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U.Va, Coulter Foundation partner for translational research in biomedical engineering

The University of Virginia and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation have teamed to create a $20 million endowment to foster research collaboration between biomedical engineers and clinicians, with the goal of developing new technologies to improve patient care and human health.

3 May 2011

Helping Babies Breathe focuses on resuscitation in 'The Golden Minute'

A program that teaches health care workers in developing countries basic techniques to resuscitate babies immediately after birth is saving lives, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, May 3, at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.

3 May 2011

Congress returns to work on the budget; Medicare will be key

All sides of the budget issue are preparing for a long fight. Among the key players is the so-called "Gang of Six," which is honing its deficit reduction plan.

3 May 2011

More HIV infections linked to injection drug use in East Africa, report finds

Incentive-based wellness programs can lead to low health care costs

A new longitudinal study conducted among participants in the world's largest incentive-based health enhancement program shows that wellness programs incorporating positive incentives can lead to behavior change that, over time, are associated with lower health care costs.

3 May 2011

Smoking-related illnesses could kill up to 1b people this century, U.N. official says

As many as one billion people could die of smoking-related illnesses this century if efforts to curb the practice are not implemented, a senior U.N. health official warned on Friday, the U.N. News Centre reports.

3 May 2011

Appeals court greenlights stem-cell research

The court handed the Obama administration a victory by ruling that federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research can go forward.

3 May 2011

Washing hands with contaminated soap can increase bacterial infection

People who wash their hands with contaminated soap from bulk-soap-refillable dispensers can increase the number of disease-causing microbes on their hands and may play a role in transmission of bacteria in public settings according to research published in the May issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

3 May 2011

Opinions: Population growth; global HIV response; global malaria fight; child brides

International population dynamics are a "ticking time bomb, which we cannot afford to neglect any longer," George Tsereteli, president of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development, writes in a New Europe opinion piece.

3 May 2011

CMS: States to analyze Medicaid provider payments, access issues

CMS officials may have kept the Supreme Court from injecting itself into the controversy over disparate state Medicaid payment rates for various providers through a proposed rule issued Friday.

3 May 2011

State roundup: Assisted living hazards in Fla.; Ariz.'s Medicaid limits

Despite some efforts to ease the blow to pediatric health care providers, Texas' proposed budget cuts will most likely have a disproportionate effect on children's hospitals.

3 May 2011

WFP to begin emergency food campaign in North Korea

The U.N. World Food Program on Friday said it would begin providing emergency food aid to 3.5 million people in North Korea, Reuters reports.

3 May 2011

AstraZeneca receives FDA approval for NEXIUM I.V. to treat GERD with erosive esophagitis

AstraZeneca announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of NEXIUM I.V. for Injection for children ages greater than 1 month old for the short-term treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease with erosive esophagitis when oral therapy is not possible or appropriate.

3 May 2011

Viewpoints: Ryan plan politics; senior care; health care consumerism

Democrats spent the last week of Easter recess bashing the GOP on the Medicare reforms in the Paul Ryan budget, and Republicans tell me they are feeling the heat back home.

3 May 2011

Pregnant women with H1N1 more likely to have low birth weight baby

In 2009, the United States was gripped by concern for a new winter threat: the H1N1 strain of influenza. According to research conducted through that winter, pregnant women were right to be concerned.

3 May 2011

Watson launches Generess Fe low-dose oral contraceptives in the U.S.

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the U.S. commercial launch of Generess Fe 0.8 mg/25 mcg, a new low-dose oral contraceptive option that's highly effective at preventing pregnancy and proven to provide users with short, lighter, predictable periods.

2 May 2011

First Edition: May 2, 2011

With Congress due back to work in Washington, D.C., after its spring recess, the next stage of the budget battle is expected to heat up. News reports detail the part Medicare and Medicaid will play in the debate.

2 May 2011

New OMA President brings commitment to prioritize health care during election

Today, Dr. Stewart Kennedy becomes the 130th President of the Ontario Medical Association and brings with him a commitment to ensure health care is a priority in the upcoming provincial election.

2 May 2011

Hospitals can implement preventive measures to reduce measles outbreak

The U.S. measles vaccination program has been successful in eliminating endemic measles in the United States; yet this success has provided challenges that require ongoing vigilance for the rapid identification and response to measles cases in health care settings.

2 May 2011

NCRP workshop on CT use in emergency medicine is now available through JACR May issue

A summary of the National Council on Radiation Protection's workshop on the appropriate use of computed tomography in emergency medicine, and a list of recommendations from participating organizations to help control the inappropriate use of CT in the emergency department, is now available via the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

2 May 2011