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IQWiG finds no differences between two treatment strategies for type 2 diabetes

Whether patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus benefit from attempts to lower their blood glucose levels to near-normal levels through treatment remains an unanswered question. The studies currently available provide indications of a benefit but also of potential harm.

15 Jul 2011

Simple steps can improve malaria prevention

Megan Fotheringham, a public health adviser with the President's Malaria Initiative, describes in a post on USAID's "IMPACTblog" how a program in Kenya worked to improve the successful administration of malaria prevention therapy among pregnant women in the country's Gem District simply by sending to antenatal clinics a memo describing when to administer the treatment.

15 Jul 2011

IOM releases second report on oral health

On July 13, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a second report on oral health, Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations.

15 Jul 2011

Vaccine and aid workers express anger over CIA plot to collect DNA through fake vaccine program

"Vaccine program workers, who sometimes struggle to gain public trust and governmental cooperation in the first place, are furious about the deception" of the CIA in establishing a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an attempt to gather DNA from Osama bin Laden's family, ScienceInsider reports.

15 Jul 2011

Berks County's Department of Health advises public about possible measles exposure

The state Department of Health is advising the public of a possible case of measles exposure in Morgantown, Berks County.

15 Jul 2011

BCBSMA global payment model reduces spending, improves quality of patient care

A just-released study by a team of researchers at the Harvard Medical School finds that a new global payment model being implemented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) is meeting its twin goals of slowing the growth in health care costs while simultaneously improving the quality of patient care.

15 Jul 2011

Teva commends U.S. Senators for introducing Affordable Medicines Utilization Act of 2011

Teva commends Senators Scott Brown, Ron Wyden and John McCain for introducing the Affordable Medicines Utilization Act of 2011.

15 Jul 2011

CAHO to receive $6.3M from Ontario Government for ARTIC Program

The Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CAHO) is delighted to learn that the Ontario Government will invest $6.3 million into the CAHO Adopting Research to Improve Care (ARTIC) Program - a program aimed at moving research evidence from the bench to the bedside to drive quality and improve patient care.

15 Jul 2011

The focus on bringing down IPAB

On Capitol Hill this week, the health law's independent payment advisory panel drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was on hand to absorb some of the attacks and answer some of the questions.

15 Jul 2011

Longer looks: Penalties for doctors who keep patients waiting

When she makes a doctor's appointment, Cherie Kerr makes it clear that she better not be kept waiting long. She said she usually tries to schedule the first appointment of the day, or the first one after lunch. But if the doctor is going to be late, she insists the staff give her a call -- lest the office be billed for her time in the waiting room.

15 Jul 2011

FDA needs more oversight power to protect increasingly globalized drug supply, Pew report says

"The Food and Drug Administration needs much more power to protect the U.S. supply of drugs as more and more are made in other countries," according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Health Group, National Journal reports.

15 Jul 2011

Bariatric surgery cost-effective for all obese

Bariatric surgery is not only cost-effective for treating people who are severely obese, but also for those who are mildly obese, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

15 Jul 2011

CVS Caremark adds Access' MuGard to pharmacy benefit network

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, announced that its lead product for oral mucositis, MuGard, has been added to CVS Caremark's pharmacy benefit network.

15 Jul 2011

State roundup: Model insurance brings 'modest' savings

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' alternative quality contract, which Governor Deval Patrick has held up as a potential model for controlling health care costs, produced "modest" savings in its first year while yielding improved quality of care in some areas, according to a new study in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

15 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Teaching hospital cuts; Medicare & debt deal politics; end-of-life care

Teaching hospitals educate the next generation of physicians—who are clearly essential for our future. But the importance of academic medical centers and teaching hospitals goes far beyond delivering care.

15 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 14, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how tempers are flaring in the midst of debt-ceiling negotiations, and how failure to reach an agreement could lead to tough choices about which of the nation's obligations will be left unpaid.

14 Jul 2011

The world has a food price problem, not a food price volatility problem

"Food price levels are at historic highs, but food price volatility, although high these past few years, is not out of line with historical experience and is generally lower than it was in the 1970s.

14 Jul 2011

New survey on access to HIV prevention and treatment among MSM

A new survey (.pdf) of more than 5,000 men who have sex with men (MSM), conducted by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), "has shown that less than half of MSM around the world have easy access to lifesaving HIV prevention and treatment services," according to an MSMGF press release.

14 Jul 2011

Global health community reacts to CIA's faux vaccine operation in Pakistan

After the Guardian broke the story that the CIA organized a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an effort to confirm the location of Osama bin Laden and obtain DNA from his family members, several writers and health experts reacted to the situation, noting the possible implications for health.

14 Jul 2011

Device that crowd-sources water quality introduced at TEDGlobal conference

Researchers at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week described a device that crowd-sources water quality to "chec[k] supplies in real-time, alerting users to possible infections," and "upload[s] the data, allowing scientists to monitor the location and movement of outbreaks," BBC News reports

14 Jul 2011