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Restaurant chains work to respond to health law's calorie disclaimer rules

A]s part of the recent federal health care overhaul, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to roll out national rules by year-end requiring any chain with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts for every item they sell.

23 Jun 2011

Policy news: Speculation surrounds soon-to-be released exchange regs

Meanwhile, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick takes a message about accountable care organizations on the road, selling the model in Minneapolis to nurses, doctors and other health professionals.

23 Jun 2011

More frequent use of ultrasound recommended in twin pregnancies

Featured in the June edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada is a new clinical practice guideline which suggests that carrying twins requires greater monitoring and, therefore, the more frequent use of ultrasound technology to conduct the ongoing assessment of twin pregnancies.

23 Jun 2011

G20 agriculture ministers to discuss curbing volatile food prices as World Bank launches food price hedging tool

"G20 farm ministers meet in Paris on Wednesday to review steps to curb food price volatility amid doubts France will win unanimous backing for a cornerstone proposal to tighten regulation for commodity markets," Reuters reports.

23 Jun 2011

India looking to supply generic drugs to Japan

After serving as "a lifeline to poor countries, supplying HIV drugs that have saved millions of lives … now India is aiming to become a drugs factory for rich countries such as Japan," which is looking to use more generic drugs in an effort to slow rising health care costs, Nature News reports.

23 Jun 2011

Sanofi Pasteur establishes new vaccine research and development facility in Canada

Mark Lievonen, President of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, and Premier Dalton McGuinty today opened a $101 million dollar vaccine research and development facility at Sanofi Pasteur's Connaught Campus in north Toronto. This new facility establishes the Connaught Campus as the North American Centre of Excellence in analytical and bioprocessing R&D for Sanofi Pasteur globally.

23 Jun 2011

'Global Pulse' examines balancing need for emergency and sustainable health care in fragile states

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog examines USAID and other organizations' efforts to balance "the need for emergency health care and sustainable, quality health care" in fragile states, including South Sudan and Haiti.

23 Jun 2011

Debt-reduction package continues to take shape

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the goal of trimming $2 trillion from the federal budget in the next 10 years will not be enough to change the rate of growth of the nation's debt. In the background, negotiators continue to "bear down" on the remaining "serious" issues.

23 Jun 2011

Eradicating malaria is a 'realistic possibility'

Eliminating malaria in endemic countries is a "realistic possibility if those countries keep expanding malaria prevention and treatment at the pace set in recent years," Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's blog.

23 Jun 2011

State roundup: Okla. caps 'non-economic damages' in lawsuits

With Republicans in control of the Oklahoma governorship and the Legislature for the first time ever, they swiftly passed a series of changes to the civil justice system. Lawmakers put a cap of $350,000 on the amount of money that plaintiffs can recoup for so-called "non-economic damages," such as the pain and suffering caused by medical malpractice, faulty products or other forms of professional negligence.

23 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare and politics; concerns about AARP; Medicaid's future

Leading Republicans — after proposing to gut Medicare — are still trying to pose as the program's saviors. How cynical can they get? At the recent Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota warned that health care reform will take $500 billion out of Medicare and harm "senior citizens who have the most to lose."

23 Jun 2011

New open access journal dedicated to collaborations and cutting-edge research in parasitology

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, in association with the Australian Society for Parasitology, is pleased to announce the launch of a new journal, International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance. The new electronic open access journal is closely affiliated with the leading parasitology journal, International Journal for Parasitology, and will address a critical area of research, covering anti-parasite drug identification, development and evaluation, and parasite drug resistance. The journal's remit also includes research into natural products as anti-parasitic agents, and bioactive parasite products.

22 Jun 2011

Barrow Neurological Institute announces Phoenix Children’s Hospital as new pediatric affiliate

St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and Phoenix Children’s Hospital jointly announced today their pediatric neuroscience programs are combining under the newly formed Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

22 Jun 2011

IPS examines initiative to provide free health care in Sierra Leone

Inter Press Service examines the challenges associated with Sierra Leone's plan to provide free health care for some members of the population.

22 Jun 2011

G20 must uphold previous agriculture pledges, invest more

"In the last few years, funding of agriculture has slowly been increasing after a generation of decline in investment in the sector, but not fast enough. In the L'Aquila pledge, the G8 made commitments to food security in 2009 of $20 billion.

22 Jun 2011

Pace picks up in budget talks but 'big ticket items' still in play

The key stumbling blocks in the ongoing negotiations being led by Vice President Joe Biden are Medicare changes and fresh revenue demands.

22 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 22, 2011

Today's headlines include an exclusive AP report detailing a "twist" in the health law that would allow millions of middle class Americans -- mainly early retirees -- access to Medicaid.

22 Jun 2011

Anthem Blue Cross agrees to limit rate hikes

Settling a class-action lawsuit, California health insurer Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to limit rate increases for 122,000 policyholders whose plans have been closed to new customers.

22 Jun 2011

Ghana's vice president discusses country's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

John Dramani Mahama, vice president of the Republic of Ghana, recently spoke with NPR's "Tell Me More" about how Ghana has made significant gains against HIV/AIDS, bringing the prevalence rate down to 1.5 percent from nearly 4 percent.

22 Jun 2011

'Steadfast focus' needed in fight against HIV/AIDS

Recapping the 30-year history of HIV/AIDS from an USAID perspective, Administrator Rajiv Shah writes in this "Impact blog" post, "Our work is far from done. We have a shared responsibility as a global partner to save lives by focusing on smart investments. The generosity of the American people has made sustained progress against this deadly disease possible. Closing the chapter on HIV/AIDS will require a steadfast focus on remaining gaps and challenges as we chart the way forward".

22 Jun 2011