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State news: Calif. report faults screening of in-home care providers

Two of the state's largest private medical practices are in talks to merge into a giant doctor-run group that would care for nearly a million Massachusetts patients and significantly escalate the pace of health care consolidation throughout the state. Atrius Health, which runs the Harvard Vanguard system and four other doctors practices, is in advanced talks with Fallon Clinic, the Worcester-based medical group.

22 Apr 2011

Study suggests flaw in methods used to measure racial health disparities

Just weeks after HHS released the first national strategy to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities, a new study published in the journal Demography suggests there is a flaw in the method used to measure racial health differences: it does not adequately account for people of mixed race.

22 Apr 2011

UNITAID has raised $2B through airline tax since 2006, could be model for G20 development funding, UNITAID chair says

UNITAID, an international drug financing program established to help fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries, has raised about $2 billion since 2006 through taxes on airline tickets in 15 countries, Philippe Douste-Blazy, chair of the UNITAID executive board, told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports. According to Douste-Blazy, UNITAID's experience could provide a model for G20 development funding efforts.

22 Apr 2011

Clinton says U.S. will continue to back Haiti's quake recovery after meeting with Haitian President-elect

After meeting with Haitian President-elect Michel Martelly on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. would back Haiti's efforts to recover from the January 2010 earthquake "all the way," VOA News reports. "Martelly is in Washington for key meetings in advance of his May 14 inauguration," the news service notes (Gollust, 4/20).

22 Apr 2011

HHS unveils new national patient safety initiative

Health and Human Services Regional Director Marguerite Salazar unveiled today a new national patient safety initiative, Partnership for Patients, on behalf of the Obama Administration at The Children's Hospital. Partnership for Patients will help save 60,000 lives across the country by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.

22 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 22, 2011

Today's headlines include a variety of reports about the political reactions to the Democratic and Republican deficit proposals as well as plans for Medicare.

22 Apr 2011

ESHRE's Guide for CBRC aims to ensure high-quality assisted reproduction treatment

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology is setting the first ever standards in Cross Border Reproductive Care. The safety of patients, gamete donors, surrogates and future children take centre stage in ESHRE's Good Practice Guide for Cross Border Reproductive Care.

22 Apr 2011

Longer looks: Tommy Thompson on Medicare; Was WSJ Pulitzer undeserved?; IPAB and cost cutting

The law contains Medicare cuts, but the savings achieved are then used to pay for new federal spending, such as the Medicaid expansion and new subsidies to purchase health care in state-based exchanges.

22 Apr 2011

Ochsner, Take Care Health announce new relationship

Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens, and Ochsner Health System today announced a new relationship which will increase opportunities for clinical collaboration and improve patient access to high-quality, convenient and affordable health care options in the greater New Orleans region.

22 Apr 2011

Latest advancements in telemedicine to be presented at ATA 2011

The latest technologies, research and applications in telemedicine will be presented at the 16th Annual Meeting of the American Telemedicine Association, which will take place Sunday, May 1 - Tuesday, May 3, 2011, at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida.

22 Apr 2011

Health IT creates demand for new group of employees — 'Medical scribes'

The rise in electronic medical records has given Brittany Fera, a premed student at Temple University, an "awesome" job that she had no idea existed before she saw an ad last year.

22 Apr 2011

At Facebook appearance, Obama calls GOP plan for Medicare 'radical'

Although President Barack Obama used strong and critical language to describe the Republican proposals to change Medicare and Medicaid, he also indicated that he expected to reach a deal to reduce the deficit without transforming these programs.

22 Apr 2011

Hospitals to host Earth Day events emphasizing link between health, environment

Hospitals and other members of the health care sector will be marking Earth Day 2011 with a wide variety of events showcasing their efforts to develop sustainable operations and reduce their environmental footprint.

22 Apr 2011

Obama administration urges new graduates to understand their health insurance options

Administration officials sent letters to college and university presidents and student body leaders reminding them to communicate to students about how, because of changes resulting from the health overhaul, they can remain on a parent's plan until age 26. In other health reform news, President Obama says that he is flexible on health reform, and the AP reports on how the absence of one Supreme Court justice on certain legal questions has been "no big deal."

22 Apr 2011

Study identifies major osteoporosis knowledge gaps for some patient groups

A fracture in a person over the age of 50 can be a sign of osteoporosis, yet some patient populations have little knowledge of the disease. According to a groundbreaking study published in a recent Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), male and non-English speaking patients tend to have the least knowledge of osteoporosis, putting them at high risk for a subsequent fracture.

22 Apr 2011

NPR: 3 in 4 prescriptions are for generic drugs

The brand-name pharmaceutical industry has a drug problem. All 10 of the most prescribed medicines in the U.S. last year were generics, led by the defending champion generic equivalents of Vicodin.

22 Apr 2011

Trillium registered nurses choose ONA to become members of the union

Registered nurses employed at Trillium Health Centre have overwhelmingly voted yes to join the Ontario Nurses' Association, the largest nurses' union in Canada.

22 Apr 2011

China releases first report on foreign aid

China on Thursday released its first report on the country's investment in foreign aid over the past few decades and its impact on developing countries, noting that "its rise as an aid donor is a good development at a time when the global financial crisis is straining most other countries' spending," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

22 Apr 2011

Employers looking for ways to reduce high blood pressure in the workplace

A group of nine Kansas City employers, their broker consultant Lockton Companies, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Centers for Disease and Prevention Control, and Thomson Reuters are looking for ways to reduce high blood pressure or hypertension in the workplace.

22 Apr 2011

New working group of clinicians to promote e-Prescribing in Canada

A new working group of clinicians from various disciplines will help shape the future of e-Prescribing in Canada, announced Richard Alvarez, President and CEO, Canada Health Infoway.

22 Apr 2011