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Research roundup: Putting good science into practice; shifting hospital costs; finding savings in Mass.

In 2006, researchers published a widely reported study showing that for many patients who had suffered a heart attack more than 24 hours before and had a blocked coronary artery, certain heart procedures, such as balloon angioplasty and the insertion of stents, were no more effective than drugs alone. In 2007, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology issued guidelines urging doctors to not use such treatments in those patients.

16 Jul 2011

Pennsylvania State reminds massage therapists to become licensed before December deadline

The Pennsylvania State Massage Therapy Licensing Board is reminding existing massage therapists of the approaching December deadline to become licensed under the grandfather provision of state law. The board operates under the Department of State.

15 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 15, 2011

In today's news -- the debt-ceiling strategy appears to move toward a "plan B."

15 Jul 2011

ECG results for young athletes prone to misinterpretation

Pediatric cardiologists are prone to misinterpreting electrocardiograms when using the results to determine whether young athletes have heart defects that could make exercising perilous, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. This is the first research to examine the acumen of pediatric cardiologists from several health-care institutions in using ECGs to detect rare heart conditions associated with sudden cardiac death.

15 Jul 2011

Horn of Africa nations risk 'massive famine,' Shah says

The nations in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa "are at risk of 'massive famine,' Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), told the Huffington Post Wednesday."

15 Jul 2011

Opinions about the CIA's ruse vaccination campaign in Pakistan

Health experts and writers continue to react to the CIA's use of a vaccine campaign to hunt Osama bin Laden.

15 Jul 2011

CMS actuary offers bleak picture for Medicare solvency

During congressional testimony, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chief Actuary Richard Foster also offered dark predictions for hospitals' future profitability.

15 Jul 2011

Bill would boost IT funding for multi-campus hospital systems

In other news, The Boston Globe reports on one of the perks enjoyed by doctors who use electronic health records, and Bloomberg details the British Medical Association's advice to members to avoid patients on Facebook.

15 Jul 2011

Seniors step up efforts to protect against cuts to Medicare

First, AARP tried to convey disappointment. In May, the group launched a TV ad warning that Congress might try to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits as part of a deal to raise the national debt ceiling.

15 Jul 2011

Congress should avoid cutting international affairs budget, Clinton says

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton argued against cutting U.S. foreign aid in a speech on Tuesday at a meeting of U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the Washington Post's "Checkpoint Washington" blog reports.

15 Jul 2011

Medicaid cuts raise physician ire in Puerto Rico

Also in Medicaid news: In Alabama, an examination of pharmacy receipts leads to reduced costs. But in Texas, some hospital systems are bracing for the impact of Medicaid cuts currently under discussion in the debt-ceiling talks.

15 Jul 2011

Tempers flare in debt-ceiling talks as deadline looms

The hot questions now are which of the nation's financial obligations would be paid and what would be left to default if the current negotiations fail to result in a deal. President Barack Obama would be forced to choose from among Social Security checks, salaries for members of the military and veterans, unemployment benefits and many other government programs.

15 Jul 2011

HFA develops free online webinar, 'Addressing Cultural Diversity in Hospice Care'

The Hospice Foundation of America has developed "Addressing Cultural Diversity in Hospice Care," a free online webinar that looks at how, and why, different cultures may, or may not, utilize hospice.

15 Jul 2011

CDC investigators working to understand nodding syndrome among East African children

Nature News examines the work of a CDC team working in South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda to investigate nodding syndrome, "a poorly understood and seemingly growing problem in eastern Africa."

15 Jul 2011

Scientific American presents slide show on MTCT prevention

UNICEF's goal of eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015 is "ambitious ... but not impossible," Scientific American reports.

15 Jul 2011

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