issues patent for methodologies for abating a broad range of allergens, pathogens, viruses, bacteria

The United States Patent & Trademark Office issued a patent for an environmentally "Green" low cost process that eliminates the effects of a broad range of pollutants using oxidants.

5 Aug 2008

House votes to extend medical leave coverage for college students

The House on Wednesday by voice vote approved a bill (HR 2851) that would allow college students who take medical leave to continue to receive health insurance under the policies of their parents, the AP/Boston Globe reports (AP/Boston Globe, 7/30).

3 Aug 2008

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean should improve, expand sexuality education

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean should improve and expand sexuality education programmes in order to prevent HIV and AIDS and reduce the impact of the epidemic in the region, a group of United Nations agencies said today.

31 Jul 2008

Recovery from ante-partum bed rest - Case Western study

After weeks of bed rest during pregnancy, new mothers need to rebuild muscles and strengthen their stamina. Now a group of women will test new interventions in aiding that recovery during a pilot study at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.

29 Jul 2008

Preterm birth contributes to growing number of infant deaths

Babies born too soon and too small accounted for a growing proportion of infant deaths, according to new statistics released today from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

29 Jul 2008

Senate passes legislation that would reauthorize federal funding for community health centers

The Senate on Monday by unanimous consent approved a bill (S 901) that would reauthorize through 2012 three federal programs that provide services to rural and underserved areas, CongressDaily reports.

24 Jul 2008

Widespread adoption of e-prescribing could save U.S. $156 million over five years

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Monday discussed the details of an electronic prescribing incentive program scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, 2009, that will increase Medicare payments to physicians who adopt the technology, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports.

23 Jul 2008

New Orleans area hospitals hope Iowa health system doesn't suffer same fate

The residents of southern Louisiana have all faced difficult times in the almost three years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region. No individual, business, or community in the metropolitan New Orleans region was unscathed. Natural disasters can, and do, strike anywhere, anytime. We only have to follow the Mississippi River north to Iowa to see the devastation of floodwaters to other communities.

18 Jul 2008

Pregnancy increases risk of acute myocardial infarction

Although acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is rare in women of child-bearing age, pregnancy can increase a woman's risk of heart attack 3- to 4-fold, according to a study published in the July 15, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

8 Jul 2008

Edward Kennedy working toward bipartisan support for major health care initiative in 2009

The office of Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has begun to hold a series of meetings with a number of health care experts to "begin laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal health care," the Boston Globe reports.

3 Jul 2008

Lawmakers to introduce bill that would overturn Supreme Court decision on medical device liability

Democratic lawmakers recently announced plans to introduce legislation in the House and Senate that would overturn a February Supreme Court decision that FDA approval of certain medical devices protects manufacturers from product liability lawsuits filed in state courts, CQ HealthBeat reports.

2 Jul 2008

A population-based strategy needed to tackle obesity in U.S.

A comprehensive, population-based strategy is needed to reduce the alarming prevalence of obesity in the United States, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

1 Jul 2008

Report finds 32% increase in drug industry lobbying spending in 2007

The pharmaceutical industry spent $168 million on lobbying in 2007, a 32% increase over the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Public Integrity, the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 Jun 2008

Senate panel approves $153.1 billion for discretionary spending in labor-HHS-education bill for FY 2009

The Senate Appropriations Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Tuesday by voice vote approved a $631 billion fiscal year 2009 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, CQ Today reports.